INSIDE
Issue # 545
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NGO executive calls for local representation in leadership
T HE
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OCTOBER 24-30, 2022
A F R IC A N
C OMM U NI T Y
N E W S PA P E R
Rep. Omar presents $1 million check to ACER & COPAL
Calls for Eritrea’s release of 80-year-old Jehovah’s Witness
Attorney General Keith Ellison and Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott led the community at the ribbon-cutting ceremony and dedication of Masjid Al-Ansar in Brooklyn Center on Saturday, October 15, 2022. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale
Masjid Al-Ansar grand opens in Brooklyn Center P.10
Review: Imarhan concert in Minneapolis
By Tom Gitaa Mshale Attorney General Keith Ellison and Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott joined members of the West African Muslim community in the Twin Cities on Saturday to celebrate the grand opening of Masjid Al-Ansar in Brooklyn Center - a project three years in the making. The mosque at 4900 France Ave. provided a backdrop for a colorful ribbon-cutting ceremony as proud community members, thrilled to see their years of hard work come to fruition, crowded around their Imam, Mohammed Dukuly and the dignitaries to cut the ribbon. The Muslim community in the Twin Cities seven county metro
area is estimated to be close to five percent of the area’s 3 million people, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Minnesota is also home to the first Muslim elected to serve in the U.S. Congress when Keith Ellison was elected to the US House of Representatives in 2006. Ellison is the current Attorney General for Minnesota and is also the first Black person to win statewide office in Minnesota. Ellison and Elliott, who are both in the middle of tight reelection races, were joined at the ribbon cutting by other civic leaders such as Brooklyn Park councilmember WynfredRussell and Hollies Winston.Russell and Winston are onthe ballot in November for mayor of Brooklyn Park, with the winner becoming that city’s first Black mayor.
Siad Ali, the senior advisor and outreach director for U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, brought congratulatory messages from the state’s senior US senator. “I will not ask for your vote here as this is not the place,” Ellison said. “But as Muslims we can’t complain about something and not go out to vote to change it.” Aicha Kromah recently moved from Austin, Minn. to the Twin Cities. She stood outside the building, smiling and gazing at the crowd outside. The Liberian immigrant said there was nothing to compare to in Austin and when she lived there, she had to drive at least an hour to Rochester to pray at a mosque.
“It is hard too hard to describe how I feel, just happy,” she said. “I feel like I am back home when I come here.” The new mosque is a muchneeded improvement over the place where the congregation gathered for prayers for the past few years – an office building on Brooklyn Boulevard, said Kadiatou Sackor, a school bus driver in nearby Osseo. “This is much better I tell you,” Sackor said. “The community put in a lot of work in this and it is a great blessing indeed.” Many West African Muslims in the northwest suburbs, such as Sackor, worship at mosques in nearby cities such as MinneSee Masjid on Pg. 5
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October 24-30, 2022 Issue 545
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Guest Commentary by Ben Jealous
The cruelty of exploiting vulnerable people for political advantage There is always a new low for Trump Republicans. And that is pretty frightening.
1960s did almost the same thing to Black Americans 60 years ago.
Take the latest exercise in lawlessness, dishonesty, and cruelty from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. He chartered a plane to send dozens of mostly Venezuelan asylum seekers from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, an island community off the coast of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. He clearly was gleeful about the idea of sticking it to liberals and gloating about it on right-wing media.
The Washington Post recently highlighted that history. A group of segregationists organized “Reverse Freedom Rides” in 1962 as retaliation for the Freedom Rides that carried civil rights activists throughout the South in 1961. According to the Post, “The plot was organized by white supremacist Citizens’ Councils in Arkansas, who bought radio ads and made fliers advertising the ‘opportunity’ to African Americans.” One Arkansas woman and nine of her children were dropped off on Cape Cod near the Kennedy family’s compound because she had been falsely told that Kennedy was going to greet them.
It wasn’t even an original idea. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had already been putting migrants on buses to cities like Washington, D.C., where they have been dropped off in front of Fox News and outside the Vice President’s residence—a giveaway that the purpose is publicity. The news of the DeSantis flight made it clear that he was exploiting vulnerable people for his own political advantage. And the more we learn, the worse it gets. A lawsuit filed on behalf of people deceived into taking the flight says the migrants were approached in San Antonio by people pretending to offer humanitarian assistance. They were promised that jobs, housing, and other assistance were waiting for them if they were willing to get on a plane. None of it was true. These vulnerable people were reportedly told lies about where they were going, and given brochures with false information about help that would be waiting for them. Even worse, they may have unknowingly threatened their asylum claims by making it likely that they would miss court appointments scheduled far from where they had been flown. DeSantis and his henchmen hadn’t contacted government officials or nonprofit organizations in Massachusetts. It was a photo op. It was definitely political. And it was possibly illegal. The sheriff in Bexar County, Texas, has opened a criminal investigation into the false pretenses under which people were lured onto the planes. A lawsuit has been filed on the migrants’ behalf. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre slammed DeSantis for “alerting Fox News and not city or state officials about a plan to abandon children fleeing communism,” calling it “a cruel, premeditated political stunt.” Of course, it’s not the first time that dishonorable politicians have exploited vulnerable people. In fact, racist white southerners who were resisting segregation in the early
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Sounds awfully familiar, doesn’t it? Last year, journalist Adam Serwer published a book called “The Cruelty is the Point: The Past, Present, and Future of Trump’s America.” Serwer has made the point that Trump is a symptom, not the cause, of a cruel streak in American politics. There is a long history of backlash against progress, going back to the post-Reconstruction period in which white supremacists used violence to reverse the enfranchisement of Black people. DeSantis’s scheme to deceive, manipulate, and harm vulnerable people seeking asylum in our country is evidence that the cruelty wielded by Trump and embraced by so many of his followers will continue to poison our politics if Trump or DeSantis or someone of their ilk is the Republican presidential nominee in 2024. Recognizing this truth is important to understanding the work we have ahead of us. We must also recognize that the cruelty in our past and our present is not our whole story. Our story also includes good people in Hyannis in the 1960s and in Martha’s Vineyard this year who responded by mobilizing to welcome and support the arrivals. It includes the people of all colors and faiths who have repeatedly built movements to expand civil rights and promote human dignity, and who have given their time and treasure to elect political leaders who appeal to our national ideals rather than trash them. We should be outraged at the cruelty displayed by some of our leaders. Let us also be motivated, and optimistic, that we can out-organize and overcome them. Ben Jealous is the president of People For the American Way, a progressive advocacy organization founded to fight right-wing extremism and build a democratic society that implements the ideals of freedom, equality, opportunity and justice for all.
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October 24-30, 2022 Issue 545
MINN Summit: NGO executive calls for local representation in leadership By Panashe Matemba-Mutasa Mshale
Nongovernmental organizations would be a lot more effective if they included more people from the communities they serve in their leadership, according the director of an NGO based in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Abraham Leno, who was born in Sierra Leone and spent 11 years with his family as a refugee in Guinea, is now the executive director of the Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI) which was founded to invest in local community organizations in order to tap the potential of the people of DRC and create opportunities to market their product. “We believe that the best solutions to the world’s problems come from the brilliance of the people who live through them,” said Leno Leno was the keynote speaker at this year’s MINN Summit, which was organized by Minnesota International NGO Network to connect like-minded professionals working on solutions to pressing issues around the globe. The event was held at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs. One criticism of foreign-run NGOs is that they are often unwilling to consult with people of the communities they operate in. A 2020 a study by the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University found that sometimes NGOs do more harm because they “may not fully grasp the needs of the communities they serve.” Leno, who previously led relief and development efforts in Liberia, South Sudan, Darfur, Ethiopia, and Pakistan, before shifting to his current role in DRC, said years of service had taught him that it was crucial to seek the knowledge and perspectives of the people an NGO serves.
Abraham Leno, the executive director of the Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI), delivering his keynote address at the Minnesota International NGO Network summit on Thursday, October 13, 2022 in Minneapolis. Photo: Panashe Matemba-Mutasa/Mshale
“If there is somebody better than you at what you do, give them the space because we do not operate for profit,” Leno said. “We operate on behalf of people. Why risk lives to unnecessary competition?” Leno said he strived to foster partnerships between ECI and the people of Eastern Congo in order to build trust and create sustainable change. “What has kept me in Congo is the vibrancy and sheer joy of these people,” he said. “It is the energy that you feel when you are there.” Anne Betzner, a MINN Summit board member, said Minnesota has a large number of NGOs and that it was important for them to strive to better the way they
operate. “It is important that we all perform at the highest level so that we can achieve our missions in the most efficient way possible,” Betzner said. Kristin Doherty, co-founder of Global Mamas at her organization’s vendor table during the Minnesota International NGO Network summit on Thursday, October 13, 2022 in Minneapolis. Photo: Panashe Matemba-Mutasa/Mshale Carol Nelson, the medical program director at Rural Health Care Initiative, which focuses on improving health, nutritional, and postnatal care for women in Sierra Leone, agreed with Leno that including people in the process of making decisions about their lives is one of the most powerful steps an NGO can make. She said that in 2020, her organization hired a local nutritionist named Umu Shour to address issues of child malnutrition as part of a move toward including local perspectives. “I think it is very valuable that we are working closely with these communities to ensure that they get the care that they need,” Nelson said. Kristin Doherty, co-founder of Global Mamas, beamed as she showcased an earring set made by women in her organization, which as has more than 400 Ghanaian women entrepreneurs skilled in jewelry and handicraft making. The organization follows the “fair trade” and empowers women to earn a living while doing what they love. “I’m really proud that we are led by the women that we serve,’ Doherty said. “I think it’s a confidence boost for them.” Laura Skubic, a development manager at OneVillage Partners, an international NGO based in Sierra Leone, said she was proud to be co-creating solutions for issues like education and mental health. Her organization works to address a multitude of issues in the country, including access to clean water, food, and the economic advancement of women. OneVil-
lage strives to ensure representation in its leadership and works closely with the people it serves. “All of our program work is led by communities we are working with, and we take that very seriously,” Skubic said. In a breakout session about news coverage, Fred de Sam Lazaro, creator of the Under-Told Stories Project, brought up the topic of how media decide what is newsworthy on the global stage. He said many believed it was racist when Ukraine was seemingly gaining more media traction for its refugees than African nations. But Lazaro encouraged the audience to frame it differently. Paul Ferguson, manager of News Technology Integration at CNN and Fred de Sam Lazaro, correspondent of PBS NewsHour and executive director of the Under-Told Stories Project participate in a panel session about news coverage at the Minnesota International NGO Network summit on Thursday, October 13, 2022 in Minneapolis. Photo: Panashe MatembaMutasa/Mshale “The nature of news is that it asks, ‘What’s new?’” Lazaro said. “Millions of refugees in Africa is not a new story, but millions of refugees in Ukraine is. It goes beyond a race.” Leno said that it was important to consider how NGOs themselves frame issues of the countries they serve. One of the most common themes in NGO advertising was the depiction of the regions they operate in. He said it was harmful to continually portray regions as “problem areas,” because of the negative image such language can create of people. “When you go [to Congo] you see children that just got out of school singing,” Leno said. “You see a woman who is carrying a heavy load on her back, and she turns around to say hello with a smile. That is Congo for me. We don’t see that on the news. We see only the war and the problems.”
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Masjid
Continued from Pg. 1 apolis. But, with such a growing number of Muslims from that part of Africa, it’s important that they also have a place to remember their culture and practice their traditions and languages as they worship, those at the ribbon-cutting said. A beaming Imam Dukuly, who has led the congregation since its founding, thanked and praised the community for its fundraising in making the dream of their own mosque a reality. “Allah’s blessings are upon those that build a mosque,” Dukuly said. “It is a good thing they (congregation) have done.”
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Africa, and a mosque to call their own is long overdue. “However, we have many people from different parts of the world that come to worship with us, so we welcome all of them as we are all brothers and sisters” Dukuly said. The new masjid is located in an area that is zoned for industrial use and had to be granted a special use permit by the city to use it as worship space. One of those that was all smiles at the ribbon-cutting was Trevor Morlach, a realtor at Arrow Real Estate in Maple Grove. He has helped mosques rent space for worship before but Masjid Al-Ansar was the first mosque he has assisted in purchasing their own building.
Muslim women, most of them immigrants from West Africa, listen to Imam Dukuly during the grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Masjid Al-Ansar in Brooklyn Center on Saturday, October 15, 2022. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale
bring the building up to code, as the city required,” Morlach said. “I am very happy that I could help them accomplish this.”
Attorney General Keith Ellison with fellow Muslims as they listen to Imam Dukuly during the grand opening of Masjid Al-Ansar in Brooklyn Center on Saturday, October 15, 2022. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale
Imam Dukuly said the congregation of about 200 consists of many hardworking African immigrants, mostly from West
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“It was quite an involving process to work with the city and Imam Dukuly to get all the zoning issues sorted out and
The building is about 100 feet from the Caribou Coffee corporate headquarters, separated by railway tracks. The masjid’s entryway features an area for worshippers to leave their shoes, and immediately upon entering the prayer area, one is greeted by a flowery red maroon carpet. The minbar, the area where the Imam delivers the khutbah (sermon), is made of pine cedar. Ahmed Sirleaf, an international development professional and currently a doctoral student at the University of Minnesota, stood outside with hundreds of others as the imam and dignitaries got ready to cut the ribbon.
Sirleaf considers himself a global citizen, given his extensive international development work. He worships on occasion at a masjid in north Minneapolis but appreciates one that is closer to the community. “This means a lot. It is good to have something close to where you live so you don’t drive too far and the community needs this,” Sirleaf said outside the parking lot, gesturing toward the mosque “It is good to be around those you share a common culture as we worship.” “This is more than a mosque. It is also a gathering place that connects us,” Sirleaf said.
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October 24-30, 2022 Issue 545
IRS wants millions to claim child tax credit, stimulus funds, by Nov. 17 By Fatima Hussein Associated Press More than 9 million people and families who did not receive their advance child tax credit checks, stimulus payments and other tax rebates will soon get a letter from the IRS to claim their money. The tax credit was originally offered through President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. The government says some families may be leaving up to $3,600 per child unclaimed, as well as other payments owed to them. IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig says
This April 13, 2014 file photo shows the headquarters of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in Washington. Photo: David Ake/AP File
many people who qualify for the tax benefits will need to file a 2021 federal income tax return to get the credit. “We don’t want people to overlook
these tax credits, and the letters will remind people of their potential eligibility and steps they can take,” Rettig said in a statement Thursday. The letter, printed in English and Spanish, outlines eligibility requirements for the child tax credit, the earned income tax credit and others. The child tax credit program, which was expanded during the pandemic, helped tens of millions of kids and their families, and contributed to a 46% decline in child poverty since 2020, according to a September report from the Census Bureau. Since that program has ended, there are already indications that child poverty is increasing. Columbia University’s Center on Poverty and Social Policy estimates 3.7 million more children were living in poverty by January — a 41% increase from December, when families received their last check.
Vice President Kamala Harris listens as President Joe Biden speaks during an event to mark the start of monthly Child Tax Credit relief payments, in the South Court Auditorium on the White House complex, Thursday, July 15, 2021, in Washington. Photo: Evan Vucci/AP
Free File to stay open until Nov. 17
for an extra month this year, until November 17, 2022. Available only at IRS.gov/ FreeFile, Free File enables people whose incomes are $73,000 or less to file a return online for free using brand-name software. Free File is sponsored by the Free File Alliance, a partnership between the IRS and the tax-software industry.
To help people claim these benefits, without charge, Free File will remain open
People can also visit ChildTaxCredit. gov/file to file a 2021 income tax return.
There are efforts in Congress to make the credit permanently available to all families with children. Below is the information that the IRS posted on its website:
Individuals whose incomes are below $12,500 and couples whose incomes are below $25,000 may be able to file a simple tax return to claim the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit—which covers any stimulus payment amounts from 2021 they may have missed—and the Child Tax Credit. Individuals do not need to have children in order to use ChildTaxCredit.gov/file to find the right filing solution for them.
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October 24-30, 2022 Issue 545
Rep. Omar presents $1M check to ACER and COPAL for workforce development By Tom Gitaa Mshale
in Minneapolis, is a community engagement non-profit that works to improve the lives of Latinos in Minnesota.
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar last week presented a joint check of $1,000,000 to African Career Education and Resources (ACER) and Comunidades Organizando el Poder y la Accion Latina (COPAL) at a ceremony held at the Brookdale Library in Brooklyn Center.
All of Minneapolis and Brooklyn Center are in the Fifth Congressional District.
The funding is part of a $17M congressional appropriation that Rep. Omar secured for ten projects in her Fifth Congressional District back in March. The $1M that the two nonprofits received will go towards joint workforce development activities the two are working on. “As an African immigrant I always enjoy the opportunity to celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit that exists in our community,” Omar said. “There is no better way to celebrate the diversity in our community than showcasing the economic vibrancy that exists.” ACER is a Brooklyn Park based nonprofit that works on connecting people of color, especially Black immigrants and refugees, to resources such as affordable housing, employment opportunities and education. COPAL, which is based
ACER executive director Nelima Sitati Munene and COPAL officials joined Rep. Omar for the ceremonial presentation, all describing the funding as essential in supporting the work that they do. “If there is anything we learnt about the pandemic is that our communities are innovative and that the solutions lie within us. We are thankful to the Fifth Congressional District for being a part of the investment in our community,” said Sitati Munene. Sitati Munene also pointed to the latest study published by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), which found the state is home to around 400,000 residents who identify as Black or African American, 125,000 of whom were born in Africa. An alarming statistic in that DEED study found nearly 50% of Black residents live in households with an income below $50,000. The DEED study was a source of much
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar presenting a $1,000,000 check for workforce development activities to African Career Education and Resources (ACER) and Comunidades Organizando el Poder y la Accion Latina (COPAL) on Wednesday, October 12, 2022 in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, part of a congressional appropriation she sponsored. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale
of the discussion at a recent African professionals conference. “There is definitely work to be done,” said Sitati Munene. Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott, in an interview with Mshale at the check presentation, described the funding as “incredibly important” in aiding the work of the two organizations that are active
in his city. “This kind of funding is very important in helping them (ACER and COPAL) accelerate their activities as far as workforce development is concerned. It will help cities such as ours expand our economic bases,” said Elliott.
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October 24-30, 2022 Issue 545
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Religion Religious freedom watchdog seeks Eritrea’s release of 80-year-old Jehovah’s Witness By Adelle M. Banks Religion News Service Religious liberty and human rights experts, including a member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, are calling for the release of an 80-year-old Jehovah’s Witness who has been detained in Eritrea for more than a decade, along with other members of his faith. “USCIRF is concerned about the wellbeing of 80yr old Jehovah’s Witness Tesfazion Gebremichael who’s been imprisoned in #Eritrea for the last 11 yrs for his relig. Activity,” said Commissioner Fred Davie in a tweet posted by the commission. Gebremichael has been retained in the Mai Serwa prison along with 18 other members of the faith, said Jarrod Lopes, a spokesman for the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Another is located at a second prison. “Due to his age and the poor prison conditions, there is growing concern that Tesfazion may not live long enough to ever be reunited with his family and friends,” Lopes said in a statement. “Four imprisoned Jehovah’s Witnesses between the ages of 62 and 77 have died, since
Jehovah’s Witness Tesfazion Gebremichael, inset, has been detained in Eritrea, red, for more than a decade in eastern Africa. Photo courtesy of Jehovah’s Witnesses
2011.”
on the coast of the Red Sea.
Amnesty International, which has documented inhumane conditions in the detention of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Eritrea, also expressed concern about Gebremichael and other members of the faith group in the northeastern African country
“In the absence of any information about their whereabouts and their fates, their detention amounts to enforced disappearance,” said Fisseha Tekle, a researcher for the human rights organization on Eritrea and Ethiopia, in a state-
ment. “Hence, for years Amnesty International and other human rights organizations have been requesting the Eritrean authorities to disclose their whereabouts and their fates, and (if) they are still alive, to release them immediately and unconditionally.”
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October 24-30, 2022 Issue 545
Art & Entertainment
Review: Imarhan in concert delivers strong performance at The Cedar By Susan Budig Mshale Contributing Writer Imarhan took us to another land where music is the only currency and they throw out $100 bills like candy. Imagine standing in the audience, catching those notes, your giddy joy at such fortune. It definitely felt wonderful at The Cedar Culture Center hearing Tuareg music played by this Algerian desert band. They were all about the music, offering no banter between songs. The lead singer and guitar player, Iyad Moussa Ben Abderahmane aka Sadam, on occasion whispered a thanks to the audience, but then dove back into the set-list and focused on the next song. Imarhan opened with Temet, the title song off their second album released in 2018, which starts slowly and builds as if the dawn is breaking. A few people in the audience move closer to the dance area and start to sway with the second number, Assof, which is more insistent. By the third song, Laouni, Haiballah Akhamouk on calabash and Hicham Bouhasse on drums, have established a dance beat the dedicated dancers find
irresistible. When the band breaks out with Achinkad, featured on their third and latest album, Aboogi, the crowd responds with enthusiasm. Bouhasse has displayed his agility, consecutively playing drums, guitar, and percussion all with an impish playfulness. Their set-list is almost a cut-n-paste from their album, Aboogi, but no one complains. More and more of the 140 people, according to house manager, Kendall, join in the dancing. Abdelkader Ourzig on rhythm guitar attempts a bit of fancy footwork, but the rest of the band does not join him. The repetitive, trancelike sound builds and ebbs until it resolves only to pick back up in the next song. The bass guitarist, Tahar Khaldi, and Akhamouk both wear the traditional turban and litham, covering their head and most of their face. All wear tunics of white or yellow or bronze color. Sneakers or sandals cover their feet. They play for over 90 minutes, 16 songs including the two encore pieces. With nearly no conversation, they fully deliver on the implied promise to perform their rich music steeped in meaning that most of us can’t understand because we don’t know their language. After the show, I overhear a couple conversations with
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An Imarhan drummer during their performance at The Cedar.
band members, but none are in English. Once again, music is the universal language. A visitor to the United States, Nicaraguan Rachel, proclaimed that
Photo: Susan Budig/Mshale
whenever she visits from her Central American country, she makes a beeline to The Cedar because she trusts the venue to always provide top-notch music. Imarhan did not disappoint.
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October 24-30, 2022 Issue 545
Unite to Fuel Change We live in a world where divisions and poverty affect everyone but when we unite as changemakers we can create a community where all people thrive.
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You
+ Fair Housing
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October 24-30, 2022 Issue 545
A Better Community
The solution to housing discrimination starts with you. If you have been trying to buy or rent a house or apartment and you believe your rights have been violated, contact HUD or your local fair housing center. The Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination because of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, familial status or disability.
Fair Housing Is Your Right. Use It. Visit www.hud.gov/fairhousing or call the HUD Hotline 1-800-669-9777 (English/Español) 1-800-927-9275 (TTY)
SCAN HERE FOR MORE INFO A public service message from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in partnership with the National Fair Housing Alliance. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status or disability. For more information, visit www.hud.gov/fairhousing.