April is ‘National Fair Housing’ month

I participated in a conference on ‘Fair Housing’ yesterday, conducted in commemoration of the 40th Anniversary of the ‘Fair Housing Act’ and it is amazing that we get to learn something new everytime we attend an event like this (even though I’ve been to several Fair Housing classes and seminars before). The Keynote address was delivered by Kim Kendrick, Assistant Secretary for the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), who said that Fair Housing is not an option, but the law and the Fair Housing Act is only as strong as we make it. More than the law, I think it has to be the Spirit. This spirit of Fair Housing needs to be fostered among one and all.

Another speaker, James Karantonis, founder and Director of Human Relations and Communications Inc., used humor and entertainment to present and help people understand biases, perceptions, stereotypes, diversity, prejudice, and more. I really loved his presentation as well as the style and format. The first thing he started with was a question to a participant on how many kids she has and the reply was ‘two’. He then asked her if both are the same (looks and behavior). When she replied in the negative, he asked her ‘Why? What went wrong? Why are they not the same? What did you do wrong or different?”. I think this sums up the whole issue of no two being alike. They are what they are and that’s it. We just have to work around the differences.

I think I should stop here before getting deep into any kind of discussion. I felt like writing this post to highlight the Fair Housing month as well as to appreciate the speakers and the conference conducted by Fairfax County Human Rights Commission. Click here to go to the “Fair Housing Act“.