Settlement Reached in "Road Home" Racial Discrimination Lawsuit

From our friends at Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center:
Today, African-American homeowners and two civil rights organizations announced a settlement in a post-Hurricane Katrina housing discrimination lawsuit brought against the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the State of Louisiana regarding the "Road Home" program.

The suit alleged that the formula used to allocate grants to homeowners through the Road Home program - the single largest housing recovery program in US history - had a discriminatory impact on thousands of African-American homeowners. Road Home program data show that African-Americans were more likely than whites to have their Road Home grants based upon the much lower pre-storm market value of their homes, rather than the estimated cost to repair damage.

For example, one African-American plaintiff whose rebuilding grant was based upon pre-storm value received a $1,400 grant from the State to rebuild her home; but she would have received a grant of $150,000 had her rebuilding grant been based on the estimated cost of damage to the home. These types of shortfalls played a key role in slowing down the recovery effort. Under the terms of the settlement, HUD and the State of Louisiana will direct additional funds to individuals in heavily-affected parishes whose grants were based upon pre-storm value.

The lawsuit was brought by the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center, the National Fair Housing Alliance, and five African-American homeowners in New Orleans, representing a potential class of over 20,000 people. All plaintiffs are represented by co-lead counsel, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, as well as Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale & Dorr. Including today's settlement agreement, the plaintiffs have achieved significant relief for homeowners in New Orleans and throughout Louisiana:

* In response to the plaintiffs' housing discrimination lawsuit, HUD and the State of Louisiana changed the Road Home program grant formula to provide full relief to more than 13,000 homeowners. All eligible low- and moderate-income homeowners received supplemental grant awards totaling $473 million based upon the estimated cost of damage to their homes, rather than the original grants based merely upon the much lower pre-storm market value of their homes.

* By virtue of the settlement agreement, HUD and the State of Louisiana have agreed to amend the Road Home program to offer additional large supplemental rebuilding grants at an estimated value of over $60 million to several thousand homeowners whose initial Road Home Option 1 grant awards were based on the pre-storm market value of their homes and who have been unable to rebuild their homes.

* In addition, the settlement agreement will provide thousands of homeowners additional time to rebuild their homes without the fear of penalty or foreclosure by the State of Louisiana. Under the agreement, Road Home Option 1 homeowners whose grant awards were based upon pre-storm market value can receive a one-year extension of the re-occupancy covenants attached to their Road Home grants.

"I am glad that by standing up against this flawed program we made a difference for so many other people," said Almarie Ford, one of the individual plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

Shanna Smith, President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance said, "In addition to providing significant relief for individual homeowners, the Road Home lawsuit will serve as a warning to HUD and state officials nationwide to avoid the future use of pre-storm market value or similar market-driven criteria that have an obvious discriminatory impact on low-income and minority homeowners."

During the almost six years since the storm hit, countless homeowners struggled to rebuild. Many have not yet succeeded, particularly in Orleans Parish.

"Regrettably, the Road Home program became a road block for many." said James Perry, Executive Director of the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center. "This settlement is a step in the right direction toward getting more hurricane-affected homeowners back into their homes. HUD and Louisiana must keep America's promise to build a better New Orleans. And they must do so in a manner that is fair and equitable for all people regardless of their race."

John Payton, Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF), said, "People who had similar homes and suffered the same type of damage should not have been treated differently simply because of the neighborhoods in which they live. All New Orleanians, and all Louisianans, deserve a fair chance at rebuilding their homes and communities."

The coalition of homeowners and organizations that brought the lawsuit has vowed to continue providing assistance to homeowners and working for a fair recovery for all.

For a timeline of the lawsuit click here.

Pictured Above: Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center Executive Director James Perry.

The Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC) is a private, non-profit civil rights organization established in the summer of 1995 to eradicate housing discrimination throughout the greater New Orleans area. Through education, investigation, and enforcement activities, GNOFHAC promotes fair competition throughout the housing marketplace -- rental, sales, lending, and insurance. GNOFHAC is dedicated to fighting housing discrimination not only because it is illegal, but also because it is a divisive force that perpetuates poverty, segregation, ignorance, fear, and hatred.

Fair Housing Center Files Fifth Motion for Contempt Against St. Bernard Parish

From our friends at the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC):
On January 14, 2011, the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC) and Provident Realty Advisors filed a fifth Motion for Contempt alleging St. Bernard Parish has violated the federal Fair Housing Act and a February 2008 Consent Order.

In December 2010, Congress extended the placed in service dates for the tax credits that Provident needed to proceed with construction on an apartment complex in St. Bernard Parish. As a result, Provident attempted to continue construction on the mixed-income apartments. Provident, however, received notification from the Parish that it was in violation of the Parish's zoning code because Parish officials changed its Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance in December 2009, such that Provident's sites were no longer zoned to permit the development of multi-family housing.

According to the motion, "there is no lawful basis for Defendants' current position, which bears all the hallmarks of ongoing intentional discrimination and is nothing more than yet another transparent attempt to stop Provident from building multi-family housing in St. Bernard Parish. The only thing that has changed since 2009 is the vehicle the Parish has chosen to block Provident. The intent and effect remain the same."

St. Bernard's recent actions to prevent Provident from proceeding with its multi-family housing developments are the latest in a long string of race-based attempts by St. Bernard Parish to block multi-family developments in the Parish. In the course of the multi-year litigation, GNOFHAC has successfully challenged St. Bernard's two previous multi-family construction moratoria, and an ordinance that restricted the rental of single-family residences to those related by blood to the owner of the property. The Honorable Judge Ginger Berrigan has granted GNOFHAC's three previous motions for contempt against the Parish. A fourth motion was ruled moot when the Parish voluntarily cancelled a referendum on a multi-family moratorium.

Under its latest motion, GNOFHAC requests that the court 1) hold St. Bernard Parish in contempt of court; 2) order that the Parish renew Provident's building permits within 24 hours of the court's order; 3) impose coercive sanctions for every day that the Parish does not meet the court's deadline; 4) order the Parish to compensate GNOFHAC and Provident for damages, costs and fees associated with its contemptuous conduct; 5) order additional monetary sanctions against the Parish to deter future violations of the Consent Order and Fair Housing Act; 6) enjoin the Parish from further unlawfully interfering with Provident's developments; and 7) retain jurisdiction over the Consent Order through December 31, 2011.

Relman, Dane and Colfax PLLC represented GNOFHAC in this matter.

James Perry, Executive Director of GNOFHAC, comments, "This is the fifth motion for contempt that we've had to file because the Parish has repeatedly violated the terms of a Consent Order they voluntarily entered into. We hope that the court will ensure equal housing opportunity in our region by granting the reasonable relief we seek."

Read GNOFHAC's latest motion for contempt against St. Bernard Parish at this link.

Click here for a comprehensive timeline of the litigation.

The Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC) is a private non-profit organization. GNOFHAC is dedicated to eliminating housing discrimination and furthering equal housing opportunities through education, outreach, advocacy, and enforcement of fair housing laws across the metro New Orleans and Baton Rouge areas.

Touring Production of Color Purple Opens in New Orleans Amid Controversy

The Color Purple, a Tony Award-nominated Broadway production presented by Oprah Winfrey, opens tonight in New Orleans. Producers have taken the admirable step of fundraising to support the return of Gulf Coast families.

However, the producers have chosen to make their donations through an organization called the St. Bernard Project, which has invited controversy through their close relationship with the St. Bernard Parish government. Critics like Lance Hill, the executive director of the Southern Institute for Education and Research at Tulane University, have pointed out that the racial discrimination practiced by the local government in St. Bernard has actually set Gulf Coast recovery back, and that organizations like St. Bernard Project actually exacerbate the problem by refusing to take a stand against racial discrimination.

“The main reason that these relief groups have had to disproportionately rebuild Black rentals,” explains Hill, “is because the Parish is tearing down or blocking construction of affordable housing faster than the relief groups can rebuild.”

Last year, one of the only two members of the St Bernard Parish Council to speak out against the actions of the Parish told reporter Lizzy Ratner, "They don't want the blacks back… What they'd like to do now with Katrina is say, We'll wipe out all of them. They're not gonna say that out in the open, but how do you say? Actions speak louder than words. There's their action."

In September, a wide coalition of relief and recovery organizations and individuals concerned about this issue signed an open letter on this issue, designed to put pressure on both the Parish and on the St. Bernard Project. “It is time that we take a stand against housing discrimination in St. Bernard and throughout the Gulf Coast,” the letter states. “And make clear what the moral imperatives are for all organizations that seek to rebuild the Gulf Coast as a fair and just society.”

A Wide Spectrum of Voices Speaks up Against Racial Discrimination in St. Bernard Parish

Pressure is heating up on St. Bernard Parish.

An editorial in Saturday's Times Picayune says it all: "St. Bernard Parish's housing restrictions are legally and morally wrong."

On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Ginger Berrigan once again found St. Bernard's government in contempt of court. Further, as the Picayune noted, "She gave the parish until 5 p.m. Monday to produce the respective paperwork. If parish officials delay without cause, St. Bernard faces fines of $5,000 the first day and $10,000 every day thereafter." A Sunday column by Jarvis Deberry asks, "At what point will residents decide that it's just too damned expensive to be racist?"

This week, two open letters were released that further heightens the pressure on the parish. Both were signed by a broad spectrum of organizations, from national human rights groups like National Economic and Social Rights Initiative, US Human Rights Network, and Advancement Project; to regional organizations like Moving Forward Gulf Coast and Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children; to an ever-increasing range of local groups, such as the Zion Travelers Cooperative Center and Survivors Village; as well as individuals like historian Douglas Brinkley and blogger Karen Gadbois.

The first letter, directed towards St. Bernard Parish, is called an Advocates Letter to St. Bernard Parish, in response to Housing Discrimination. The second is called the Pledge in Support of a Just Rebuilding of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana and the U.S. Gulf Coast: A Sign-On Letter for Local and National Relief Organizations and Volunteer Groups. Both letters can be seen on the Louisiana Justice Institute blog.

Another article about the campaign for justice in St. Bernard can be found at this link, and a legal background from Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center can be found here.

Pledge in Support of a Just Rebuilding of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana and the U.S. Gulf Coast

Sign-On Letter for Local and National Relief Organizations and Volunteer Groups
(To add your name to the list of signers, please email StBernardParishLetter@gmail.com)

In September of 2006, the Parish Council in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana enacted a law that would have prohibited home-owners from renting homes to anyone other than a “blood relative.” Since the Parish is overwhelmingly white and had few Jewish citizens, the law effectively made it a crime to rent to African Americans, Vietnamese Americans, Latinos, Jews, and other populations who did not live in the parish in large numbers pre-Katrina.

Many of us engaged in rebuilding and relief work were deeply troubled by the “blood-relative” law and similar policies that discouraged the return of African Americans and the poor in New Orleans and throughout the Gulf Coast. Regrettably, many relief and volunteer organizations chose not to respond to the “blood-relative” law, remaining silent on this issue.

With the benefit of hindsight, we now know that St. Bernard Parish officials interpreted silence as consent, which has now emboldened them to pursue other means to defy the Fair Housing Act. The Parish and its leaders are openly disobeying a federal court order and considering a charter change that would require public referendum on any proposal to construct affordable multi-family housing. Their actions have been repeatedly ruled illegal in federal court because they are discriminatory in intent and impact

It is time that we take a stand against discrimination wherever it occurs, and make clear what the moral imperatives are for all organizations that seek to rebuild the Gulf Coast as a fair and just society.

As local and national relief organizations and volunteer groups, we recognize we have a moral obligation to work towards a just rebuilding of the Gulf Coast, and we pledge to speak out against injustice where we see it. This includes discriminatory housing policies, such as those pursued by elected officials in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana.

Signed,

(To add your name to the list of signers, please email StBernardParishLetter@gmail.com)

September 14, 2009

via facsimile: 278.4209
St. Bernard Parish Council & President
8201 W. Judge Perez Drive
Chalmette, Louisiana 70043

Re: Fair Housing in St. Bernard Parish

Dear St. Bernard Officials:

We are a coalition of community organizations from the Greater New Orleans area, writing to express our grave concern and disappointment over recent actions taken by St. Bernard Parish government to block equitable housing access in the Greater New Orleans area.

The Parish was sued by Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC) in 2006 for alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act of 1968, in enacting several housing ordinances with the intent and effect of discriminating against minorities. At that time, GNOFHAC fought to enjoin the Parish from enacting a so-called “blood relative ordinance, that is, the housing ordinance passed on September 19, 2006 that stated “No person…shall rent, lease, loan, or otherwise allow occupancy or use of any single-family residence located in an R-1 zone by any person or group of persons, other than a family member(s) related by blood within the first, second, or third direct ascending or descending generation(s) without first obtaining a Permissive Use Permit from the S. Bernard Parish Council.”

On February 27, 2008, you agreed the Parish would no longer (a) refuse to rent a dwelling unit, or otherwise make unavailable or deny a dwelling unit, to any person because of race or national origin; (b) deny minority citizens the same rights as are enjoyed by white citizens to make and enforce contracts; (c) deny minority citizens the same rights as are enjoyed by white citizens to lease, hold and otherwise enjoy real property; (d) deny any person equal protection of the law by discriminating on the basis of race and national origin in the leasing of real property; or (e) retaliate against Plaintiffs or any other person who alleges that Defendants have violated the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq.

In spite of this agreement, in September 2008 the Parish violated its terms by enacting an ordinance that placed a moratorium on the construction of all multi-family housing (i.e., buildings with more than 5 units) for a period of twelve months or until the Parish Council enacted certain zoning updates. The effect of this ordinance was that it triggered cumbersome bureaucratic procedures, including a special election for which that developer must bear the costs. This ordinance would have had a detrimental impact on housing development, and stymie movement of certain people who want to reside in St. Bernard Parish. People of color, who are more likely to depend on multi-family housing post-Katrina, would have been especially harmed if this moratorium had been allowed to stand.

This latest initiative follows a pattern and practice in St. Bernard Parish to prevent development of low income housing at a time when our community could not be more desperate for safe and affordable units.

St. Bernard Parish’s post-Katrina efforts to rebuild a racially segregated Parish by passing and implementing rules to prevent non-White homeowners from moving to and living in the Parish have become an international symbol of injustice in the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast. The 2006 “blood-relative” ordinance would have prohibited single family homeowners from renting to anyone other than blood relatives, effectively excluding many ethnic groups from residing in St. Bernard Parish; including African Americans, Jewish Americans, Vietnamese Americans, Latinos, and other populations who did not live in the parish in large numbers pre-Katrina.

Fortunately, U.S. District Court Judge Helen G. Berrigan ruled this 2006 ‘blood-relative’ ordinance is illegal based on its discriminatory intent and impact. The Times Picayune editorial board wrote, “This ruling strips off the camouflage and reveals St. Bernard's actions for what they really are: an effort to keep lower-income people and African-Americans from moving into the mostly white parish.”

Since the date of the district court’s first order, Judge Berrigan has held the Parish in contempt three times for its failures to comply with the agreed upon and court-approved Consent Decree. But the St. Bernard Parish government, with apparent support from Parish residents and associations, continues to pass laws in support of segregated housing. Related ordinances restricting the development of rental housing in St. Bernard Parish have also been struck down as discriminatory, yet the Parish forges on in this regressive homage to racial and ethnic isolation.

These illegal ordinances and their progeny hurt all Greater New Orleans area residents by erecting barricades that obstruct a just rebuilding, instead of clearing the road for an equitable right to return home.

We will not be silent as our neighbor community actively discriminates. These policies create a climate of discrimination and magnify racial and ethnic tensions in our community, while also exacerbating our local housing crisis. As concerned community members, we call on St. Bernard Parish government to immediately end these discriminatory practices, and instead to join with us in standing for a just rebuilding for all Gulf Coast residents. By standing together, all of our communities benefit.

Signed,

Organizations Endorsing:
Action Coalition for Racial, Social, and Environmental Justice - University of New Orleans
Advancement Project
Advocates for Environmental Human Rights
C3/Hands Off Iberville
Caffin Avenue Church of God
Coastal Women for Change
Common Ground Health Clinic
Community Church Unitarian Universalist - New Orleans
Emerging ChangeMakers Network
Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children
Homeless Action Team of Tulane University (HATT)
Jesuit Social Research Institute, Loyola University
Junebug Productions
Katrina Rita Diaspora Solidarity
Loyola University Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild
Louisiana Justice Institute
Lower Ninth Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development
Lower 9th Ward Homeowner's Association
Mayday New Orleans,Housing and Human Rights Organization
Mennonite Central Committee - New Orleans
Mississippi Center for Justice
Mondo Bizarro
Moving Forward Gulf Coast, Inc
National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI)
New Orleans Palestine Solidarity
New Americans Social Club (New Orleans Holocaust Survivors Organization)
PATOIS: The New Orleans International Human Rights Film Festival
People's Institute for Survival & Beyond
Poverty & Race Research Action Council
Pyramid Community Parent Resource Center
Southern Institute for Education and Research
Survivors Village
US Human Rights Network
Zion Travelers Cooperative Center

Individual Endorsements:
Kali Akuno, US Human Rights Network
Jay Arena, C3/Hands Off Iberville
Sister Theresa Anne Billeaud
Nell Bolton, Episcopal Community Services, Diocese of Louisiana
Trupania W. Bonner, Moving Forward Gulf Coast, Inc
Douglas Brinkley, Professor of History, Rice University
Judith A. Browne-Dianis, Co-Director, Advancement Project
Kevin Cahalan
Elizabeth Cook
Pamela Dashiell, Lower Ninth Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development
Deacon Margaret Dawson, Diocese of Louisiana, The Episcopal Church
Joel Devalcourt, Action Coalition for Racial, Social, and Environmental Justice - University of New Orleans
Sr. Frances Duos, Congregation of St. Joseph
David Eber, The Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development
Rev. Tyronne Edwards, Zion Travelers Cooperative Center; People's Institute for Survival & Beyond
Melanie Ehrlich, Founder, Citizens' Road Home Action Team (CHAT)
Davida Finger, Loyola University School of Law, Law Clinic
Jordan Flaherty, Louisiana Justice Institute
Bruce France, Mondo Bizarro
Felicia Fuksman
Karen Gadbois, squanderedheritage.com
Tiffany Gardner, National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI)
R. Justin (Bobby) Garon, Southern Institute for Education and Research
Sharon Hanshaw, Coastal Women for Change
Monique Harden, Advocates for Environmental Human Rights
Chester Hartman, Poverty & Race Research Action Council
Lance Hill, Southern Institute for Education and Research
Mike Howells, C3/Hands Off Iberville
Sister Barbara Hughes, Congregation of St. Joseph
Linda Jackson, Lower 9th Ward Homeowner's Association
Sam L Jackson, Mayday New Orleans,Housing and Human Rights Organization
Endesha Juakali, Survivors Village
Rev. Fred Kammer, SJ, Jesuit Social Research Institute, Loyola University
Michael Kane, Ed.D
Anne Levy
Rabbi Ethan Linden
Rabbi Robert H. Loewy
Dr. Rachel E. Luft
DJ Markey, Pyramid Community Parent Resource Center
Deacon Priscilla Maumus, Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana
Dr Alex Mikulich, Jesuit Social Research Institute, Loyola University
Damekia Morgan, Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children
Jacques Morial, Louisiana Justice Institute
Reilly Morse, Mississippi Center for Justice
Elizabeth Rei Nakamura
Pam Nath, Mennonite Central Committee - New Orleans
Antor Ndep, Common Ground Health Clinic
Gretchen Newby, Tulane University School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine
Jessica Norwood, Emerging ChangeMakers Network
John O'Neal, Junebug Productions
D'Ann Penner, Co-Author, Overcoming Katrina: African American Voices from the Crescent City and Beyond
Deacon Ormonde Plater
Lawrence N. Powell, Ph.D
Katherine Prevost
Bill Quigley, Loyola University School of Law, Law Clinic; Center for Constitutional Rights
Emily Ratner, PATOIS: The New Orleans International Human Rights Film Festival
Ameca A. Reali, Loyola University New Orleans, College of Law
Dr. Kimberley Richards, The People's Institute for Survival and Beyond
Kysha Brown Robinson
Plater Robinson, Southern Institute for Education and Research
Sr. Cynthia Sabathier, Congregation of St. Joseph
Aaron Schneider, Assistant Professor, Political Science, Tulane University
Jordan Shannon
Pastors Victor and Barbara Simon, Caffin Avenue Church of God
Nick Slie, Mondo Bizarro
Johnnie Stevens, Katrina Rita Diaspora Solidarity
Philip Teger, Poverty & Race Research Action Council
Nikki Thanos, Loyola University Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild
Sue and Paul Troyano
Rev. Jim VanderWeele, Community Church Unitarian Universalist
Nathalie Walker, Advocates for Environmental Human Rights
Tracie Washington, Esq., Louisiana Justice Institute
Shep Zitler, New Americans Social Club (New Orleans Holocaust Survivors Organization)

Advocates Letter to St. Bernard Parish, in response to Housing Discrimination

(To add your name to the list of signers, please email StBernardParishLetter@gmail.com)

September 14, 2009

via facsimile: 278.4209
St. Bernard Parish Council & President
8201 W. Judge Perez Drive
Chalmette, Louisiana 70043

Re: Fair Housing in St. Bernard Parish

Dear St. Bernard Officials:

We are a coalition of community organizations from the Greater New Orleans area, writing to express our grave concern and disappointment over recent actions taken by St. Bernard Parish government to block equitable housing access in the Greater New Orleans area.

The Parish was sued by Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC) in 2006 for alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act of 1968, in enacting several housing ordinances with the intent and effect of discriminating against minorities. At that time, GNOFHAC fought to enjoin the Parish from enacting a so-called “blood relative ordinance, that is, the housing ordinance passed on September 19, 2006 that stated “No person…shall rent, lease, loan, or otherwise allow occupancy or use of any single-family residence located in an R-1 zone by any person or group of persons, other than a family member(s) related by blood within the first, second, or third direct ascending or descending generation(s) without first obtaining a Permissive Use Permit from the S. Bernard Parish Council.”

On February 27, 2008, you agreed the Parish would no longer (a) refuse to rent a dwelling unit, or otherwise make unavailable or deny a dwelling unit, to any person because of race or national origin; (b) deny minority citizens the same rights as are enjoyed by white citizens to make and enforce contracts; (c) deny minority citizens the same rights as are enjoyed by white citizens to lease, hold and otherwise enjoy real property; (d) deny any person equal protection of the law by discriminating on the basis of race and national origin in the leasing of real property; or (e) retaliate against Plaintiffs or any other person who alleges that Defendants have violated the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq.

In spite of this agreement, in September 2008 the Parish violated its terms by enacting an ordinance that placed a moratorium on the construction of all multi-family housing (i.e., buildings with more than 5 units) for a period of twelve months or until the Parish Council enacted certain zoning updates. The effect of this ordinance was that it triggered cumbersome bureaucratic procedures, including a special election for which that developer must bear the costs. This ordinance would have had a detrimental impact on housing development, and stymie movement of certain people who want to reside in St. Bernard Parish. People of color, who are more likely to depend on multi-family housing post-Katrina, would have been especially harmed if this moratorium had been allowed to stand.

This latest initiative follows a pattern and practice in St. Bernard Parish to prevent development of low income housing at a time when our community could not be more desperate for safe and affordable units.

St. Bernard Parish’s post-Katrina efforts to rebuild a racially segregated Parish by passing and implementing rules to prevent non-White homeowners from moving to and living in the Parish have become an international symbol of injustice in the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast. The 2006 “blood-relative” ordinance would have prohibited single family homeowners from renting to anyone other than blood relatives, effectively excluding many ethnic groups from residing in St. Bernard Parish; including African Americans, Jewish Americans, Vietnamese Americans, Latinos, and other populations who did not live in the parish in large numbers pre-Katrina.

Fortunately, U.S. District Court Judge Helen G. Berrigan ruled this 2006 ‘blood-relative’ ordinance is illegal based on its discriminatory intent and impact. The Times Picayune editorial board wrote, “This ruling strips off the camouflage and reveals St. Bernard's actions for what they really are: an effort to keep lower-income people and African-Americans from moving into the mostly white parish.”

Since the date of the district court’s first order, Judge Berrigan has held the Parish in contempt three times for its failures to comply with the agreed upon and court-approved Consent Decree. But the St. Bernard Parish government, with apparent support from Parish residents and associations, continues to pass laws in support of segregated housing. Related ordinances restricting the development of rental housing in St. Bernard Parish have also been struck down as discriminatory, yet the Parish forges on in this regressive homage to racial and ethnic isolation.

These illegal ordinances and their progeny hurt all Greater New Orleans area residents by erecting barricades that obstruct a just rebuilding, instead of clearing the road for an equitable right to return home.

We will not be silent as our neighbor community actively discriminates. These policies create a climate of discrimination and magnify racial and ethnic tensions in our community, while also exacerbating our local housing crisis. As concerned community members, we call on St. Bernard Parish government to immediately end these discriminatory practices, and instead to join with us in standing for a just rebuilding for all Gulf Coast residents. By standing together, all of our communities benefit.

Signed,

Organizations Endorsing:
Action Coalition for Racial, Social, and Environmental Justice - University of New Orleans
Advancement Project
Advocates for Environmental Human Rights
C3/Hands Off Iberville
Caffin Avenue Church of God
Coastal Women for Change
Common Ground Health Clinic
Community Church Unitarian Universalist - New Orleans
Emerging ChangeMakers Network
Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children
Homeless Action Team of Tulane University (HATT)
Jesuit Social Research Institute, Loyola University
Junebug Productions
Katrina Rita Diaspora Solidarity
Loyola University Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild
Louisiana Justice Institute
Lower Ninth Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development
Lower 9th Ward Homeowner's Association
Mayday New Orleans,Housing and Human Rights Organization
Mennonite Central Committee - New Orleans
Mississippi Center for Justice
Mondo Bizarro
Moving Forward Gulf Coast, Inc
National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI)
New Orleans Palestine Solidarity
New Americans Social Club (New Orleans Holocaust Survivors Organization)
PATOIS: The New Orleans International Human Rights Film Festival
People's Institute for Survival & Beyond
Poverty & Race Research Action Council
Pyramid Community Parent Resource Center
Southern Institute for Education and Research
Survivors Village
US Human Rights Network
Zion Travelers Cooperative Center

Individual Endorsements:
Kali Akuno, US Human Rights Network
Jay Arena, C3/Hands Off Iberville
Sister Theresa Anne Billeaud
Nell Bolton, Episcopal Community Services, Diocese of Louisiana
Trupania W. Bonner, Moving Forward Gulf Coast, Inc
Douglas Brinkley, Professor of History, Rice University
Judith A. Browne-Dianis, Co-Director, Advancement Project
Kevin Cahalan
Elizabeth Cook
Pamela Dashiell, Lower Ninth Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development
Deacon Margaret Dawson, Diocese of Louisiana, The Episcopal Church
Joel Devalcourt, Action Coalition for Racial, Social, and Environmental Justice - University of New Orleans
Sr. Frances Duos, Congregation of St. Joseph
David Eber, The Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development
Rev. Tyronne Edwards, Zion Travelers Cooperative Center; People's Institute for Survival & Beyond
Melanie Ehrlich, Founder, Citizens' Road Home Action Team (CHAT)
Davida Finger, Loyola University School of Law, Law Clinic
Jordan Flaherty, Louisiana Justice Institute
Bruce France, Mondo Bizarro
Felicia Fuksman
Karen Gadbois, squanderedheritage.com
Tiffany Gardner, National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI)
R. Justin (Bobby) Garon, Southern Institute for Education and Research
Sharon Hanshaw, Coastal Women for Change
Monique Harden, Advocates for Environmental Human Rights
Chester Hartman, Poverty & Race Research Action Council
Lance Hill, Southern Institute for Education and Research
Mike Howells, C3/Hands Off Iberville
Sister Barbara Hughes, Congregation of St. Joseph
Linda Jackson, Lower 9th Ward Homeowner's Association
Sam L Jackson, Mayday New Orleans,Housing and Human Rights Organization
Endesha Juakali, Survivors Village
Rev. Fred Kammer, SJ, Jesuit Social Research Institute, Loyola University
Michael Kane, Ed.D
Anne Levy
Rabbi Ethan Linden
Rabbi Robert H. Loewy
Dr. Rachel E. Luft
DJ Markey, Pyramid Community Parent Resource Center
Deacon Priscilla Maumus, Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana
Dr Alex Mikulich, Jesuit Social Research Institute, Loyola University
Damekia Morgan, Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children
Jacques Morial, Louisiana Justice Institute
Reilly Morse, Mississippi Center for Justice
Elizabeth Rei Nakamura
Pam Nath, Mennonite Central Committee - New Orleans
Antor Ndep, Common Ground Health Clinic
Gretchen Newby, Tulane University School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine
Jessica Norwood, Emerging ChangeMakers Network
John O'Neal, Junebug Productions
D'Ann Penner, Co-Author, Overcoming Katrina: African American Voices from the Crescent City and Beyond
Deacon Ormonde Plater
Lawrence N. Powell, Ph.D
Katherine Prevost
Bill Quigley, Loyola University School of Law, Law Clinic; Center for Constitutional Rights
Emily Ratner, PATOIS: The New Orleans International Human Rights Film Festival
Ameca A. Reali, Loyola University New Orleans, College of Law
Dr. Kimberley Richards, The People's Institute for Survival and Beyond
Kysha Brown Robinson
Plater Robinson, Southern Institute for Education and Research
Sr. Cynthia Sabathier, Congregation of St. Joseph
Aaron Schneider, Assistant Professor, Political Science, Tulane University
Jordan Shannon
Pastors Victor and Barbara Simon, Caffin Avenue Church of God
Nick Slie, Mondo Bizarro
Johnnie Stevens, Katrina Rita Diaspora Solidarity
Philip Teger, Poverty & Race Research Action Council
Nikki Thanos, Loyola University Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild
Sue and Paul Troyano
Rev. Jim VanderWeele, Community Church Unitarian Universalist
Nathalie Walker, Advocates for Environmental Human Rights
Tracie Washington, Esq., Louisiana Justice Institute
Shep Zitler, New Americans Social Club (New Orleans Holocaust Survivors Organization)

Alice Walker and Color Purple Touring production raise money for home building in St. Bernard, despite racist laws and policy in Parish

The touring production of the Broadway show The Color Purple, produced by Oprah Winfrey, has announced that they will be raising money for the St. Bernard Project. Of all the charities in the Gulf Coast to fundraise for, this seems to be an odd choice for the play, which is based on the legendary book by Alice Walker about southern Black women finding their strength.

St Bernard Project works almost exclusively on rebuilding housing in St. Bernard Parish, despite discriminatory housing laws of the Parish that effectively keep Black families from living there. St. Bernard Project leadership have never spoken against these laws. By their actions, and silence, they have in fact supported the Parish’s discriminatory policies.

In the year after Katrina, St. Bernard Parish passed the notorious “blood relative ordinance,” which barred single-family homeowners from renting to anyone except blood relatives without the special permission of the Parish Council. Since whites own nearly 93% of St. Bernard Parish owner-occupied housing, in most circumstances only whites would be able to rent most single-family housing in the Parish. This ordinance was a clear violation of the Fair Housing Act.

In case anyone doubts the intent of the laws and policy of the parish, there has been extensive documentation of the intent. Last year, one of the only two members of the St Bernard parish council to vote against the ordinance told reporter Lizzy Ratner, "They don't want the blacks back… What they'd like to do now with Katrina is say, We'll wipe out all of them. They're not gonna say that out in the open, but how do you say? Actions speak louder than words. There's their action."

Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC) has successfully challenged St. Bernard’s policy, but Parish officials have continued to search for new ways to try and subvert the law.

In the latest legal development, on August 17, 2009, Judge Helen G. Berrigan granted GNOFHAC's and Provident Realty Advisors' second motion for contempt against St. Bernard Parish. Judge Berrigan writes that by "subverting the re-subdivision process" to prevent Provident Realty Advisors from moving forward on construction of four multi-family housing units, the actions of St. Bernard Parish are discriminatory against African Americans in both intent and effect.