Friday a group of interested people from government, business, and private concerns met to discuss the issues surrounding Fair Housing.

Chattanooga has for the last 3 years held a luncheon to focus attention on the issue of Fair Housing. The luncheon is held in April to coincide with National Fair Housing Month. This year the luncheon commemorated the 40th anniversary of the Fair Housing Legistaltion.

The issues that were disussed were how to make next year's event better. A major concern was to improve turnout, but also to provide better access to information for those who might be suffering from discriminatory acts.

The focus of the discussion was also towards seeking ways to help with access to programs that exist to encourage home ownership. Many people are not necessarily denied access because of discrimination, but because of a lack of information and guidance.

The discussion went to the issue of discrimination, which is more of a problem than I had realized, judging from the accounts of many who took part in the meeting. Much of the discrimination had to do with landlord/tenant relations, but much also involved home purchases. This is especially true in relation to directing someone from or to certain neighborhoods. Comments were also made to the effect that mortgage terms are often not the same for minorities.

A related blog thread has been initiated by Anthony Clark. His blog thread is http://activerain.com/blogsview/37047/Hate-bigotry-discrimination-Oh. There have been many posted comments on that thread.

At the meeting in Chattanooga, we discussed issues of race, gender, disability. Anthony's blog thread is focusing on sexual preference, but he is fundamentally discussing discrimination in all forms.

Our group made specific mention of systematic and subtle discriminations, many of which are committed unaware.

It is an important matter. I was honored to be invited to the meeting, and fortunate to have gained some new insight.