2019 -- H 6028

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2019

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

COMMEMORATING APRIL OF 2019 AS “NATIONAL FAIR HOUSING MONTH” IN THE

STATE OF RHODE ISLAND AND AVIDLY CELEBRATING THE 51ST ANNIVERSARY

OF THE PASSAGE OF THE FAIR HOUSING ACT OF 1968

     Introduced By: Representatives Williams, Vella-Wilkinson, Morin, Diaz, and Alzate

     Date Introduced: April 25, 2019

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, In April of 1968, in the wake of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther

King, Jr., the United States Congress passed the Fair Housing Act which guaranteed equality in

housing for all people regardless of their race, color, gender, religion, family status or disability;

and

     WHEREAS, Since the passage of the Fair Housing Act, progress has been made in the

battle to eliminate long-standing patterns of segregation in housing and its enactment has helped

to foster more diverse and prosperous communities. It has also helped to provide more available

housing that is affordable to individuals and families of all races and heritages; and

     WHEREAS, Much more still needs to be done. Zoning restrictions still hamper the

ability to build homes that working people can afford and this disproportionately impacts people

of color. Additionally, some real estate agents, landlords, and banks make assumptions about

individual’s ability to pay based on stereotypes and suppositions instead of facts; and

     WHEREAS, National Fair Housing Month in April is sponsored by the United States

Department of Housing and Urban Development. The theme for 2019 is “Call HUD: Because

Sexual Harassment in Housing is Illegal”, the mission of which is to combat sexual harassment in

housing and to launch training initiatives to educate the citizenry about this serious problem while

protecting people from harassment by landlords, property managers, and maintenance workers

within HUD housing properties; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

Providence Plantations hereby commemorates April of 2019 as “National Fair Housing Month”

in the State of Rhode Island, and avidly celebrates the 51st Anniversary of the passage of the Fair

Housing Act in April of 1968; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to Benjamin Solomon Carson, Jr., United States

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and the Honorable Gina M. Raimondo, Governor

of the State of Rhode Island.

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