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By Rosalind Yeater, Tacoma Human Rights Department The Civil Rights Act of 1866 passed by the Reconstruction Congress guaranteed property rights to all citizens regardless of race. Unfortunately, the nation's commitment to civil rights deteriorated quickly and the Act's guarantee of equal rights turned out to be an empty promise. The courts only prohibited racial discrimination with regard to governmental discrimination, such as racial zoning or the court enforcement of racially restrictive covenants governing real property. Thus, the 1866 Act was ineffective in combating private discrimination. In November 1962, President Kennedy signed an executive order entitled "Equal Opportunity in Housing" which prohibited discrimination in housing owned, operated or assisted by the federal government. The order required federal agencies to take action to prevent discrimination based upon race, color, creed or national origin. However, it had limited impact on the housing market. The real change in fair housing did not come about until the passage of the federal Fair Housing Act (Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968) which represented the culmination of years of congressional consideration of housing discrimination legislation. Its legislative history spanned the urban riots of 1967, the release of the Report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (the "Kerner Commission Report"), and the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On March 1, 1968, the Kerner Commission report was released, concluding that America was "moving toward two societies, one black, one white – separate and unequal." The report discussed the problems of residential segregation and the formation of racial slums as one of the underlying causes of the urban disorders of 1967. The report also pointed out the connection between racial segregation in housing and in schools. The Senate passed the amended version on March 11, 1968 with only minor amendments. The bill was then returned to the House where it was referred to the Rules committee for consideration. On April 4, Dr. King was assassinated and the Capitol was shaken again by civil disorders. Within days, the Rules committee concluded its hearings and on April 10, the House voted 250-172 to accept the Senate's amendments, including the fair housing title. The following day, President Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1968. In June 1968, The U.S. Supreme Court rendered its decision in Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co., giving the Civil Rights Act of 1866 new life. Their decision held that the Act banned private, as well as government, racial discrimination in housing. On September 13, 1988, President Reagan signed into law the Fair Housing Amendments Act which had been passed by overwhelming margins in the House and Senate during the summer of 1988. This amendment became effective March 12, 1989, making major changes to Title VIII, including adding two protected classes – familial status and handicap – strengthening the administrative and judicial enforcement process for HUD complaints and providing monetary penalties in cases where housing discrimination is found. If you have questions about Fair Housing laws and enforcement, contact the King County Office of Civil Rights at 206-296-7592 or 206-296-7596 TTY. Your comments about this Web page Updated: Mar. 20, 2007 King County | OCR | News | Services | Search Links to external sites do not constitute endorsements by King County. |