SUPREME COURT PLAZA, Washington, DC – On news today that the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its ruling in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project, Inc., Constitutional Accountability Center issued the following reaction:

CAC President Doug Kendall said, “At a time when racial tension is flaring throughout this country, the Court decided to uphold rather than hollow out one of the Nation’s foundational civil rights statutes, the Fair Housing Act, which was passed in 1968 to honor the legacy of the recently assassinated Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” 

CAC Civil Rights Director David Gans continued, “By a 5-4 vote, the Court held that federal housing laws, like the nation’s other civil rights laws, allow plaintiffs to go to court to challenge state and federal policies that result in a denial of equal opportunity. In the wake of recent events in Ferguson, Baltimore, and Charleston, Justice Kennedy’s ruling affirms Congress’s ability to address the lingering effects of slavery and Jim Crow segregation.”

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Resources:

CAC’s “friend of the court” brief in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project, Inc.: http://theusconstitution.org/sites/default/files/briefs/Texas_Dept_of_Housing_v_Inclusive_Communities_Project_CAC_Merits_Amicus.pdf

CAC Roberts at 10 Snapshot, David Gans: Turning Back the Clock on Protections for Racial Equality: http://theusconstitution.org/sites/default/files/briefs/Roberts_at_10-Race_snapshot.pdf

“Will the Supreme Court Honor Dr. King’s Legacy?” Elizabeth B. Wydra, Huffington Post, January 21, 2015: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elizabeth-b-wydra/will-the-supreme-court-ho_b_6509100.html 

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Constitutional Accountability Center (www.theusconstitution.org) is a think tank, public interest law firm, and action center dedicated to fulfilling the progressive promise of the Constitution’s text and history.

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