Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity

Transcription

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THIS IS A TEST. THIS IS A TEST. >>> I'LL THE MAST STIR OF CEREMONIES FOR TODAY'S EVENT. BEFORE WE BEGIN TODAY'S PROGRAM, I'D LIKE TO TOLD YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MYSELF AND WHY I'M HERE. I'M A GRADUATING SENIOR AT SOUTH LAKES HIGH SCHOOL IN FAIRFAX COUNTY WHERE I'VE BEEN CLASS PRESIDENT FOR THE PAST FOUR YEARS. IN ADDITION TO THAT, I ALSO HAVE A NUMBER OF COUNTY-WIDE RESPONSIBILITIES. ONE OF WHICH IS I SERVE AS THE CHAIR OF THE STUDENT HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION FOR FAIRFAX COUNTY. AND THE OFFICE THAT SPONSORS OUR ORGANIZATION, OUR COMMISSION, ORGANIZESES A FAIR HOUSING LUNCHEON EVERY YEAR THAT SOME OF YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR WITH. WELL, LAST YEAR, THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY WAS OUR KEYNOTE SPEAKER. IN HIS SPEECH, HE TALKED ABOUT REACHING OUT TO STUDENTS AND TO ME, THIS SOUNDED LIKE AN OPPORTUNITY. SO AFTER SPEAKING WITH HIM, I WAS GIVEN THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING INVITED TO WORK IN THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY'S OFFICE LAST SUMMER. AMONG SOME OF THE BEST SOULS I'VE EVER MET. AND I MEAN THAT. [ APPLAUSE ] SO I HAVE SEEN THESE FOLKS AND WHAT THEY DO EVERY SINGLE DAY AND BECAUSE OF THAT, I HAVE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF RESPECT FOR THEM AND THE MISSION THEY STRIVE TO ACHIEVE. SO I AM SLILD TO BE BACK -- THRILLED TO BE BACK TODAY FOR THE 44th ANNIVERSARY OF THE FAIR HOUSING ACT AND AMONG SOME OF OUR BIGGEST ALLIES, SO WITH THAT I'D LIKE TO STWROOS OUR FIRST SPEAKER -- INTRODUCE OUR FIRST SPEAKER, MR. JOHN D.TRAZVENIA, THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR FAIR HOUSING AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY. [ APPLAUSE ] >> THANK YOU, CHRIS SHEPHERD. AND WELCOME, EVERYONE, TO OUR AFTERNOON CELEBRATION FOR FAIR HOUSING MONTH. AND THANKS SO MANY OF YOU WHO ARE HERE THIS MORNING AT THE MARTIN LUTHER KING MEMORIAL WHERE WE WERE -- WE MUST HAVE HAD ABOUT 300 PEOPLE OR SO, MEMBERS OF HUD, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, TOURISTS AND OTHER FAIR HOUSING ADVOCATES AND COLLEAGUES AND PARTNERS IN THE DISTRICT COMING TO THAT HALLOWED GROUND. TO THE HALLOWED GROUND TO PAY OUR RESPECTS FOR THE LIFE OF DR. KING AND THE INTIMATE CONNECTION THAT WE HAVE IN FAIR HOUSING TO THE TRAGIC EVENT IN MEMPHIS ON APRIL THE 4th, 1968, AND OUT OF THAT, OUT OF THAT COMING THE RESOLVE BY PRESIDENT JOHNSON TO MOVE A RECALCITRANT CONGRESS TO GET THIS NATION FORWARD, TO BRING THIS NATION TOGETHER AND FORWARD TO THE UNFINISHED VISIONS, THE UNFINISHED AGENDA OF DR. KING, WHICH IS, OF COURSE, MAKING SURE THAT EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD WAS OPEN TO ALL PEOPLE. AND WE NECESSARILY FOCUSED ON THE PAST AND I SAID THERE THAT THIS AFTERNOON IS A TIME TO FOCUS ON THE PRESENT AND ON THE FUTURE. SO WHO BETTER THAN YOUNG CHRIS SHEPHERD TO HAVE AS OUR EMCEE? CHRIS TREMENDOUSLY IMPRESSED ALL OF US LAST SUMMER IN HIS INSIGHT AND HIS MATURITY. HE'S GOT A FOUR-YEAR COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP UPCOMING AND THOSE OF US WHO ARE FANS OF "WEST WING" REMEMBER PRESIDENT SHEPHERD. THINK THERE'S GOING TO BE ANOTHER ONE HERE IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS. THANK YOU, CHRIS. [ APPLAUSE ] I ALSO WANT TO WELCOME ALL OF YOU AND CERTAINLY WELCOME OUR PARTNERS AROUND THE COUNTRY. I SEE SO MANY OF OUR REGIONAL ADMINISTRATORS HERE, AND THEY ARE, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE PARTNERS IN FAIR HOUSING, PARTNERS IN FHEO, WE CANNOT DO OUR WORK WITHOUT -- NOT JUST THE INSTITUTIONAL WORK OF THE PEOPLE IN THE FIELD, BUT THE REAL LEADERSHIP AND COMMITMENT AND FRIENDSHIP AND SUPPORT THAT I HAVE GOTTEN FROM OUR REGIONAL ADMINISTRATORS AND HEADED BY PAT HOBIN MOORE AND THAT HAS BEEN A TREMENDOUS LINK. IT'S BEEN A TREMENDOUS HELP AND COMFORT TO ME, PERSONALLY, BUT WHAT IT MEANS TO OUR WORK AND WHAT IT MEANS TO THE PEOPLE WHO CALL US UP AROUND THE COUNTRY AND ASK FOR HELP IN FAIR HOUSING, YOUR WORK AND OUR RELATIONSHIP MEANS ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD, SO I WANT TO THANK YOU IN PARTICULAR FOR BEING HERE. I ALSO WANT TO THANK ESTELLE RICHMOND, AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, THE SENATE CONFIRMED A FULL-TIME, FULL-FLEDGED -- NOT FULL-TIME, BECAUSE ESTELLE IS CERTAINLY MORE THAN FULL-TIME, BUT WE'LL HAVE A DEPUTY SECRETARY VERY SOON. BUT IN THE PERIOD OF TIME THAT ESTELLE HAS BEEN ACTING DEPUTY, SHE HAS BROKEN NEW GROUND. SHE HAS DONE -- SHE HAS BEEN TREMENDOUSLY, TREMENDOUSLY SUPPORTIVE, FAR BEYOND ANYTHING I HAVE EVER SEEN IN TERMS OF BEING A TOP ADMINISTRATOR, NOT THE TOP PERSON, BUT AT THE TOP, ON THE TENTH FLOOR, BEING SUPPORT ACTIVE OF OUR MISSION, UNDERSTANDING OF OUR WORK ANDING OF VALUE AND LOOKING OUT FOR FAIR HOUSING AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY. I'LL ALWAYS BE INDEBTED TO YOU, ESTELLE, FOR THE SHORT PERIOD OF TIME YOU'VE BEEN ACTING DEPUTY AND STILL WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO ON HOMESTEAD AND OTHER ISSUES, SO I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR BEING BEER TODAY AND EARLIER THIS MORNING, BUT AWFUL YOUR WORK AND -- ALL OF YOUR WORK AND FRIENDSHIP IN THIS AREA. [ APPLAUSE ] AND YOU WILL BE HEARING FROM RUTH MARTIN, FROM MOM'S RISING, THAT'S A TREMENDOUS GROUP OF OVER A MILLION WOMEN AND MEN AND FRIENDS AND FATHERS AND MOTHERS, DEDICATED, DEDICATED TO ACTIVISM FOR AMERICA'S FAMILIES. THEY HAVE BEEN TREMENDOUS PARTNERS IN OUR FIGHT AGAINST MATERNITY LEAVE DISCRIMINATION IN LENDING, AND RUTH IS GOING TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE WORK THAT THEY DO, NOT JUST ON OUR ISSUES, BUT ON OTHER ISSUES AS WELL. JERRELL SPIVEY, THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REAL ESTATE BROKERS, AGAIN, ONE OF OUR IMPORTANT PARTNERS. THEY HAVE THE CONSCIENCE OF THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY AND UNLIKE 1968 WHEN THE REALTORS WERE BHOKING THE FAIR HOUSING ACT, THAT IS NOT THE CASE TODAY. WE HAVE TREMENDOUS SUPPORT FROM THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS, THE HISPANIC REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS AND JUST THIS WEEK I WAS WITH THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE WITH THE ASIAN AMERICAN REAL ESTATE ASSOCIATION, SO WE HAVE IN PROFESSIONALS DEDICATED TO THEIR ETHICS TO ENDING DISCRIMINATION IN REAL ESTATE AND IN HOUSING, SO THEY ARE TREMENDOUS PARTNERS AS WELL. SO AS YOU CAN SEE, THE WORK THAT WE ARE PROUD TO ACCOMPLISH AT FHEO IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE DO SIMPLY BY OURSELVES, BUT I AM PROUD OF THE WORK THAT WE ARE DOING. AS WE LOOK AT OUR AGENDA TODAY AND INTO THE FUTURE, JUST THIS PAST YEAR, WE FILED MORE TITLE 8 CASES THAN ANY YEAR IN THE LAST TEN YEARS, AND WE DID IT, I WOULD SAY TO THOSE LOOKING AT OUR BUDGET, WE DID IT WITH LESS -- 25% LESS STAFF THAN EVER BEFORE. [ APPLAUSE ] SO THAT WORK, THE BEHIND-THE-SCENES WORK THE WORK THAT SHOWS UP IN OUR WEEKLY REPORTS, ITS DONE BY MEN AND WOMEN DEDICATED TO MAKING EVERY COMMUNITY A COMMUNITY WHERE EVERYONE CAN LIVE. I WANT TO THANK EACH ONE OF OUR STAFF, THOSE WHO ARE HERE, THOSE WHO ARE WATCHING. SO WE HAVE, WITHIN HUD, WE HAVE OUR WORK AND OUR MISSION AND IT IS NOW MOVING FROM 1968, NOT THAT WE'VE RESOLVED THE CORE PRINCIPLES AND MISSION OF THE FAIR HOUSING ACT. THAT IS NOT TRUE BY ANY MEANS. WE HAVE CONSISTENTLY WORK CONTINUING TO BE DONE. BUT THE WORK THAT WE ARE DOING, THE WORK THAT WE'RE GETTING THROUGH THIS BUILDING, WHETHER IT IS COMING UP WITH A REGULATION ON DISPARATE IMPACT THAT WILL ENCAPSULATE 30 YEARS OF ALJ DECISIONS, HUD POSITIONS, DECISIONS BY DISTRICT COURTS, AND EACH COURT OF APPEALS IN THIS COUNTRY, TO BE ABLE TO BRING THAT ALL TOGETHER IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT AND THAT IS WHY WE ARE SO DEDICATED TO GETTING THIS DISPARATE IMPACT RULE OUT OF THE BUILDING AND INTO THE FEDERAL REGISTER AND INTO PRACTICE. NATIONAL ORIGIN DISCRIMINATION, MAKING SURE THAT NEWCOMERS IN OUR SOCIETY, THEY HAVE THE SAME PROTECTIONS AS OTHER PEOPLE. WE'VE BEEN TO PLACES LIKE FREMONT, NEBRASKA, CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA, ACROSS THEATION WHERE NEWCOMERS ARE COMING IN TO COMMUNITIES, OFTEN MET NOT WITH, NOT WITH PARTNERSHIPS, NOT WITH WELCOMING, BUT IN OTHER PLACES THERE IS THAT WELCOMING. SO OUR JOB IS TO PROMOTE IMMIGRATION INTEGRATION AND IN PART WE DO IT BY THE EFFORTS WE HAVE TO TRANSLATE HUD DOCUMENTS, NOT JUST FAIR HOUSING DOCUMENTS, BUT ALL DOCUMENTS INTO 12 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES, MAKING SURE THERE IS A LANGUAGE LINE AVAILABLE FOR PEOPLE, BUT THE WORK THAT WE ARE DOING, AGAIN, IN THE LOCAL REGIONS BENEFITTING FROM THE WORK OF THE FIELD OFFICES SO THEY WILL BE OUR EYES AND EARS INTO WHAT'S ACTUALLY GOING ON IN COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THERE ARE MAYORS IN COMMUNITIES THAT ARE DOING THE RIGHT THING ON IMMIGRATION, WELCOMING PEOPLE IN AND FOSTERING NOT JUST THIS GENERATION BUT THE NEXT. SO THAT IS OUR WORK IN NATIONAL ORIGIN DISCRIMINATION FOR NEW COMESERS. WE'RE GOING TO BE JOINED SHORTLY BY DELEGATE ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON AND ONE OF THE AREAS WE'RE WORKING CLOSELY ON IS ON SECTION 3, THE EO, THE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY PART OF FHEO. NOT JUST INVESTING. AS IMPORTANT AS OUR WORK IS IN INVESTING IN THE BUILDINGS AND INFRASTRUCTURE, SECTION 3 INVESTS IN THE PEOPLE BY GIVING THEM A SECOND OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT THEIR FAMILIES AND TO WORK AND REBUILD THEIR COMMUNITIES. WHEN WE WERE IN NEW ORLEANS, WE SAW SOME WORKERS WHO HAD BEEN INITIALLY NOT ABLE TO GET JOBS AT THE HOUSING AUTHORITY, AND THEY INITIALLY HAD PROTESTED. WELL, THEY PROTESTED, BUT THEN WE LISTENED, THE HOUSING AUTHORITY LISTENED, AND THEY ARE NOW HAVING JOBS SO THEY CAN COME HOME AT NIGHT AND SHOW TO THEIR FAMILIES THAT THEY ARE -- YES, THEY ARE RECIPIENTS OF HUD HOUSING AND SHELTER, BUT MORE IMPORTANT, THEY ARE PARTICIPANTS AND CONTRIBUTORS TO THE WAY THEIR COMMUNITY IS GOING TO LOOK IN THE FUTURE. AND WE CAN'T HAVE A 21st CENTURY AGENDA IF WE DO NOT LOOK AT THE NATION'S FAMILIES TODAY AND THAT INCLUDES THE FAMILIES OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER PEOPLE. OUR WORK AT HUT HAS BEEN IN THE LEADERSHIP -- HUD HAS BEEN IN THE LEADERSHIP POSITION, MOVING BEYOND TITLE VIII BECAUSE CONGRESS HAS NOT YET MOVED BEYOND TITLE VIII PROTECTIONS, BUT WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE SURE OUR PROGRAMS ARE OPEN TO ALL. I'M SO PROUD OF THE WORK OF KEN CARROLL AND SO MANY OF OUR STAFF THROUGHOUT HUD TO MAKE REALITY THE EQUAL ACCESS TO HOUSING RULE IRRESPECTIVE OF GENDER IDENTITY, MARITAL STATUS. WE CANNOT DO THE WORK, WE CANNOT DO OUR WORK AS A GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY WITHOUT THE STRONG MIRROR IMAGES AND THE EXTENSIONS OF OUR WORK INTO THE COMMUNITY. IT'S GREAT TO HAVE A REGULATION, GREAT TO HAVE SOMETHING IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER, GREAT TO HAVE HUD POLLS GUIDANCE, BUT IF PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT IT IN ALTOONA, PENNSYLVANIA, IN SMALL TOWNS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, THEN OUR WORK IS NOT YET COMPLETED, SO OUR PARTNERS OF PIVOTAL TO MAKING THIS A SUCCESS. IN THE AREA OF AFFIRMATIVE AND FAIR HOUSING, YOU KNOW HOW IMPORTANT THAT IS TO THE SECRETARY AND HOW IMPORTANT THAT IS TO ME AND HOW FUNDAMENTALLY IT WILL RESHAPE OUR NATION'S COMMUNITIES SO THAT WHEN JURISDICTIONS GET HUD DOLLARS, THEY KNOW THAT THOSE HUD DOLLARS CANNOT SUBSIDIZE DISCRIMINATION, BUT THEY SUBSIDIZE DREAMS AND ASPIRATIONS AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL. SO THOSE, AS I AM PROUD OF THE WORK THAT WE ARE DOING AND THAT WE HAVE YET TO FULFILL. I COULD GO ON AND ON AND ON, BUT YOU CERTAINLY DIDN'T COME FOR THAT TODAY. I WANT TO TURN THIS BACK OVER TO CHRIS AND REALLY THANK EVERYONE FOR BEING HERE. I KNOW ESTELLE WILL SHARE A FEW WORDS AND, AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK, PARTICULARLY THOSE OF YOU IN FHEO, BUT THANK YOU, EVERYONE ELSE IN THE BUILDING WHO HAVE REALLY HELPED FHEO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. WE ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE. WE WILL CONTINUE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE, AND THIS IS OUR PLEDGE ON THE 44th ANNIVERSARY OF THE FAIR HOUSING ACT. THANK YOU. [ APPLAUSE ] >> THANK YOU, MR. TRAZVENIA. I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE ONE OF FHEO'S BIGGEST ALLIES, THE ACTING DEPUTY, ASSISTANT SECRETARY, MS. ESTELLE RICHMOND. [ APPLAUSE ] >> GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE. I NEED TO START WITH A LITTLE BIT OF AN APOLOGY. I'M GOING TO HAVE TO LEAVE RIGHT AFTER MY COMMENTS. I'M DUE TO BE ON STAGE AT ANOTHER KEYNOTE SPEECH AT 3:00. SO AS YOU SEE, I'VE BEEN CUTTING IT A LITTLE BIT TIGHT TODAY. BUT IT WAS IMPORTANT THAT I BE HERE BECAUSE THIS PARTICULAR TIMING OF FAIR HOUSING MONTH IS SO IMPORTANT, THAT I WANTED TO HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE IT NOT ONLY WITH YOU, BUT TO SHARE IT WITH YOU TWICE. AND I WANT TO SAY "THANK YOU" TO ALL OF THE FAIR HOUSING ADVOCATES WHO HAVE JOINED HERE TODAY. ALL THE THINGS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO DO HERE AT HUD IS BECAUSE OF YOUR SUPPORT, YOUR ABILITY TO BE THERE WITH US, AND ALL OF OUR ABILITY TO WORK TOGETHER. NEXT, I JUST NEED TO BE ABLE TO EXPRESS TO YOU, AND SOME OF YOU WEREN'T HERE THIS MORNING WHEN WE DID THE WREATH LAYING CEREMONY AT THE MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. MEMORIAL, BUT IT NOT ONLY WAS FANTASTIC BECAUSE OF THE VIEW AND WHERE WE WERE AND WHAT WE WERE DOING, BUT IT WAS ALSO FANTASTIC BECAUSE OF OUR SPEAKER AND I WANT TO INTRODUCE YOU REAL QUICKLY TO DR. CLAYTON. [ APPLAUSE ] SHE WAS INCREDIBLY INSPIRING, AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE ANY OF YOU WHO DID NOT HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO EITHER LISTEN OR TALK TO HER, TO TAKE THAT, AND PAT, WE HAVE A LESSON TO LEARN FROM HER. SHE WORKED FOR DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, SO WE KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HER AGE, AND SHE'S NOT SHY ABOUT HER AGE. AS NEITHER WE ARE. BUT SHE CHOSE AN AGE, AND THE AGE SHE CHOSE WAS 31, AND I THOUGHT THAT WAS GOOD. [ LAUGHTER ] AND I THINK THOUSAND WE NEED TO -- NOW WE NEED TO CHOOSE AN AGE. [ INAUDIBLE COMMENTS ] THAT'S RIGHT. BUT I WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT NOW, WE LOOKED AT THE PAST, BUT THE FUTURE IS WHERE WE'RE GOING AND WHAT IS SO MEANINGFUL. AND HERE AT HUD, IT REPRESENTS THE WORK WE REALLY DO EVERY DAY TO ENSURE EVERYONE WHO CALLS AMERICA HOME IS ABLE TO LIVE WHERE THEY CHOOSE REGARDLESS OF RACE, COLOR, NATIONAL ORIGIN, GENDER, RELIGION, FAMILY STATUS, OR DISABILITY. LET'S NOT FORGET THAT HUD WAS FOUNDED AT A MOMENT WHEN OUR COUNTRY'S CITIES WERE NOT DEALING JUST WITH SOCIAL UNREST, THEY WERE LITERALLY BURNING, AND THOSE OF US WHO WERE THERE IN 1968 ON EITHER SIDE OF THAT SAW THAT PERSONALLY AND WHAT IT DID TO A COUNTRY TO HAVE THAT LEVEL OF UNCERTAINTY AND UNREST. AND IT WAS DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING'S ASSASSINATION THAT LED PRESIDENT JOHNSON AND CONGRESS TO PASS THE FAIR HOUSING ACT, WHICH DECHAIRED THAT NO PERSON -- DECLARED THAT NO PERSON IN AMERICA SHOULD BE DENIED ACCESS TO HOUSING ON THE BASIS OF RACE, BUT AS ASSISTANT SECRETARY TRAZVENIA AND ALL OF YOU KNOW, THAT'S NOT ALL IT REPRESENTED. WITH THE FAIR HOUSING ACT, WE OF A FIRP THAT GOVERNMENT HAS A -- AFFIRM THAT GOVERNMENT HAS A ROLE TO PLAY IN CREATING INTEGRATED DIVERSE COMMUNITIES WITH ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL. THAT IS FAIR HOUSING. THAT IS EQUAL OPPORTUNITY. AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE FIGHTING FOR EVERY DAY AT HUD. SO AS WE KICK OFF FAIR HOUSING MONTH, IT'S WORTH TAKING JUST A FEW MINUTES TO REFLECT ON WHAT YOU HAVE ALL ACCOMPLISHED TO MAKE THIS GOAL A REALITY. OBVIOUSLY WE'RE PURSUING OUR TRADITIONAL MISSION OF INVESTIGATING INDIVIDUAL ACTS OF HOUSING DISCRIMINATION. INDEED, LAST YEAR, HUD'S ENFORCEMENT ACTION LED TO A MAJOR SETTLEMENT WITH CORNERSTONE MORTGAGE, A NATIONAL LENDER THAT HAD DENIED ASIAN AMERICAN IMMIGRANTS A MORTGAGE LOAN. NOT BECAUSE SHE WASN'T QUALIFIED OR BECAUSE SHE COULDN'T MAKE THE PAYMENTS, BUT BECAUSE SHE WAS ON MATERNITY LEAVE. THAT'S OUTRAGEOUS AND WE ALL FEEL THAT, BUT THANKS TO THE REMARKABLE WORK OF FHEO AND OUR LOCAL PARTNERS, HUD HAS GOT JUSTICE FOR THIS WOMAN AND CORNERSTONE CREATED A FUND OF THREE-QUARTERS OF A MILLION DOLLARS TO COMPENSATE ANYONE ELSE WHO MAY HAVE EXPERIENCED SIMILAR DISCRIMINATION. AS CASES LIKE THIS SHOW, WHEN IT COMES TO ENFORCING THE LAW, THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION WILL ALWAYS STAND TALL AND NEVER BACK DOWN. BUT THE MEASURE OF OUR SUCCESS WON'T BE THE NUMBER OF LAWSUITS WE BRING OR EVEN WIN, BUT WHETHER WE ARE CHANGING THE LIVES OF PEOPLE AND THE COMMUNITIES WE SERVE. IT WILL BE MEASURED BY WHETHER WE INCREASE THE NUMBER OF LOW POVERTY, RACIALLY DIVERSE COMMUNITIES IN AMERICA, BY WHETHER THOSE WE TOUCH HAVE ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITY, GOOD SCHOOLS, SAFE STREETS, DECENT JOBS, AND WH FAMILIES LIVE IN -- WHETHER FAMILIES LIVE IN OPPORTUNITY-RICH NEIGHBORHOODS OR HAVE THE CHOICES THEY NEED TO MOVE TO ONE. AND THAT'S WHY THE WORK YOU'VE DONE ON EXPANDING HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE LGBT COMMUNITY, TO TAKE JUST ONE EXAMPLE, IS JUST SO IMPORTANT. I DON'T HAVE TO TELL YOU ALL ABOUT THE EXTRAORDINARY HISTORY-MAKING NEW RULE PUBLISHED IN MARCH TO ENSURE LGBT AMERICANS CAN LIVE WHERE THEY CHOOSE REGARDLESS OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION OR GENDER IDENTITY. BUT IF YOU WANT TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THE EFFECT THIS RULE WILL HAVE FOR GAY AND TRANSGENDERED AMERICANS, JUST GO ONLINE AND LISTEN TO SECRETARY DONOVAN'S SPEECH TO THE NATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN TASK FORCE IN JANUARY. HOWEVER, LET ME GIVE YOU FAIR WARNING, BECAUSE I HAVE DONE THIS. THE SECRETARY'S REMARKS MAY BE DIFFICULT TO HEAR OVER THE MULTIPLE STANDING OVATIONS HE GOT FROM THE AUDIENCE WHEN HE ANNOUNCED THE RULE, AN AUDIENCE THAT CLEARLY KNEW HOW CRITICAL YOUR WORK HAS BEEN FOR THE FAMILIES ACROSS AMERICA. THEY WERE APPLAUDING THE SECRETARY, AND YOU REALLY DO HEAR THIS APPLAUSE AND YOU HAVE TO LISTEN SOMETIMES VERY CAREFULLY TO HEAR ALL OF HIS WORDS, BUT THEY ALSO WERE CHEERING FOR ALL THE HARD WORK AND DEDICATION SHOWN BY OUR FHEO TEAM TO BRING THIS RULE ACROSS THE FINISH LINE AND AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, WE GET THINGS -- YOU KNOW, GETTING THINGS RIGHT ACROSS THE FINISH LINE IS SOMETIMES -- IT TAKES LONGER THAN WE EXPECT, BUT WE GOT IT AND WE DID IT, AND EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED IN THAT TEAM SHOULD BE TAKING CREDIT. IT'S A DEDICATION WE'RE ALSO SHOWING WITH OUR SECTION 3 PROGRAM WHICH WAS CREATED TO INCREASE JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOW-INCOME PEOPLE AND RESIDENTS OF PUBLIC HOUSING, AS WELL AS CONTRACTS FOR BUSINESSES THAT HIRE THEM. OUR INVESTMENTS IN SECTION 3 CREATED NEARLY 40,000 NEW JOBS IN 2010 ALONE. NEARLY HALF OF WHICH WENT TO RESIDENTS IN PUBLIC HOUSING OR LOW-INCOME WORKERS. AND WITH HUD'S LAUNCH OF A SECTION 3 BUSINESS REGISTRY, PILOT PROGRAM IN FIVE CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, NEW ORLEANS, MIAMI, LOS ANGELES, DETROIT, AND RIGHT HERE IN WASHINGTON, D.C., WE'RE PUTTING NEW ENERGY INTO THE PROGRAM. THROUGH THE REGISTRY, BUSINESSES THAT EITHER HIRE OR ARE MADE UP OF LOW-INCOME PEOPLE WILL HAVE BETTER ACCESS TO CRITICAL INFORMATION ABOUT SECTION 3 CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES FROM CITIES, HOUSING AUTHORITIES, AND OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. AND I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T MENTION THE WORK I'VE BEEN DOING WITH FHEO ON OMSTED. I LOOK AT SARAH AND ALL MY FRIENDS FROM OGC. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO AROUND FAMILIAR, THE FEDERAL COURT, SUPREME COURT SAID PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE HELD IN INSTITUTIONS, WHETHER THEY BE STATE MENTAL HOSPITALS, STATE DEVELOPMENTAL CENTERS, WHETHER IT BE NURSING FACILITIES OR LARGE BOARDING HOMES. THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO LIVE IN THE COMMUNITY, TO PARTICIPATE IN THE COMMUNITY, AND THEY SHOULD NOT BE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST. WITH A LOT OF HARD WORK BY YOUR STAFF, WE FOUND WAYS TO WORK WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, WITH HHS, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND WITH OUR TEAMS AT THE V.A., BECAUSE THE TEAM HERE WAS ABLE TO COME UP WITH WAYS THAT WE RECOGNIZED THAT OBLIGATION. I HAVE TO ALSO THANK THE FOLKS IN ATLANTA WHO WERE SORT OF OUR FIRST GUINEA PIGS ON THIS AS THE STATE OF GEORGIA HAS SIGNED AN AGREEMENT AND THE COMBINATION OF DON BABERS AND BOTH KAREN AND ED ON BEING ABLE TO TAKE THIS TO THEIR REGIONS MAKES IT REAL. THIS IS ALL BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU HERE IN FHEO HAVE DONE ALONG THIS LINE. THAT'S THE KIND OF OPPORTUNITY WE'RE WORKING TO BRING TO FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES AND IT'S THE KIND OF OPPORTUNITY THOSE FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS DESERVE. SO FOR ALL THE AMAZING WORK YOU'VE DONE TO EXPAND FAIR HOUSING AND OPPORTUNITY FOR AMERICAN FAMILIES, LET'S TREAT FAIR HOUSING MONTH AS A REMINDER OF OUR MISSION, AND RENEW OUR COMMITMENT TO WORK -- TO THE WORK THAT STILL LIES AHEAD. SO THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO TODAY AND THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME TO SPEAK AT THIS EVENT TOO, AND I COMMIT TO CONTINUE TO WORK AND SUPPORT YOU. THANK YOU. [ APPLAUSE ] >> MS. RICHMOND IS A SUPER-HERO, SO BELIEVE ME WHEN WE SAY WE ALL UNDERSTAND, MS. RICHMOND, SHE'S CONSTANTLY WORKING AND WE APPRECIATE THOSE REMARKS. TODAY WE ARE EXTREMELY PRIVILEGED TO HAVE A SPOKEN WORD POETRY PRESENTATION, AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO AREN'T FAMILIAR, SPOKEN WORD IS A FORM OF POETRY THAT OFTEN USES ALLITERATED PROSE AND VERSE AND OCCASIONALLY USES METERED VERSE TO EXPRESS SOCIAL COMMENTARY. TRADITIONALLY, IT IS IN THE FIRST PERSON AND FROM THE POET'S POINT OF VIEW AND IT'S THEMED IN CURRENT EVENTS. BOTH DUANE DOOLEY AND CHRIS AUGUST WILL SHARE THEIR STORIES THROUGH POETRY OF HOW DISCRIMINATION AFFECTS ALL PERSONS REGARDLESS OF RACE, COLOR, NATIONAL ORIGIN, RELIGION, SEX, FAMILIAL STATUS, AND DISABILITY. THEIR PERFORMANCE EXHIBITS A SHARED EXPERIENCE OF HOW HOUSING DISCRIMINATION, DESPITE THE FACT THAT EACH POET REPRESENTS DIFFERENT PROTECTED CLASSES. MR. DOOLEY IS A THREE-TIME SLAM CHAMPION. HE HAS TOURED THE COUNTRY AS PART OF NINE NATIONALLY COMPETITIVE SLAM TEAMS AND AS FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE MODERN URBAN POETRY COLLECTIVE. HIS WORK HAS BEEN CALLED CLEVER AND INSIGHTFUL. HE CURRENTLY SHARES HIS LOVE OF WORDS WITH STUDENTS AND IS STILL WORKING ON THE STORY OF HIS LIFE, NONE OF THIS MAKES SENSE. CHRIS AUGUST IS A WRITER, PERFORMER, AND SPECIAL EDUCATOR FROM BALTIMORE, MARYLAND. HIS POETIC WORK FOCUSES ON LGBT ISSUES, ADVOCACY FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND THE HUMANITY THAT UNITES US ALL. HIS LATEST BOOK, A LIFE CALLED SPECIAL, CHRONICLES HIS NEARLY 15 YEARS IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATION. HE HAS TOURED MOST OF THE COUNTRY AS A PERFORMANCE POET AND HZ A MEMBER OF -- HAS BEEN A MEMBER OF SEVEN NATIONALLY COMPETITIVE SLAM POETRY TEAMS. IN 2011, HE WAS NAMED THE NUMBER ONE RANKED PERFORMANCE POET IN THE WORLD AT THE INDIVIDUAL WORLD POETRY SLAM HELD IN CLEVELAND, OHIO. IT IS MY EXTREME PRIVILEGE TO INTRODUCE MR. CHRIS AUGUST AND MR. TWAIN DOOLEY. [ APPLAUSE ] >> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING US. NO ONE EVER REFERS TO HAVING POETS AS A PRIVILEGE, SO THAT'S AMAZING. THANK YOU. A BRIEF HISTORY. 1770, THE SHOT HEARD ROUND THE WORLD LANDS. IT DOESN'T MATTER FOR WHAT YOU'RE FATING OR HOW LONG, YOU AIN'T HUMAN UNTIL THEY SAY YOU ARE. 1828, SEX BETWEEN TWO MEN IS OUTLAWED IN AMERICA AS A CRIME AGAINST NATURE, ISSUING US ANOTHER REMINDER THAT WE ARE NEITHER LEGAL NOR NATURAL. 1857, DRED SCOTT TRIED TO CLAIM HE WAS A CITIZEN. JUST BECAUSE HE LIVED IN A PLACE WHERE SLAVERY WAS NOT LEGAL. 1902, MEN -- 1903, MEN ARRESTED AT THE FIRST EVER BATH HOUSE RAID RECEIVED 20 YEARS IN JAIL BECAUSE WE BELONGED NOWHERE, BECAUSE OUR BODY ARE CRYING. 1913, THE WORD FAGGOT BURNS ACROSS THE PAGE FOR THE FIRST TIME AND IT READS LIKE A WELCOME LETTER. YOU ARE HATED ENOUGH TO BE NAMED. 1967, REAL PEOPLE CAN FINALLY MARRY BLACK PEOPLE IF THEY WANT. 1972, THE 40-YEAR TUSKEGEE EXPERIMENT ENDS. WE ARE MORE GUINEA PIG 7 THAN MEN. 1973, AFTER 20 YEARS, HOMOSEXUALITY IS FINALLY REMOVED FROM THE DIAGNOSTIC AND STATISTICAL MANUAL OF MENTAL DISORDERS BECAUSE OMISSION WILL SOMEHOW ERASE TWO DECADES OF ASSIGNED ILLNESS. 1996, THE DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACTS A LOUSE EVERY STATE IN THIS COUNTRY TO IGNORE THE RIGHTS OF MILLIONS. 2008, I WALK INTO A JOB INTERVIEW, THE BOSS TAKES ONE LOOK AT ME AND SAYS THIS JOB IS FOR SPANISH SPEAKERS. [ SPEAKING SPANISH ] HE SAYS, WE'RE NOT HIRING. 2009, AT A RADIO INTERVIEW, I READ A POEM ABOUT BEING GAY IN HIGH SCHOOL. THE PHONE LINES LIGHT UP, THE INTERVIEW COMES TO A STOP. I MADE A CONSCIOUS DECISION TO REVEAL MYSELF AND EXCEPT THE CONSEQUENCE -- ACCEPT THE CONSEQUENCES. THAT IS ALWAYS MY CHOICE. THERE ARE TIMES WHEN IF GIVEN A CHOICE, I WOULD WEAR AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT FACE TO MY JOB INTERVIEWS, BUT THIS IS THE ONLY FACE I HAVE AND NO AMOUNT OF MAKE-UP HIDES THE FACT THAT I AM THE SON OF SLAVES. WHAT'S DIFFERENT ABOUT ME DIDN'T SETTLE IN MY SKIN. IT SANK SO FAR INTO MY HEART, YOUR NAKED EYES CAN'T SEE. MY DARK SKIN THROWS SHADE OVER HERE SO SOME CAN'T SEE ME KINDNESS, CLEVERNESS, SENSE OF HUMAN. IF I STAY SILENT, YOU WILL ONLY SEE FUNNY, INTELLIGENT, TEACHER, ARTIST, BUT YOU SPEAK THE SECRET OF MY TRUTH AND I WILL BECOME -- >> ALL THEY SEE IS -- >> STUPID. >> CRIMINAL. >> DEPRAVED. >> PEDOPHILE. >> WELFARE. >> ANGRY. >> CORRUPTING THE YOUTH. SUSPECT, LIMP WRIST. >> NOT A REAL MAN. >> I GUESS I SHOULD FEEL LUCKY THAT I NEVER HAD TO COME OUT TO MY PARENTS. >> THERE HAVE BEEN DAYS WHEN I HAVE DREAMED OF A FAMILY WHO HAS LIVED MY SAME STRUGGLE. >> I AM FORTUNATE THAT I AIN'T GOING TO BURN IN HELL FOR FALLING IN LOVE WITH THE WRONG PERSON. >> SOMETIMES I WANT BACK THE ENTIRE YEAR THAT MY GOD-FEARING MOTHER SPENT NOT TALKING TO ME ABOUT A FACET OF MY LIFE. >> SOME HAVE. IT FEELS LIKE A GOOD THING THAT I AM TOO STUPID TO HAVE AN AGENDA. I SIMPLY PULLED AN IMAGINARY CARD OUT OF MY EAR WHEN I WANT TO SHIFT RESPONSIBILITY. >> THERE IS NOT A MOMENT OF MY LIFE WHEN I WOULD NOT TRADE CONVENIENT INVISIBILITY FOR A LOVE THAT NOBODY CALLS AN AGENDA. BUT I KNOW THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME. >> I AM AWARE THAT I AM A LUCKY ONE. >> FOR ALL THOSE JUST LIKE ME. >> SOJOURNER TRUTH, THURGOOD MARSHALL. >> FOR EVERY PERSON WHO'S ONLY MARKED ONE. >> WALT WHITMAN, GERTRUDE STEIN, HARVEY MILK. >> THERE ARE THOSE WHO BORE TWO BURDENS. >> WITH A DOUBLE LOAD. >> ARTHUR ASHE, IJ LANGSTON HUGHES. >> DAVID BLAIR, STACY ANN, HOW PAINFUL TO REACH THE CROSSROADS AND FIND THERE'S NOTHING. >> THAT OVER 300 YEARS HASN'T TAUGHT US TO LET GO. >> THAT WE STILL FABRICATE TERMS LIKE CIVIL RIGHTS. >> WHEN WE REALLY MEAN HUMAN RIGHTS. WE DON'T NEED TO BE THE SAME TO BE UNITED. >> I DON'T HAVE TO FEEL YOUR PAIN TO KNOW THAT IT'S THERE. >> I KNOW THAT WHEN WE LOOK AT WHAT LIES BENEATH WHAT SEPARATES US -- >> THAT ALL OF IT COMES DOWN FROM THE SAME PLACE. I BELIEVE THERE IS A CROSSROADS. >> I KNOW THERE IS A CROSS RODE. >> I'M SURE THERE IS A CROSSROADS. >> AND THE CROSSROADS IS LOVE. [ APPLAUSE ] [ APPLAUSE ] >> THANK YOU SO MUCH, MR. DOOLEY AND MR. AUGUST. THAT WAS REALLY A FASCINATING PERSPECTIVES ON LGBT ISSUES AND STILL GOING ON TODAY. WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU GIVING US THAT GIFT. IT WAS PHENOMENAL. PLEASE, ONE MORE ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR THESE GENTLEMEN. [ APPLAUSE ] NEXT IN THE PROGRAM, I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE OUR FIRST KEYNOTE SPEAKER, MS. RUTH MARTIN. RUTH MARTIN HAS OVER A DECADE OF APPEARANCE WORKING IN PROGRESSIVE POLITICS AND ADVOCACY. CURRENTLY RUTH WORKS AS A CAMPAIGN DIRECTOR AT MOMS RISING.ORG, WHERE SHE FOCUSES ON ISSUES IMPACTING WOMEN AND FAMILIES, ECONOMIC SECURITY, INCLUDING FAIR HOUSING, ACCESS TO PAID SICK DAYS AND PAID FAMILY LEAVE, AS WELL AS EQUAL PAY ISSUES. MOMS RISING IS A NATIONAL MULTICULTURAL GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATION ADVOCATING FOR FAMILY ECONOMIC SECURITY POLICIES AND ENDING DISCRIMINATION AGAINST MOTHERS. WITH OVER A MILLION MEMBERS AND AN ESTIMATED COMBINED BLOG AND SOCIAL MEDIA REACH OF 3.5 MILLION READERS, MOMS RISING HAS BEEN NAMED BY FORBES MAGAZINE AS A TOP 100 WEBSITE FOR WOMEN TWO YEARS IN A ROW. FOUNDED IN 2006, THE ORGANIZATION HAS RAPIDLY BECOME A POWERFUL FORCE FOR WOMEN AND FAMILIES. RAISING THE VOICES OF ITS MEMBERS ONLINE AND ON THE GROUND TO ENSURE THAT LEADERS IN THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS ADDRESS THE CRITICAL CONCERNS OF ALL WHO PROVIDE CARE FOR OUR COUNTRY'S CHILDREN. BEFORE JOINING MOMS RISING, RUTH WORKED AT PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA WHERE SHE, THE ORGANIZATION'S EFFORT -- WHERE SHE LED THE ORGANIZATION'S EFFORT TO INCREASE THE POLICY MAKERS AND BUILDING A NETWORK OF PRO-CHOICE AND PRO-FAMILY, PLANNING ELECTED OFFICIALS. PRIOR TO THAT, RUTH ESTABLISHED AND LED A NEW INITIATIVE AT THE WOMENS CAMPAIGN FORUM, INCLUDING AN ONLINE BUNDLING PROGRAM TO INCREASE WOMEN'S POLITICAL GIVING IN THE 2008 ELECTION AND APPOINT HER A CAMPAIGN ENCOURAGING WOMEN TO SEEK APPOINTED OFFICE. RUTH HAS ALSO DIRECTED PEOPLE FROM THE AMERICAN WAY STATE POLICY IN GRASSROOTS ADVOCACY. WHILE THERE, SHE HELPED PROPEL INTO LAW MINNESOTA'S BAN ON VOTER DECEPTION PRACTICES, THE FIRST IN THE NATION, AND DEFEAT RESTRICTIVE VOTER IDENTIFICATION MEASURES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. RUTH HAS APPOINTED -- RUTH WAS APPOINTED TO THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND, HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION IN 2010. SHE GREW UP IN A RURAL WEST VIRGINIA, AND AS PROUD GRADUATE OF RANDOLPH MACON WOMEN'S COLLEGE IN LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA. SHE AND HER HUSBAND LIVE IN SILVER SPRING/MIDDLE BURG, MARYLAND, WITH THEIR TWO DAUGHTERS. WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, MS. RUTH MARTIN. [ APPLAUSE ] >> THANK YOU SO MUCH. GOOD AFTERNOON. IT IS ALWAYS, ALWAYS A GOOD DAY WHEN I'M HERE AT HUD. I AM HONORED TO BE HERE TODAY WITH YOU ALL ON BEHALF OF MOMS RISING AND I WANT TO THANK OUR FRIENDS AT HUD'S FAIR HOUSING OFFICE, SPECIFICALLY ASSISTANT SECRETARY TRAZVENIA AND YOUR TEAM FOR YOUR INVITATION TO JOIN YOU HERE FOR FAIR HOUSING MONTH OPENING CEREMONIES. SO I DON'T KNOW IF THE TIMING IS COULD INCIDENTAL, BUT MY ALMOST 3-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER THAT IS RECENTLY BECOME QUITE OBSESSED WITH HOUSING. QUITE OBSESSED. MANY OF OUR CONVERSATIONS LATELY ARE ABOUT WHERE PEOPLE AND THINGS LIVE. WHERE IS MY HOME, MOMMY? HERE, SWEETIE, THIS IS YOUR HOME, YOU LIVE HERE WITH US. FOR AND SPOONS IN THE KITCHEN, RIGHT, MOMMY? MY BOOKS LIVE IN THE BOOK CASE AND THEY HAVE TO GO TO BED BEFORE I GO TO BED? YES, THIS IS OUR NOT SO SUBTLE ATTEMPT TO HELP HER START CLEANING THINGS UP. HER BABY SISTER WAS BORN SIX MONTHS AGO AND MY ALMOST 3-YEAR-OLD IS NOT TOTALLY SOLD YET ON WHETHER OR NOT YOU'RE SISTER SHOULD BE LIVING WITH US ON A PERMANENT BASIS. JUST YESTERDAY, I GOT A QUESTION, WHEN IS SHE GOING HOME, MOMMY? NOT FOR ABOUT AN 18 MORE YEARS, RIGHT? MY DAUGHTERS NEED TO KNOW THAT EVERYTHING HAS ITS PLACE, THAT EVERYTHING BELONGS SOMEWHERE. IT'S A VERY SERIOUS NEED. IT HELPS INFORM HER SENSE OF SELF AND WHERE SHE FITS IN, AND IT'S ABOUT SECURITY AND IT'S ABOUT SAFETY. AND SECURITY AND SAFETY IN HOUSING ALL GO TOGETHER. THERE IS HARDLY A NEED MORE BASIC THAN THE NEED TO SHELTER OUR FAMILIES. SO THAT IS WHY IN THE SUMMER OF 2010 WHEN THE "NEW YORK TIMES" FIRST REPORTED THAT CREDIT-WORTHY PREGNANT WOMEN WERE BEING DENIED HOME LOANS SOLELY BECAUSE THEY WERE ON MATERNITY LEAVE, MOMS RISING MEMBERS ROSE UP AND WE TOOK ACTION. BEFORE I TELL YOU MORE ABOUT WHAT WE DID AND HOW WE DID IT, I WAS GOING TO TELL YOU MORE ABOUT MOM RISE, BUT I THINK CRIES DID A GOOD JOB -- CHRIS DID A GOOD JOB WITH THAT, SO I'LL SKIP THAT PART. I WILL SAY THAT WE FREQUENTLY GET QUESTIONS ABOUT WHO CAN BE A MEMBER OF MOMS RISING. AND I WOULD LIKE TO SHOW YOU. SO WHO HERE IN THE ROOM IS A MOM? PLEASE STAND UP. CONGRATULATIONS, THERE'S SO MANY MOPS IN HERE, THAT'S -- MOMS IN HERE, THAT'S WONDERFUL. EVERYBODY WHO IS IN THE ROOM THAT EITHER HAS NOW OR AT SOME HAS HAD A MOM, PLEASE STAND UP. [ LAUGHTER ] LOOK AT THAT! WE HAVE A MOVEMENT! [ LAUGHTER ] WONDERFUL. ARE YOU HAVING A HARD TIME HEARING ME? IS THIS BETTER? OKAY. THANK YOU. NOW BACK TO HOW MOMS RISING TOOK ACTION AND SHED LIGHT ON THE -- AND HELPED TO END HOUSING DISCRIMINATION AGAINST MOTHERS BOTH IN LENDING AND RENTALS. WITHIN TWO DAYS OF READING THE TIMES ARTICLE ABOUT HOUSING, MOMS RISING HAD ALERTED OUR MILLION MEMBERS AND OUR SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORK, WHICH WE HAVE OVER A MILLION MEMBERS AND SOCIAL MEDIA READERSHIP OF 3.5 NUN AND ASKED THEM TO JOIN US TO END HOUSING DISCRIMINATION AGAINST MOTHERS AND FAMILIES. AND BECAUSE OF THAT, THREE THINGS IMMEDIATELY HAPPENED FOR US. ONE, IT BECAME CLEAR THIS ISSUE TOUCHED A VERY DEEP NERVE. THE OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT WAS IMMEDIATE IN A VERY SHORT TIME, 14,000 MEMBERS OF MOMS RISING SIGNED ON TO OUR LETTER TO HUD'S FAIR HOUSING OFFICE, THANKING THEM FOR THEIR WORK INVESTIGATING THE ISSUE AND EITHER COURAGING THEM, YOU ALL, TO CONTINUE. 14,000. THE SECOND THING THAT HAPPENED WAS THAT OVER 200 WOMEN WROTE TO TELL US THAT THEY HAD EXPERIENCED HOUSING DISCRIMINATION AS MOTHERS, AND THAT THE THIRD THING, MOMS WRITE TO TELL US THEIR PERSONAL STORY, BUT THE THIRD THING THAT BECAME VERY CLEAR WAS THAT UNFORTUNATELY, MANY WOMEN AND FAMILIES IN SEARCH OF A HOME DO NOT KNOW THEIR RIGHTS WHEN IT COMES TO HOUSING AND MANY LENDERS OR LANDLORDS WHO FIGURATIVELY OR EVEN LITERALLY HOLD THE KEYS TO A FAMILY'S NEW HOME ARE EITHER IGNORANT OF THE LAW OR, WORSE, WILLFULLY DISOBEYING IT. AS A RESULT, AND IN COOPERATION WITH OUR GOOD FRIENDS HERE AT HUD'S FAIR HOUSING OFFICE, WE CREATED AN ONLINE RESOURCE WITH A FACT SHEET DESCRIBING MOTHER'S HOUSING RIGHTS AND TO OUR KNOWLEDGE, IT'S THE COUNTRY'S FIRST USER FRIENDLY SUM MARIZATION OF FAIR HOUSING LAWS AS THEY PERTAIN SPECIFICALLY TO PREGNANT MOTHERS AND FAMILIES. AT THE SAME TIME MOMS RISING BEGAN LAUNCHING A MULTI-LAYERED NATIONAL EDUCATION PROGRAM WITH THE GOAL OF SHINING A LIGHT ON THE EXTENT OF THIS INSIDIOUS PROBLEM AS WELL AS EDUCATING WOMEN ABOUT THEIR RIGHTS AND HOW TO FILE A CLAIM WHEN THEIR RIGHTS WERE VIOLATED. THE FIRST LAYER OF OUR PROGRAM INVOLVED ASKING OUR MEMBERS TO USE THIS FACT SHEET THAT WE CREATED ON THE FAIR HOUSING OFFICE TO EDUCATE PEOPLE IN THEIR COMMUNITIES WITH MOTHER'S HOUSING RIGHT. THERE'S NOTHING MORE POWERFUL THAN MOM-TO-MOM COMMUNICATION, WHETHER IT'S AT CHILDREN'S SCHOOL PICK-UP, ON THE SOCCER FIELD, ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGES, AT OUR PLACES OF WORK. AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, NEARLY 200 WOMEN WROTE TO TELL US THEIR STORIES, AND THE STORIES ARE HEART-BREAKING AND INFURIATING. I'D LIKE TO TAKE MOMENT TO SHARE JUST A COUPLE OF THEM WITH YOU. OLIVIA FROM CALIFORNIA WROTE, MY HUSBAND AND I WERE DENIED A HOME LOAN LAST YEAR DUE TO MY BEING ON MATERNITY LEAVE. IT WAS TREMENDOUSLY FRUSTRATING. AS I WAS EMPLOYED AND ON FEDERALLY PROTECTED LEAVE, THOUGH I WAS TOLD THAT IN THE EYES OF MY LENDER, I WAS BASICALLY UNEMPLOYED. KRISTINA FROM NEW YORK SHARED, I CANNOT EVEN COUNT THE NUMBER OF TIMES I WAS HUNG UP ON WHEN TRYING TO RENT AN APARTMENT AS SOON AS I MENTIONED THAT I HAVE A TODDLER. DANA WAS TOLD, FROM OREGON, SINCE YOU ARE A SINGLE MOTHER, WE DON'T THINK YOU CAN AFFORD THIS HOUSE, AND MAYBE YOU SHOULD LOOK FOR SOMETHING SMALLER. LINDA FROM PENNSYLVANIA SHARED THAT HER BANK TOLD HER AND HER HUSBAND THAT TO QUALIFY FOR A MORTGAGE, THEY HAD TO WRITE A MOTIVATIONAL LETTER, EXPLAINING WHY THEY WANTED A HOUSE AND DISCUSSING, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THEIR FAMILY PLANNING. SHE SAID, I FELT GENUINELY HUMILIATED AND DEMEANED TO HAVE A DISCUSS WITH A TOTAL STRANGER WHETHER MY HUSBAND AND I WERE GOING TO HAVE MORE CHILDREN OR NOT. AND TERESA FROM GEORGIA WAS TOLD THAT NO MATTER WHAT, SHE WAS NOT GOING TO BE GIVEN A HOME LOAN BECAUSE HER CHILDREN WERE DISABLED. HUNDREDS MORE WROTE TO TELL MOMS RISING THEIR PERSONAL STORIES ABOUT HOUSING DISCRIMINATION. WE HEARD FROM FAMILIES ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY ABOUT BEING DENIED HOME LOANS AND RENTAL PROPERTIES, NOT BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T HAVE GOOD CREDIT SCORES, BUT BECAUSE A WOMAN WAS PREGNANT OR SHE HAD CHILDREN. THESE STORIES, LIKE I SAID, ARE APPALLING AND WE HELPED LEVERAGE THEM TO CREATE THE SECOND LAYER OF OUR CAMPAIGN, WHICH WAS TO GENERATE MEDIA COVERAGE ABOUT HOUSING DISCRIMINATION AGAINST MOMS AND FAMILIES. WE SHARE THE STORIES THAT WE HEARD FROM OUR MEMBERS WITH REPORTERS TO ILLUSTRATE THE HUMAN FACE OF THIS SERIOUS PROBLEM AND I AM HAPPY TO TELL YOU THAT OUR CAMPAIGN AND OUR STORIES WERE WRITTEN UP IN SCORES OF NEWSPAPERS AND ONLINE SITES THAT HAVE A COMBINED REACH OF CIRCULATION OF OVER 30 MILLION PEOPLE. THEY INCLUDE THE WASHINGTON POST, THE L.A. TIMES, LATINO, THE "WALL STREET JOURNAL" ONLINE AND OTHERS. THE THIRD LAYER OF OUR CAMPAIGN IS OUR SOCIAL MEDIA WORK. MOMS ARE REALLY BUSY AND WE ARE ONLINE, WE ARE NETWORKED MOMS. WE ARE ONLINE A LOT. WE LAUNCHED SOCIAL MEDIA INITIATIVES IN ORDER TO EDUCATE PEOPLE ABOUT HOUSING DISCRIMINATION GINS MOTHERS. WE ENGAGED OUR FANS AND FOLLOWERS ON TWITTER AND FACEBOOK AND ASKED THEM TO ALSO EDUCATE THEIR ONLINE COMMUNITY AND WE CALCULATE THAT IN THIS WAY, WE WERE ABLE TO SHARE THAT RIGHTS FACT SHEET WITH APPROXIMATELY 3.5 MILLION PEOPLE, BUT THERE IS STILL. WORK TO BE DONE. WE CONTINUE TO HEAR ON A FREQUENT BASIS FROM MOTHERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY WHO HAVE FACED OR ARE FACING HOUSING DISCRIMINATION AND WE CONTINUE TO REFER THEM TO HUD. IN PARTICULAR, WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT THE CHALLENGES THAT THE LATINO COMMUNITY FACES SINCE THEY HAVE OFTEN SUBJECT TO THE FAMILIAL AND RACIAL DISCRIMINATION. THE FAMILIES NEED HOMES. IT'S THAT SIMPLE. WE CANNOT, AS A SOCIETY, ALLOW DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THE MOTHER AND FATHERS AND GUARDIANS WHO SEEK TO SHELTER THEM. HUD'S FAIR HOUSING OFFICE'S COMMITMENT TO ENFORCE ANTIDISCRIMINAL LAWS AND INVESTIGATING THESE PRACTICES GIVES FAMILIES HOPE, NOT JUST FOR JUSTICE, BUT IN SOME CASES TO HAVE A PERMANENT ROOF OVER THEIR HEAD. OVER 14,000 MEMBERS OF MOMS RISING SIGNED OUR LETTER THANKING HUD, THANKING ALL OF YOU FOR THE WORK THAT YOU HAVE DONE AND WE AT MOMS RISING, OUR STAFF ECHO THEIR SENTIMENTS. WE THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO AND AS WE LIKE TO SAY AT MOMS RISING, TOGETHER WE ARE A POWERFUL FORCE FOR WOMEN AND FAMILIES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR HAVING US HERE AND HAPPY FAIR HOUSING MONTH. [ APPLAUSE ] >> THANK YOU SO MUCH, MS. MARTIN. UP NEXT, I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE AN EXTREME, RATHER LERGEG PERSONAL ICON OF -- LARGE PERSONAL ICON OF MINE, CONGRESSWOMAN ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON. SHE IS NOW IN HER TENTH TERM OF REPRESENTING THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, NAMED BY PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER AS THE FIRST WOMAN TO CHAIR THE EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION. SHE CAME TO CONGRESS AS A NATIONAL FIGURE WHO HAD BEEN A CIVIL RIGHTS AND FEMINIST LEADER. NORTON'S WORK FOR FULL CONGRESSIONAL VOTING REPRESENTATION AND FOR FULL DEMOCRACY FOR THE PEOPLE OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CONTINUES HER LIFE-LONG STRUGGLE FOR UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS. IT IS MY HONOR TO INTRODUCE MS. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON. [ APPLAUSE ] THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH. [ APPLAUSE ] WHEN I HAVEN'T SAID A SPOKEN WORD YET. [ LAUGHTER ] I COULDN'T DO IT AS WELL THROUGH SPOKEN WORD POETS, DISTINGUISHED PARTICIPANTS. THANK YOU, MR. HELP SHERD, AND, OF COURSE, ASSISTANT SECRETARY JOHN TRAZVENIA FOR INVITING ME TO SAY A FEW WORDS TO YOU ON THIS OCCASION. IT'S AN IMPORTANT OCCASION FOR OUR COUNTRY, FOR THE LIVES OF ALL AMERICANS, FOR SOME OF US WHO LIVED THROUGH IT AND FOR ALL OF US WHO HAVE SEEN THE WAY THROUGH PARTICULARLY BECAUSE OF WHAT HUD AND ITS FAIR HOUSING WORK HAS DONE FOR THE COUNTRY. I THOUGHT THAT I SHOULD PERHAPS GIVE YOU, FROM MY OWN POINT OF VIEW, A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE ON THE ACT AS I SEE IT, THE ACT BEFORE, THE ACT SINCE, THE ACT TO COME, THE FAIR HOUSING ACT. WHEN I WAS A KID IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, THE CRY WAS A GENERIC "FREEDOM NOW." NOBODY MUCH BOTHERED TO BREAK THAT DOWN INTO ITS COMPONENT PARTS IN A COUNTRY WHERE DISCRIMINATION OF EVERY KIND WAS EMBEDDED IN THE FABRIC OF THE NATION, BORN WITH THE NATION ITSELF. SO, YOU KNOW, IT JUST COVERED, AS FAR AS WE WERE CONCERNED, EVERYBODY AND ALMOST EVERYTHING. YET, IF YOU WERE TO HAVE ASKED US, WE WOULD HAVE SAID, WELL, YEAH, VOTING RIGHTS, JOBS. I WENT AS A KID, I WAS A STUDENT, A LAW STUDENT, I WENT SOUTH WITH THE STUDENT NONVIOLENT COORDINATING COMMITTEE TO MISSISSIPPI BECAUSE THAT SEEMED TO ME TO BE THE VORTEX OF RACISM AND DISCRIMINATION. JOBS WAS ALSO OBVIOUSLY VERY MUCH A PART OF WHAT DISCRIMINATION MEANT TO PEOPLE OF COLOR AND PARTICULARLY TO AFRICAN AMERICANS WHO WERE OFTEN TURNED DOWN TO THEIR FACES BECAUSE THEY WERE BLACK. THE MARCH A -- MARCH ON WASHINGTON, INTERESTINGLY, WAS CALLED THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON FOR FREEDOM AND JOBS, AS IF JOBS HAD TO BE PICKED OUT. WHERE WAS HOUSING? IN A REAL SENSE, IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, HOUSING IS MORE NECESSARY THAN THE VOTE. IF YOU DON'T HAVE A PLACE TO LIVE, NOTHING ELSE IS POSSIBLE. BUT AS I THINK ABOUT IT, HOUSING REALLY SEEMS TOO DIFFICULT TO PUT AT THE TOP OF THE LIST. EMBLEMATIC OF JUST HOW IT DID IT WAS, PERHAPS, IS THAT OF ALL OF HIS CAMPAIGNS, MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.'S CAMPAIGN FOR FAIR HOUSING IS REMEMBERED AS A FAILURE. WHEN HE TOOK THE MARCHES TO ILLINOIS AND MARCHED ON CICERO AND DID NOT SUCCEED, HOUSING DISCRIMINATION TURNED AROUND MARTIN LUTHER KING. IN MANY WAYS, THOUGH, HOUSING IS AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE KEY TO THE OTHER FREEDOMS. IT UNLOCKS THE REST. THE BEST WAY TO SEE THAT IS TO LOOK AT WHAT THE DATA TELLS YOU AND WHAT YOUR OWN EYES TELL YOU, WHAT YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE TELLS YOU, THAT RACIALLY ISOLATED AND ECONOMICALLY POOR NEIGHBORHOODS INCUBATE ALL OF THE ILLS OF SOCIETY. SURE, THEY'RE SPREAD AROUND. BUT IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHERE THE INCUBATORS BORE POOR HEALTH, FOR HIGH CRIME RATES, FOR CRIME VICTIMIZATION, FOR SMALL -- FOR POOR SCHOOLS, FOR FAMILY BREAK-UP, THEY'RE IN THE SAME PLACE. THEY'RE HUDDLED IN ONE PLACE. YEAH, IN A SOCIETY AS BROAD AND VARIATED AS THIS, IT WILL BE SPREAD, BUT NOT LIKE THEY ARE INCUBATED, CLOISTERED, PROTECTED IN COMMUNITIES WHERE HOUSING LOCKS PEOPLE TOGETHER. A FAMILY CAN GET A DECENT HOME IN A DECENT NEIGHBORHOOD WITH LESS CRIME, BETTER SCHOOLS, SEEM TO COME WITH THE TERRITORY. TERRITORY! TERRITORY. HOUSING. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, OF COURSE, HAS BEEN PART OF THE PROBLEM. AND TODAY, IT IS A GOOD PART OF THE SOLUTION WITH THE KEY ROLE IN THE NATION'S PROGRESS TOWARD FAIR HOUSING LODGED RIGHT HERE AT HUD AND IN ITS OFFICES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. I SUPPOSE THE BEST WAY TO UNDERSTAND HOUSING AND FREEDOM IS TO THINK OF THE CONSTITUTION AND THE FIFTH AMENDMENT. WITH THE FIFTH AMENDMENT GIVING YOU THE RIGHT TO OWN PROPERTY, THEY WEREN'T TELLING YOU TO GO INTO THE REAL ESTATE BUSINESS OR TO BUY AN OFFICE BUILDING SOMEWHERE. BASICALLY, THE PROPERTY THAT THE FRAMERS HAD IN MIND WAS A HOME. YEAH, THERE'S LOTS OF OTHER PROPERTY YOU CAN COME TO OWN, BUT YOU HAVE TO BEGIN WITH WHAT EVERYBODY IN THIS COUNTRY WANTS, AND THAT IS A PLACE TO CALL THEIR OWN. THE RIGHT TO PRIVATE PROPERTY, THE EARLY IMMIGRANTS CAME SEEKING THE RIGHT TO PRIVATE PROPERTY. AFRICAN AMERICANS THEMSELVES, OF COURSE, WERE PROPERTY AND SLAVES WERE DENIED THE RIGHT TO OWN OR USE PROPERTY. THEN CAME THE CIVIL WAR, THE GREAT DIVIDE. AND ITS AMENDMENTS THAT SEEMED TO OPEN THE WAY TO FREEDOMS FOR SLAVES, THOSE WHO HAD BEEN ENSLAVED, BECAUSE THE AMENDMENTS AND THE ACTS THAT WERE PASSED RIGHT AFTER GAVE AFRICAN AMERICANS, PEOPLE OF COLOR, THE SAME RIGHTS TO OWN PROPERTY AND, RIGHT ON THE FACE OF IT, THERE ARE THE WORDS, THE SAME RIGHTS AS EVERYBODY ELSE, EXCEPT THEY DID NOT. FOR FAIR HOUSING, THERE WAS A CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1866, AND IN MANY WAYS, THE NATION'S FIRST FAIR HOUSING LAW. IT HAD NO ENFORCEMENT MECHANISM AND IF IT HAD, I DON'T KNOW HOW, IN THAT CLIMATE OF THE LATE 19th CENTURY, IT WOULD HAVE GONE ABOUT ENFORCEMENT. THE LAW WAS IGNORED, EVEN SPECIFICALLY LIMITED BY COURT DECISIONS CULMINATING IN, OF COURSE, THE OMNIBUS, PLESSY VERSUS FERGUSON WITH SEPARATE BUT EQUAL, BUT THINK ABOUT IT. YOU CAN APPLY SEPARATE BUT EQUAL TO SCHOOLS IF YOU WANT. THE SUPREME COURT FOUND THAT IN FACT THAT TURNED OUT TO BE IMPOSSIBLE, BUT THE VERY WORDS HAVE NO MEANING WHEN IT COMES TO HOUSING. WHAT A SEPARATE BUT EQUAL NEIGHBORHOODS, SEPARATE BUT EQUAL HOUSING, YOU KNOW, THE NONSENSE OF PLESSY HAS PERHAPS SHOWN UP BEST WHEN IT COMES TO FAIR HOUSING, AND, OF COURSE, CONGRESS AND SOME STATES, AFTER PLESSY, RESTRICTED PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERSHIP FOR USE EVEN BY LATINOS AND ASIAN AMERICANS. IN THE EARLY PART OF THE 20th CENTURY, SOCIAL SCIENTISTS AND LEADERS OF THE REAL ESTATE COMMUNITY GOT TOGETHER AND ESTABLISHED WHAT THEY THOUGHT WERE -- OR AT LEAST PROFESSED AND TOLD THE COUNTRY WERE GUIDELINES FOR NEIGHBORHOOD DESIRABILITY. AFTER ALL, THEY WERE THE EXPERTS A THIS IS WHAT THEY WERE. HOMOGENEOUS NEIGHBORHOODS DID BEST. HOMOGENEOUS NEIGHBORHOODS CONSISTED OF ESSENTIALLY NORTHERN EUROPEAN -- PEOPLE OF NORTHERN EUROPEAN BACKGROUND. THAT WAS SEEN AS THE BEST INVESTMENT FOR A HOMEOWNER THAT DIDN'T WANT OTHER PEOPLE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. THE EARLY ZONING LAWS LIMITED BY RACE THOSE WHO COULD LIVE IN CERTAIN COMMUNITIES. THE SUPREME COURT PRETTY EARLY THREW THAT OUT. 1917 IN BUCHANAN VERSUS WORLEY, STRUCK DOWN RACIAL ZONING RESTRICTIONS, BUT THAT DIDN'T MUCH MATTER. THAT GAVE RISE TO RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS IN REAL ESTATE, PRIVATE RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS. PUT IT PRIVATELY IN YOUR OWN DEED AND YOU WILL OVERTURN THAT SUPREME COURT DECISION. THEN, OF COURSE, CAME WORLD WAR II AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DID A VERY IMPORTANT THING THROUGH THE G.I. BILL IN OFFERING A PATH TO OWNERSHIP FOR THOSE WHO FOUGHT IN WORLD WAR II, VERY IMPORTANT. JUST AS IMPORTANT IN MANY WAYS AS WHAT THE G.I. BILL DID TO EDUCATION, OF COURSE, WHAT IT DID FOR THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY WAS MAGNIFICENT BECAUSE HOMES BEGAN TO BLOSSOM IN PLACES THEY HAD NEVER BEEN BEFORE AND PEOPLE WHO HAD NEVER KNOWN A HOME, BECAUSE THE GOVERNMENT ITSELF THROUGH THE G.I. BILL HELPED, HELPED VETERANS TO PURCHASE HOMES, IN FACT, FURTHERED HOME OWNERSHIP. THE AFRICAN AMERICANS, OF COURSE, AND OTHER PEOPLE OF COLOR, WERE ABLE TO GET THE BENEFIT OF THE G.I. BILL AND THE HOME OWNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE TO VETERANS, BUT THEY, TOO, FOUND THAT THE RACIAL -- THE RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS MEANT THAT THEY WOULD BE RESTRICTED, VERY SEVERELY, ON WHERE THEY COULD LIVE IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY. IN 1948, THOUGH THE SUPREME COURT STRUCK DOWN RACIALLY RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS, ALL THE LAWS, ALL THE CIVIL RIGHTS AMENDMENTS, WHY DID THEY DO AWAY WITH AT LEAST A LITTLE BIT OF THE DISCRIMINATION IN HOUSING? WHY HAS IT BEEN SO RESISTANT? THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CERTAINLY TRIED, FIRST BY EXECUTIVE ORDER, AND FINALLY THROUGH THE 1964 CIVIL RIGHTS ACT, WHICH BANNED DISCRIMINATION IN FEDERALLY FUNDED HOUSING. THE STATES MOVED UP EVEN EARLIER. BY THE EARLY '60s, 17 STATES HAD PASSED THEIR OWN FAIR HOUSING LAWS WELL IN ADVANCE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS MADE PROGRESS AND CONTINUED TO MAKE PROGRESS. IN 1974, THE HEIGHT OF THE WOMEN'S RIGHTS MOVEMENT, GENDER DISCRIMINATION WAS ADDED TO THE FAIR HOUSING ACT, AND IN 1988, RESPONDING TO THE GROWING AWARENESS OF HOUSING ISSUES FACING OUR DISABLED AMERICANS, CONGRESS AMENDED THE FAIR HOUSING ACT TO PROTECT THE DISABLED. THIS IS PROGRESS. IT HAS TO BE NOTED, AND IT PARTICULARLY SHOULD BE NOTED IN FAIR HOUSING MONTH. WE SHOULD LOOK AT THE STATUTE, WHAT IT HAS ACCOMPLISHED, WHAT IT HAS YET TO ACCOMPLISH, WHAT IT'S IMPORTANT TANS IS. THE IMPORTANCE OF HOME OWNERSHIP, OF COURSE, IS HARD TO OVEREMPHASIZE, AND WE'VE EMPHASIZED IT ALMOST AS AN ICONIC PART OF WHAT IT MEANS -- THE AMERICAN FEELING OF SELF MEAN. IF YOU ASK WHAT DOES THE AMERICAN DREAM MEAN? WELL, THERE WILL BE MANY ANSWERS, BUT IN THAT LIST, AND OFTEN HEADING THE LIST WILL BE THE ABILITY TO OWN A HOME. YOU OWN SOMETHING. IT IS YOUR OWN. IT IS A MAJOR SOURCE OF WEALTH FOR ALMOST ALL AMERICANS. THE HOME IN WHICH THEY LIVE, WHICH TENDS TO INCREASE IN VALUE OVER TIME, NOTWITHSTANDING WHAT HAPPENED IN RECENT YEARS BECAUSE OF ABUSES IN THE HOME MORTGAGE MARKET. BUT THE FACT THAT HOME OWNERSHIP IS THE MAJOR SOURCE OF WEALTH IN OUR COUNTRY ACCOUNTS FOR WHY THAT HOME OWNERSHIP, THAT LENDING CRISIS, WAS SO DEVASTATING TO PEOPLE OF EVERY RACE ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THEY TOOK SERIOUSLY THAT HOME OWNERSHIP WAS ESSENTIAL TO THE AMERICAN DREAM, AND WHEN THE OPPORTUNITY SEEMED TO BE THERE, THERE THEY WENT. HOME OWNERSHIP DOUBLED FROM 1940 FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR AND A LITTLE LESS SO, BUT BECAUSE WHITES ALREADY HAD -- WERE ABOUT DOUBLE AFRICAN AMERICANS AND OTHERS, BUT INCREASED ENORMOUSLY FOR WHITES AS WELL. BUT BETWEEN 2005 AND 2009, WEALTH -- THAT'S A PROXY FOR HOME OWNERSHIP -- DROPPED BY 16% FOR WHITES. THAT AMOUNTED TO LEAVING THEM WITH WEALTH OF 134 -- SOMETHING CLOSE TO $135,000 FOR WHITES. FOR LATINOS, THAT CRISIS, THAT FOUR YEARS OF CRISIS CAUSED A 66% DROP IN WEALTH, LEAVING LATINOS WITH SOMETHING OVER $6,000 IN WEALTH. AND FOR BLACKS, THE DROP IN WEALTH WAS 53%, LEAVING THEM WITH SOMETHING LIKE FIVE -- OR SOMETHING OVER $5500 IN WEALTH. THE HOUSING CRISIS, THE DEVASTATION OF THE HOUSING CRISIS WILL BE FELT FOR TWO OR THREE GENERATIONS. IT TOOK AT LEAST THAT MUCH TIME TO BUILD UP THE WEALTH. IT TOOK FOUR YEARS TO WIPE IT OUT. AND YOU DO NOT BUILD IT RIGHT BACK UP AGAIN. THEY AND THEIR CHILDREN WILL, FOR A LONG TIME, BE TRYING TO REBUILD THE WEALTH THEY HAD SO PAIN -- PAINSTAKINGLY BUILT. DURING THE HOUSING CRISIS, BLACK AND LATINO HOMEOWNERS WERE TWICE AS LIKELY TO BE FORECLOSED. IF YOU LOOK AT SOME STATES OF THE UNION, YOU LOOK AT CALIFORNIA, FOR EXAMPLE, WHERE BLACKS AND LATINOS WERE 30% OF THE HOMEOWNERS, THEY WERE 50% OF THE FORECLOSURES. WHY WAS THAT? TO ITS CREDIT, HUD STEPPED UP AND I'LL GIVE YOU A -- ONE OF HUD'S VICTORIES THAT I THINK IS EMBLEMATIC OF WHY SO MANY BLACKS AND HISPANICS WERE CAUGHT IN THIS MORTGAGE CRISIS, NOT JUST BECAUSE THEY WERE LOWER INCOME. IT IS NOT JUST BECAUSE SOME OF THEM WERE MORE NAIVE THAN THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN. IT WAS BECAUSE THEY WERE SPECIFICALLY TARGETED, TARGETED BY THE INDUSTRY AND -- IN THE COUNTRYWIDE CASE, A CASE THAT CAME HERE FIRST. YOU HAD THE LARGEST PATTERN AND PRACTICE LENDING DISCRIMINATION CASE FROM THAT PERIOD WHERE 10,000 HISPANIC AND AFRICAN AMERICAN BORROWERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, WITH A PATTERN, OF COURSE, UNDER THE -- UNDER COUNTRYWIDE, BUT NATIONWIDE WERE GIVING -- GIVEN SUBPRIME LOANS WHEN WHITES WHO HAD IDENTICAL OR NEARLY IDENTICAL BACKGROUND WERE GIVEN PRIME LOANS. THAT'S WHERE THE DISPROPORTIONATE FIGURES COME FROM. NOW, OF COURSE, WE IN CONGRESS HAVE TRIED TO DO A LITTLE ABOUT THAT. THE DODD-FRANK WALL STREET REFORM AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT, VERY IMPORTANT WITH A NEW OFFICE OF FAIR FINANCIAL PROTECTION -- I'M SORRY, NEW OFFICE OF FAIR LEARNING AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY -- LENDING AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY, A KIND OF NEW COP ON THE BEAT. WE EXPECT ALL OF THAT TO BEGIN TO HAVE SOME EFFECT AS THE NATION TRIES TO REBUILD THE WEALTH OF BLACK, WHITE, AND PEOPLE OF COLOR. ALIKE. SOME OF US ARE TRYING VERY HARD AT A TIME WHEN FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND FEDERAL AGENCIES ARE THE EASIEST TARGETS FOR THOSE WHO DON'T MUCH BELIEVE THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD DO ANYTHING TO KEEP FAIR HOUSING ENFORCEMENT IN PLACE, BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK AT THE FIGURES, THE PRIVATE FAIR HOUSING ORGANIZATIONS INVESTIGATED 65% OF THE 28,851 FAIR HOUSING COMPLAINTS LOGGED LAST YEAR. THAT'S ALMOST TWICE AS MUCH AS FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES COMBINED INVESTIGATED. THAT SHOULDN'T BE. WE'VE NEVER GIVEN OUR ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES WHAT IT TOOK TO REALLY ENFORCE THE STRONG LAWS THEY HAD, AND SOME OF US ARE WITH -- ARE WITH OUR SHOULDERS AT THE FENCE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT ENFORCEMENT IS NOT DISLODGED SIMPLY BY TAKING AWAY THE FUNDS THAT MAKES IT POSSIBLE. WITH HOME OWNERSHIP, NO LONGER IN REACH FOR VERY MANY AMERICANS, MANY AMERICANS WHO MIGHT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO OWN A HOME, AS FEW AS TEN OR EIGHT YEARS AGO, THE PRESSURE IS REALLY GOING TO BE ON THE RENTAL MARKET. THAT PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE TO GROW, AND IT IS GOING TO BE INEXORABLE. IT IS THE RENTAL MARKET WHERE DISCRIMINATION HAS BEEN PARTICULARLY DIFFICULT TO DISLODGE. I HAD A TASTE OF THAT MYSELF WHEN I WAS FIRST MARRIED, BEFORE WE HAD CHILDREN. HERE WE WERE, A SINGLE COUPLE, BOTH GRADUATES OF IVY LEAGUE LAW SCHOOLS, AND WE SOUGHT AN APARTMENT ON THE LIBERAL, PROGRESSIVE WEST SIDE OF NEW YORK. WE WENT -- WE FOUND THE APARTMENT WE WANTED, TURNED DOWN FLAT. WOW. I DIDN'T HAVE FOUR YEARS OF LAW SCHOOL FOR NOTHING. [ LAUGHTER ] BUT I WENT TO THE NEW YORK CITY HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, IRONICALLY NOT A FEW YEARS LATER, I WAS TO BECOME THE HEAD OF THE NEW YORK CITY COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, BUT I WENT TO THE COMMISSION. WE HAD A SLAM-DUNK CASE AND WE GOT THE APARTMENT. IF IN THE -- THIS IS IN THE LATE '60s -- YOU COULD TURN DOWN TWO LAWYERS WHO HAD MORE THAN ENOUGH MONEY TO PAY FOR AN APARTMENT AND MORE THAN ENOUGH EDUCATION AND BACKGROUND, CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT LIFE MUST HAVE BEEN FOR OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF COLOR THROUGHOUT NEW YORK, IN BROOKLYN AND STAT TEN ISLAND, NOT IN PROGRESSIVE MANHATTAN. I TOOK US AS A MEASURING ROD FOR HOW MUCH DISCRIMINATION THERE WAS IN THIS COUNTRY, AND I THOUGHT OF HOW MANY PEOPLE WOULD HAVE JUST MOVED ON AND, FRANKLY, MOVED ON TO SOME PART OF NEW YORK WHERE BLACK PEOPLE ALREADY LIVED AND YOU WOULDN'T BE HUMILIATED SIMPLY BY APPLYING FOR A PLACE TO LIVE. THAT IS WHAT IT IS, HUMILIATION. ON TOP OF EVERYTHING ELSE, IT IS PERSONAL HUMILIATION FOR SOMEONE TO WALK INTO A PLACE TO RENT OR TO BUY A HOME AND TO KNOW FULL WELL THAT SHE IS BEING TURNED AWAY BECAUSE OF THE COLOR OF HER SKIN OR SOME OTHER CHARACTERISTIC THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH PURCHASE OR RENTAL. WELL, MANY OF YOU WORK HERE AT HUD, YOU'VE GN GIVEN THE MOST -- BEEN GIVEN THE MOST DIFFICULT OF THE TRILOGY OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS TO ENFORCE. I KNOW IT WELL SINCE IT WAS MY GREAT PRIVILEGE TO ENFORCE TITLE VII OF THE 1964 CIVIL RIGHTS ACT, THE EQUAL EMPLOYMENT ACT WHERE WE HAD MANY TOOLS AT OUR DISPOSAL. YOURS WAS THE HARDEST TO GET AND IT FOLLOWS THAT IT HAS BEEN THE HARDEST TO ENFORCE. LOOK AT IT. PERIOD OF TIME 1964 -- THE 1964 CIVIL RIGHTS, THE 1965 VOTING RIGHTS CAME ON THE HEELS OF ONE ANOTHER AND THEN THERE WAS THIS VERY PREGNANT PAUSE. FOR GENERATIONS, PEOPLE HAD BEEN WORKING FOR FAIR HOUSING LAWS. FOR GENERATIONS, PEOPLE HAD HAD THEIR HOMES BURNED DOWN IF THEY TRIED TO MOVE INTO A WHITE NEIGHBORHOOD. FOR GENERATIONS, PEOPLE HAD BEEN TESTING TO PROVE THAT COMPARABLE BLACK AND WHITE PEOPLE COULDN'T RENT OR BUY THE SAME HOME. AND YET, AFTER THE GREAT, WONDERFUL, OUTPOURING OF LEGISLATION, THE GREAT SENSE OF VICTORY OF THE '64 ACT AND THE '65 ACT, NOTHING, NOTHING FOR HOUSING. IT WAS NOT UNTIL 1968 AND IT DIDN'T COME OUT BECAUSE THE CONGRESS SAYS IT'S TIME NOW TO PASS THE FAIR HOUSING ACT. NEXT UP ON THE DOCKET IS THE FAIR HOUSING ACT! IT CAME OUT BECAUSE MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. WAS ASSASSINATED. IN A REAL SENSE, TODAY, THE DAY THAT COMMEMORATES THE DAY THAT MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. WAS ASSASSINATED TELLS US EVERYTHING ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF THIS ACT. OH, THE ACT IS NOT COMPLETE. I'M A CO-SPONSOR OF A BILL THAT WOULD AMEND THE FAIR HOUSING ACT TO ADD TO THE LIST OF PROHIBITED PRACTICES ACTUAL OR PERCEIVED SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY. ALTHOUGH THAT BILL IS NOT GOING TO PASS THE TEA PARTY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANY TIME SOON, I AM NOT PESSIMISTIC OR DOUBTFUL ABOUT THE FUTURE OF FAIR HOUSING. AFTER ALL, I AM A THIRD GENERATION WASHINGTONIAN WHO GREW UP IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, THE GREAT CAPITAL OF THE UNITED STATES REPLETE WITH RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS, WHOLE NEIGHBORHOODS, ENTIRE WARDS WHERE AFRICAN AMERICANS WERE OFF LIMITS. SCHOOLS SEGREGATED BY LAW IN THE NATION'S CAPITAL. IN FACT, THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA WAS A SCHOOL -- A SCHOOL FROM THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA WAS ONE OF THE FIVE BROWN VS. BOARD OF EDUCATION CASES THAT WENT TO THE COURT TOGETHER. SEE, THERE WERE FIVE OF THEM, RIGHT ALONGSIDE SOUTH CAROLINA WAS, YES, THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. YOUR SEGREGATED NATION'S CAPITAL, WHERE YOU COULD NOT GO INTO PUBLIC FACILITIES UNTIL SOMETIME ABOUT 1960, WHERE "U" STREET AS MONUMENT TO SEGREGATION IN THE NATION'S CAPITAL. WHERE YOU COULDN'T GO INTO THE WARNER THEATER BECAUSE IT WAS AS SEGREGATED AS ANY THEATERS IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. THIS CITY, IN A REAL SENSE, THIS CITY WHERE MY TWO SISTERS AND I WERE BORN, TO PARENTS WHO EDUCATED THEIR WAY THROUGH COLLEGE, WORKING THEIR WAY, TELLS ME EVERYTHING ABOUT THE PROGRESS OF CIVIL RIGHTS IN OUR COUNTRY, AND TELLS ME EVERYTHING ABOUT WHY DOUBT WILL GET YOU NOWHERE, WHY ONLY STRUGGLE WILL GET YOU WHERE YOU MUST BE. THE PROGRESS HAS BEEN TOO SLOW. IT'S GOT TO BE TOO SLOW IF THE PROGRESS HAS TAKEN PLACE DURING MY OWN LIFETIME, BUT IF TIME DOES NOT STAND STILL, WE MUST MAKE SURE THAT PROGRESS DOES NOT STAND STILL EITHER. AN INDICATION THAT I AM NOT DOUBTFUL IS A BILL I HAVE INTRODUCED AND AM ALMOST CERTAIN I'M GOING TO GET DONE. IT'S A BILL WHERE I HAVE A REPUBLICAN CO-SPONSOR, REPRESENTATIVE KENNETH CALVERT, I CALL IT THE FAIR HOUSING MEMORIAL ACT. IT COMMEMORATES THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE NATION IN ESTABLISHING THE FAIR HOUSING LAWS AND AUTHORIZES A COMMEMORATION TO BE CHOSEN AND TO BE PUT ON FEDERAL LAND. WHERE DID I GET THIS IDEA FROM? IT DID NOT COME FROM THIS VETERAN OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT. IT CAME FROM THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY. IT CAME FROM THE REALTORS WHO CAME IN TO SEE ME. THE REALTORS HAVE PUT UP AN EXTRAORDINARY OFFICE BUILDING, OH, ABOUT 10 OR 15 YEARS AGO IN A PART OF WASHINGTON WHERE I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT EVEN TO BUILD. IT'S A VERY GREEN BUILDING, ONE OF THE MOST PROGRESSIVE AND GREENEST BUILDINGS IN WASHINGTON, AND THEY HAVE MAINTAINED A PLOT OF FEDERAL LAND NEAR IT AND THEY PROPOSE THAT ON THIS LAND, THERE BE ERECTED A COMMEMORATION TO THE FAIR HOUSING ACT. THINK OF THIS. THINK OF IT. THIS MAY BE THE FIRST TIME THAT A SECTOR OF OUR ECONOMY HAS DECIDED TO ESTABLISH A MEMORIAL COMMEMORATING A MOVEMENT THAT LED TO THE ENACTMENT OF STATUTES THAT REGULATE SOME OF ITS OWN PRACTICES. STATUTES IT CERTAINLY OPPOSED AT THE TIME. I JUST HOPE THAT THE PRESIDENT LEADS OTHERS TO THINK ABOUT WHAT THE WHOLE TRILOGY OF CIVIL RIGHTS ACTS HAVE MEANT TO OUR COUNTRY, SO ON THIS 44th ANNIVERSARY OF THE ACT, ON THIS 44th ANNIVERSARY OF DR. KING'S ASSASSINATION, I WILL GO TO THE MEMORIAL WHERE THERE WILL BE A CANDLELIGHT CEREMONY. MANY WILL THINK ABOUT DR. KING, THE EXTRAORDINARY NUMBER OF WAYS HIS EXAMPLE INSPIRES, BUT I HAVE ALWAYS THOUGHT ABOUT WHY HE WAS KILLED AND WHAT IT LED TO. HE WAS KILLED, OF COURSE, ADVOCATING FOR THE RIGHTS OF SANITATION WORKERS. BUT HE WAS -- IF EVER THERE IS AN AMERICAN WHO GAVE HIS LIFE FOR SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN POINT TO WITH A DIRECT CAUSE-EFFECT RELATIONSHIP, MARTIN LUTHER KING'S LIFE AND DEATH ARE DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACT WE ARE COMMEMORATING TODAY. THAT ACT WAS NOT DISLODGED FROM THE CONGRESS UNTIL DR. KING WAS ASSASSINATED. SO I WILL GO TO THE CANDLELIGHT SERVICE WITH FAIR HOUSING IN MIND, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT HE HAD IN MIND WHEN IN 1965, AS HE MARCHED FOR FAIR HOUSING IN ILLINOIS, HE SAID, "LET US THEREFORE CONTINUE OUR TRIUMPHANT MARCH TO THE REALIZATION OF THE AMERICAN DREAM. LET US MARCH ON SEGREGATED HOUSING UNTIL EVERY GHET ON OR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEPRESSION DISSOLVES AND NEGROS AND WHITES LIVE SIDE BY SIDE IN DECENT, SAFE, AND SANITARY HOUSING." YOU CAN'T SAY IT BETTER. IN FACT, YOU CAN NEVER SAY ANYTHING BETTER THAN MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. SAID IT ABOUT FAIR HOUSING. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR TODAY'S CEREMONY. [ APPLAUSE ] >> THANK YOU, DELEGATE NORTON, FOR THOSE BOTH SOBERING AND INSPIRING WORDS, AND PROFESSOR NORTON, THANK YOU FOR THAT WALK THROUGH CONSTITUTIONAL AND FAIR HOUSING HISTORY. WE ARE -- I THINK BECAUSE OF THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT YOU DESCRIBED, I DO WANT TO MENTION SOME OF THE WORK WE'RE DOING IN LENDING. THERE ARE EIGHT FEDERAL AGENCIES THAT WORK ON FAIR LENDING. WE ARE THE SMALLEST, YET WE HAVE SOME TREMENDOUS STAFF LED BY SARAH PRATT AND JOEL ARMSTRONG, OUR ECONOMIST SCOTT AND FUNG LEU, EDDIE NORFLEET, A STRONG INVESTIGATOR IN THESE AREAS AS WELL AS IN OUR FIELD OFFICES. THIS TEAM HAS TAKEN ON THE ISSUES OF THE MATERNITY LEAVE DISCRIMINATIONS. WE WILL HAVE LATER THIS AFTERNOON ANNOUNCING TWO MORE, ONE OUT OF TENNESSEE, ONE OUT OF LAS VEGAS WHERE THAT PRACTICE CONTINUES AND WE'LL BE HAVING MORE. WE'LL HAVE ONE MORE VERY SHORTLY IN NEW YORK. WE JUST THIS PAST MONDAY, THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FILED A CASE ON OUR BEHALF AGAINST GFI MORTGAGE BANKERS ALLEGING THE COMPANY VIOLATED THE FAIR LENDING LAWS, CHARGING AFRICAN AMERICAN AND HISPANIC BORROWERS HIGHER INTEREST RATES AND FEES ON HOME MORTGAGE LOANS, SO WE HAVE NOT YET, WE HAVE NOT YET FINISHED IN THAT WORK. AND I SHOULD SAY, TOO, TO OUR SPOKEN WORD POETS, THAT I'VE BEEN IN THIS BUILDING ALMOST THREE YEARS AND I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY POUNDS OF CONCRETE THIS BUILDING CONSISTS OF, BUT THERE'S ONE THING THAT I'VE NEVER HEARD THE WORD "LOVE" SPOKEN IN THE HUD BUILDING. [ LAUGHTER ] AND IT IS HIGH TIME WE OUGHT TO DO IT MORE OFTEN AND I THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTES TODAY TO OUR CEREMONY. [ APPLAUSE ] AND JUST IN CLOSING, WE HAVE NOT, WE HAVE NOT WRITTEN THE END OF THE STORY. WE HAVE PAGES AND CHAPTERS, MORE BILLS TO WRITE, MORE REGULATIONS TO WRITE, BUT OUR VISION, OUR VISION FOR AMERICA IS TO END THE NOTION THAT YOU CAN TELL WHERE SOMEBODY BELONGS IN A NEIGHBORHOOD BY THE WAY THEY LOOK OR BY WHAT THEY ARE WEARING, AND THAT IS OUR MISSION. END THE NOTION THAT AS YOU EXPRESSED, CONGRESSWOMAN NORTON, OF THE HUMILIATION SOMEBODY GETS WHEN THEY ARE DENIED PROPERTY. AND RECALLING THAT FOR FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN, THE PAIN THAT A MOTHER OR FARE WOULD HAVE TO TELL THEIR -- FATHER WOULD HAVE TO TELL THEIR CHILD, THE PLACE THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE GOING TO MOVE INTO, THEY COULDN'T MOVE INTO BECAUSE OF THEIR CHARACTERISTICS, BECAUSE OF THEIR ANCESTRY, BECAUSE OF THEIR RACE. THE END OF THE STORY, BECAUSE OF THE DEDICATED MEN AND WOMEN IN FAIR HOUSING AND IN HUD, THE END OF THE STORY IS THAT THOSE INDIVIDUALS ARE ABLE TO GET ONLINE AND REACH HUD.GOV OR CALL US UP AND THE END OF THE STORY IS THAT A DEDICATED CIVIL SERVANT, FEDERAL EMPLOYEE, ANSWERED THAT PHONE, TOOK THAT INFORMATION, INVESTIGATED THE CASE, AND WHERE THERE IS A VIOLATION OF THE LAW, GOT THE RELIEF THAT THEY ARE ENTITLED TO UNDER THE LAW, GOT THE RELIEF THAT DR. KING MARCHED FOR, WHETHER IT WAS IN MEMPHIS OR WHETHER IT WAS IN ANY PART OF THE COUNTRY, IN CHICAGO. HE WAS IN WESTCHESTER COUNTY IN 1964. SO WE HAVE THAT END CHAPTER STILL YET TO BE WRITTEN AND IT'S GOING TO BE WRITTEN FOR THE CHILDREN BORN TODAY IN 2012 WHO WILL BE ON DR. KING'S CENTENNIAL IN 2029, THEY WILL BE THE 17-YEAR-OLDS GOING TO COLLEGE, COMING OUT OF INTEGRATED SCHOOLS, LIVING IN INTEGRATED NEIGHBORHOODS, TO PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE OF THIS NATION. SO THAT IS THE RESOLVE THAT WE TAKE ON THIS FAIR HOUSING MONTH THIS DAY, APRIL THE 4th, TURNING WHAT WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST TRAGEDIES OF THE 20th CENTURY INTO MAKING THAT PROMISE TO AMERICA. I THANK YOU ALL. WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO TOGETHER, AND WE WILL ACCOMPLISH IT. THANK YOU ALL VERY, VERY MUCH. [ APPLAUSE ] >> THANK YOU.