4273 - The Fight for Fair Housing: Causes, Consequences, and Future Implications of the 1968 Federal Fair Housing Act

Session Submission Type: Invited Session

Description

The Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 was passed at a time of turmoil, conflict, and conflagration in cities across the nation. The Act had a dual mandate: ending discrimination and dismantling the segregated living patterns characterizing most cities. The Fight for Fair Housing, edited by Gregory D. Squires (George Washington University) and published in 2018, commemorates the 50th anniversary of this law and tells what happened, why, and what remains to be done. The book brings together the nation’s leading fair housing activists and scholars to tell the stories that led to passage of the Fair Housing Act, its consequences, and the implications of the Act going forward. This session will bring together four contributors to this volume to recount and update their stories. Squires will provide an overview of evolving patterns of discrimination and segregation, and the politics framing past, present, and future fair housing scholarship and activism. Thomas Sugrue (New York University) will survey the public policies and private practices that generated the activism leading to the 1968 law. Douglas S. Massey will examine the intersection of race and class focusing on the role of zoning in creating and perpetuating segregation. Lisa Rice (National Fair Housing Alliance) will describe the dual housing finance market that has provided a critical structural underpinning of segregation. Paul Jargowsky (Rutgers University) will serve as a discussant and provide recommendations for future research and policy.

Sub Unit

• Special Sessions

Session Organizer

• Gregory D. Squires, George Washington University

Panelists

• Douglas S. Massey, Princeton University

• Thomas J. Sugrue, New York University

• Lisa Rice, National Fair Housing Alliance

• Paul A. Jargowsky, University of Texas-Dallas