Each April, National Fair Housing Month is celebrated to reaffirm our commitment to ending housing discrimination and commemorate the passage of the federal Fair Housing Act in 1968, which prohibits discrimination in the sale or rental of housing on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), familial status, or disability. The Fair Housing Center invites you to join us for Fair Housing Month of Action — a month dedicated to educating ourselves, and taking time to reflect, so that we can take action to advance fair housing.
Take part in Fair Housing Month of Action to expand your fair housing knowledge and become a better advocate for housing justice. Throughout the month of April, check out this page for weekly challenges, resources, and engaging activities. Be sure to also follow us on social media and subscribe to our email list, so you don’t miss out on any of the action!
Week One:
Read: 2025 Fair Housing Reading List | Choose a book (or two or three!) from this year’s Fair Housing Reading List to learn more about important topics surrounding fair housing and civil rights.
Watch: “Advocating for Fair Chance Housing” | Local reentry leaders James Walker and Mike Jones discuss the benefits of fair chance housing, and how the Fair Housing Center for Rights & Research is working to make housing fair for all.
Listen: Building Community and Purpose: Leah Rothstein on Just Action | In this episode of the APA podcast, host Michael Brown engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Leah Rothstein, co-author of Just Action.
Take Action: Support fair housing work | Whether you give one-time, monthly, or even spread the word about fair housing, your support makes a real difference.
Week Two:
Read: 2024 State of Fair Housing in Northeast Ohio Report | This report is the Fair Housing Center’s 18th annual comprehensive examination of fair housing trends for Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, and Medina Counties. Read it to learn how housing discrimination, segregation, and housing instability continue to impact our communities.
Watch: “Seven Days” Documentary | This short film, produced by Nationwide and the National Fair Housing Alliance, chronicles the seven days between the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the passage of the Fair Housing Act.
Listen: Segregation Migration – White Flight and Realtors | In episode 7 of Community Legal Services’ “(Un)Fair Housing” podcast, learn about White Flight, the phenomenon of white people fleeing urban areas for more segregated suburban neighborhoods, and how this led to further clashes over integration.
Take Action: Become an email subscriber | Sign up for The Fair Housing Center’s email list to stay up-to-date on the latest fair housing news!
Week Three:
Read: Fair Housing Center’s Spring Newsletter | Check out our Spring Newsletter to catch up on the latest fair housing news!
Watch: Cleveland advocates, residents combat housing discrimination | In this News 5 Cleveland feature, hear how The Fair Housing Center is working to help our clients combat housing discrimination.
Listen: Why Take Fair Housing Training If You Know the Law? | In this podcast episode of Drive with NAR, host Marki Lemons Ryahl and two fair housing experts discuss how to use NAR’s new fair housing training requirement as an opportunity to challenge yourself and your business practices for the better.
Take Action: Talk to a friend about fair housing! | Is there someone in your life that would benefit from knowing their fair housing rights? Reach out and let them know that fair housing law protects them, and fair housing agencies (like us) are here to help people understand and exercise their rights.
Week Four:
Read: A History of Housing Policy Through a Racial Equity Lens | This timeline, provided by Enterprise, describes how centuries of racist and exploitive housing and land policies fostered many of the socio-economic inequities currently borne by Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC).
Watch: Explained: Racial Wealth Gap | In this episode, Cory Booker and others discuss how slavery, housing discrimination and centuries of inequality have compounded to create a racial wealth gap.
Listen: NFHA’s Lisa Rice on Civil Rights and Housing Justice (Beyond Four Walls: Conversations on Affordable Housing) | Lisa Rice, President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance, joins NHC President and CEO David Dworkin to reflect on how history—particularly America’s legacy of slavery and systemic discrimination—continues to shape housing access and equity today.
Take Action: Round up your purchases to support fair housing! | Becoming a “round-up” donor makes giving easier than ever! Simply connect a debit/credit card & your purchases will automatically round up to the next dollar as change to support The Fair Housing Center’s work each month.
Week Five:
Read: 3 Ways to Support Fair Housing | In this recent blog, The Fair Housing Center outlines three ways that you can support fair housing this month, and all year long.
Watch: Why are US cities still so segregated? – Kevin Ehrman-Solberg and Kirsten Delegard | In this TED-Ed lesson, discover the dark history of the American suburbs, and how practices like racial covenants restricted access to home ownership for people of color.
Listen: Improving Voucher Outcomes with Dionissi Aliprantis | In this episode of UCLA Housing Voice, Dionissi Aliprantis shares his research on measuring neighborhood opportunity and the rent assistance program features that could meaningfully reduce racial segregation.
Take Action: Spread the word about fair housing! | Can you help us to get the word out to more people about fair housing rights? Share our week five social media post and leave a comment for a chance to win 2 Cleveland Monsters tickets!