Every April, in honor of Fair Housing Month, the Center curates a display about fair housing for Connecticut’s Legislative Office Building to educate legislators, staff, and the many advocates, students, and visitors who pass through the Capitol buildings on a daily basis.
Because 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act, we decided that this year’s display would focus on the significance of this seminal piece of legislation, highlighting the events that led to its passage as well as some events that have occurred since Lyndon B. Johnson signed it into law back on April 11, 1968. We created a timeline covering 100 years of history to explain how policies and seminal court decisions created and maintain the segregated neighborhoods we see across Connecticut today.
For example, you may know that the 1944 Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (better known as the G.I. Bill) helped to create the largest middle class in the nation’s history after World War II. This legislation helped millions of returning veterans attend college and buy homes, building wealth that would be passed down to future generations.
However, many people don’t realize that African-American veterans were left out of the bill’s most powerful benefits. While White veterans took advantage of new low-interest mortgage loans to buy homes in the growing suburbs, many Black veterans were unable to obtain mortgages because banks wouldn’t lend to them or underwrite loans in non-white neighborhoods, a practice called redlining that was backed by the federal government. In fact, banks even refused to lend to White families who wanted to buy homes in diverse neighborhoods. Black veterans who could obtain mortgages were often blocked from buying in white neighborhoods because of racially restrictive covenants, racial steering by real estate agents, and other discriminatory practices.
The rest of the display highlights similar policies, practices, and court cases that shaped neighborhoods in Connecticut and across the country – for better or for worse – all the way up to the present day.
Congratulations to our 2018 Student Poster Contest Finalists!
The display also includes a look at the future of fair housing from the finalists of our annual Fair Housing Poster Contest. Students in 6th – 12th grades from schools across Connecticut submitted artwork that reflected this year’s theme: Choice. Mobility. Equity. Their artwork is fantastic! This year’s finalists are:
Joe Barberi, Norwich Technical High School
Ashley Edmund, Norwich Technical High School
Dewlys Maldondo, Hartford Trinity College Academy
Outdam Nuon, Norwich Technical High School
Marysabel Rivera, Connecticut River Academy
Yeji Yang, Northwest Catholic High School
The winners will be announced at the end of April.
The Center’s Fair Housing Month display can be viewed on the Lower Concourse between the Capitol and the LOB now through April 13th. If you find yourself in Hartford, we encourage you to stop by and take a look!
Want more Fair Housing history? Check out the National Fair Housing Alliance’s interactive 50th anniversary timeline of the Fair Housing Act. Interested in what happened closer to home? Find out about the Center’s Fair Housing Tour of Hartford!
