Human Relations Commission to host Fair Housing Summit
APRIL 11, 2024
Richard Rothstein, Distinguished Fellow of the Economic Policy Institute, and Senior Fellow
(Emeritus) of the Thurgood Marshall Institute of the NAACP Legal Defense will speak.
(Evansville, IN) – The Evansville-Vanderburgh County Human Relations Commission will host a free Fair Housing Summit on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, at the Old National Events Plaza.
The Fair Housing Summit, which commemorates the 56th year since the passage of Title VIII of the 1968 Civil Rights Act, the Fair Housing Act, will feature housing expert Richard Rothstein. Rothstein is a Distinguished Fellow of the Economic Policy Institute and Senior Fellow (Emeritus) of the Thurgood Marshall Institute of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and author of Just Action: How to Challenge Segregation Enacted Under the Color of Law and The Color of Law:
A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America. The summit will take place from 8:00 AM-4:00 PM. Registration is required, and lunch will be provided. The Southwest Indiana Association of Realtors is a sponsor of the summit.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Great Lakes Regional Administrator, Diane Shelley will address conference attendees. Regional Administrator Shelley is HUD’s highest-ranking official in the six-state region and the primary contact for regional elected officials, congressional delegations, associations, and stakeholders. Lon Meltesen, Region V Director of the Office of Fair Housing and Urban Development will also speak at the conference.
Region V includes Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Joshua V. Barr, Chief Strategist & President at Raising the Barr, LLC will be presenting. Barr is an Emmy and national award-winning, transformational leader, and human rights attorney, training people in all 50 states and 5 continents. Steve Tomkowiak, Executive Director of the Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit, will also present. For nearly thirty years, he specialized in litigation and trial of mortgage lending and fair housing cases. Amy Nelson, Executive Director of the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana (FHCCI) will also speak. The mission of the FHCCI is to ensure equal housing opportunities by eliminating housing discrimination through advocacy, enforcement, education, and outreach. Colette Massengale with the National Association of Realtors will present at the summit. Massengale is the Senior Policy Representative for FairHousing and serves as the staff liaison to the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Group.
Adriana Figueroa, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of
Indiana (USAO) will be presenting at the conference. She previously clerked for U.S. District CourtJudge Jane Magnus-Stinson, worked as an employment litigator at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath
LLP, and as a Senior Staff Attorney for IU Health.
In addition to plenary sessions, there will be breakout sessions focusing on sexual harassment in housing, fair housing rights for people with disabilities, and racial segregation and policy solutions to the racial wealth gap.
The Fair Housing Summit is free and open to the public. Please visit
https://www.evansville.in.gov/fairhousingsummit to register for the event. The deadline to register for the event is Friday, April 12, 2024. Certification of attendance will be provided for attendees.
The Evansville-Vanderburgh County Human Relations Commission works to eradicate housing discrimination and provides residents with information on fair housing rights. To file a complaint of discrimination, contact the Human Relations Commission at (812) 436-4927 or email hrc@evansville.in.gov.
