An Ugly Side to Housing

Kathleen Parker did a tremendous disservice to readers in her April 19 op-ed column, "You'll Love Diversity -- or Else," by manipulating the truth.

The federal Fair Housing Act was passed in 1968 with two purposes: to eliminate housing discrimination and to promote residential integration.

Ms. Parker failed to mention the law's dual purpose as supported by Congress twice -- in 1968, when Sens. Walter F. Mondale (D-Minn.), Edward Brooke (R-Mass.) and Everett Dirksen (R-Ill.) moved the legislation immediately after the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and again when President Ronald Reagan signed the Fair Housing Amendments Act in 1988.

Research and investigations continue to show that some real estate agents engage in racial steering -- a practice that keeps buyers from even viewing homes in neighborhoods where their race does not predominate.

An analysis done for the National Fair Housing Alliance estimated that more than 3.7 million fair housing violations occur annually. These illegal practices, coupled with data from HUD showing ongoing rental and sales discrimination, render invalid Ms. Parker's notion that an "organic process" can achieve diversity.

SHANNA L. SMITH

President and Chief Executive

National Fair Housing Alliance

Washington