| |
 |
|
Washington State FAIR HOUSING UPDATE |
|
The 22nd Annual Tacoma Fair Housing Conference, held on April 24, 2008, was a rousing success, with over 275 people in attendance! In honor of the 40th anniversary of the passage of the federal Fair Housing Act, the conference opened with members of the local African American community recalling their own experiences with housing discrimination before and after the 1968 passage of the Act. The audience responded with enthusiasm, commenting that it was "a privilege to hear this presentation" and "this lived history." The breakout sessions which followed also received high marks from the participants, especially the mock conciliation ("best conference class all day") and the small group case studies on reasonable accommodation ("really appreciate the scenarios and the opportunity to dialogue with the group;" "more of this;" "don't change anything – good session"). The presentation on new developments in fair housing case law was also extremely popular, and we hope that attorneys Fred Rivera and Jesse Wing will make this an annual event at the conference. Wrapping up our theme of fair housing in the past, present and future, the closing plenary featured panelists who explored the links between fair housing and healthcare, education, economic development and transportation. The audience praised the "knowledge and experience of the presenters" and commented that the "diverse subjects helped me to see the bigger picture." The Fair Housing Center of Washington and the City of Tacoma Department of Human Rights & Human Services thank all of our fair housing partners who actively participated as planners and presenters for this year's conference. Thanks also to all who attended this year; we look forward to seeing you next year and encourage you to bring your co-workers along! OCR Fair Housing Home Page | Comments Updated: July 1, 2008 King County | OCR | News | Services | Search Links to external sites do not constitute
endorsements by King County. |