National Fair Housing Alliance, Rep. Green Join to Launch Book and Set Agenda for 40th Anniversary of Fair Housing Act

WASHINGTON, March 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Housing discrimination that reduces vital access for millions of Americans to quality education, good jobs and adequate health care is not only illegal but harmful to the long-term national interest, according to Segregation: The Rising Costs for America, a book being released on Tuesday, March 11, at 12:30 p.m. on Capitol Hill.

The Honorable Al Green (D-TX) will join the book's editors, James H. Carr and Nandinee K. Kutty, and the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) to launch the book, which is a collection of essays detailing residential segregation's devastating effect on minority homeowners as well as the economic vitality and global competitiveness of the United States. Several of the articles also call for increased investigations by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, restored funding and other steps to protect and expand fair housing. A brief summary of the book is included below.

Also attending will be Suzanne Sangree, Chief Solicitor for Baltimore representing the city in a lawsuit against Wells Fargo Bank, the nation's first lawsuit by a city to recover the costs of foreclosure caused by allegedly racially discriminatory lending practices. The lawsuit is a real-world example of how unfair housing practices can have a larger effect on cities and the nation as a whole.

This is the first of several events NFHA has planned for 2008 to recognize the 40th anniversary of the passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 and call for a recommitment by policymakers, members of Congress, government agencies and other stakeholders to fight against housing discrimination. NFHA will also present a legislative agenda detailing current Congressional action related to fair housing issues.

For more information on the 40th anniversary and future events, please visit www.nationalfairhousing.org.

What:

National Fair Housing Alliance Launch of Segregation: The Rising Costs for America

Edited by James H. Carr and Nandinee K. Kutty

Who:

Jim McCarthy, Chair of the NFHA Board of Directors

The Honorable Al Green (D-TX)

Editors James H. Carr and Nandinee K. Kutty

Suzanne Sangree, Baltimore Chief Solicitor

Shanna L. Smith, President and CEO of NFHA

Where:

Rayburn House Office Building

Room 2456

Washington, DC

When:

March 11, 2008

12:30-1:30 p.m.