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Oak Park Regional Housing Center and why we “Live in Oak Park”

APRIL, NATIONAL FAIR HOUSING MONTH, increases efforts to end housing discrimination and raises awareness of fair housing rights. April is also the time to remember the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968 and his contributions to the Civil Rights Movement.

Many people are aware that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a leader in the Civil Rights movement, however, not too many know he played a large role in the Fair Housing movement. In the early 1960s, Blacks were systematically stripped of opportunities to live in certain communities. It was this discrimination, a core component of injustice that still happens today, that forced Black people to live in segregated neighborhoods.

Beginning in 1965, Dr. King led the Chicago Freedom Movement, which was the campaign to address housing (and other issues) in Chicago, the most racially segregated city in the United States. This campaign pushed for “open housing” and the right of Blacks to buy homes and live anywhere they wanted. Black home seekers in the city and surrounding suburbs were effectively barred from middle-class, predominantly white neighborhoods and prevented from freely seeking housing. While there were a few victories from the Chicago Freedom Movement, it was not until seven days after Dr. King’s assassination that Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act of 1968. Athena Williams, Executive Director OAK PARK REGIONAL HOUSING CENTER

This flurry of open housing progress had a snowball effect that arrived in Oak Park in the late 1960s. The Oak Park Housing Center was founded in 1972 by Roberta “Bobbie” Raymond. I had the opportunity to speak with Bobbie several times during my time here at OPRHC. She made it clear that “we need to be open to Blacks coming into the community while instilling the values of this community.” Bobbie, concerned about racial integration and fair housing, became active in Oak Park, and was instrumental in passing Oak Park’s groundbreaking 1968 Fair Housing Ordinance.

Fair housing was promised to everyone in America through the passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1968. We are still a long way from realizing Dr. King’s dream of fair housing for all.

Unfortunately, Black and Hispanic families continue to remain twice as likely to live in poverty and continue to fall victim to discriminatory housing practices. Even today, in 2020, the consequences of social, economic and geographic inequality are becoming greater and more urgent. For example, the typical Black or Hispanic renter seeking housing is shown 11 percent fewer apartments than a white renter with similar qualifications, according to a 2012 HUD survey.

This is why we Live in Oak Park. The Oak Park Regional Housing Center promotes affirmatively furthering Fair Housing, which is a legal requirement that federal agencies and federal grantees further the purposes of the Fair Housing Act. At OPRHC, in partnership with the Village of Oak Park, our landlord partners, and community members, we create a housing market that is open, inclusive, and fulfills the diverse needs of all community residents.

Fair housing reconnects neighborhoods by ensuring access to quality housing, regardless of race, gender, religious views, familial status, or disability. All citizens have the opportunity to live in close proximity to high-achieving schools, employment opportunities, transportation options, banking services, grocery stores and retail, public services, and public space. Local government reaps benefits from promoting integration by lowering costs for social services, improving revenues through strong property values, and providing a desirable community where households and businesses can thrive.

Our work is intentional. We are needed at a time like this to maintain and continue to promote racial integration as we move the legacy forward to embrace the values of the community especially inclusion and equity.

We are here today because we are tired. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity.

- Dr. King, 1966, Chicago Solider Field Stadium as part of the Chicago Open Housing Movement.

The Schuman brothers, Russ and Kevin, bought their first apartment buildings on Oak Park’s east side some 30 years ago. Over the decades they have focused on Oak Park values of quality multi-family housing units at affordable prices with a strong eye on racial diversity.

And that is why, says Athena Williams, executive director of the Oak Park Regional Housing Center, that the Schuman buildings, mainly on Austin Boulevard but also on Washington Boulevard, have been so integral to the properties represented by the Housing Center.

In late March, the Schuman brothers sold their last six Oak Park multi-family buildings to the Oak Park Residence Corporation, a non-profit housing partner of the Village of Oak Park.

David Pope, executive director of both ResCorp and its companion Oak Park Housing Authority, is enthused about the sale. He hails the retiring Schuman family for “working under the radar but always advancing integration, affordability and quality units in an area we have always had concerns about maintaining.” Pope touted their long support for the Housing Center. “They have been great partners with the Housing Center. They are huge fans of the work of the Housing Center,” he said.

That partnership will continue, Pope said, as all Residence Corporation units are listed with the Housing Center.

The purchase of the six buildings is the single largest purchase ever made in the 54 year history of ResCorp. Adding the Schuman properties and their 170 apartments increases the total number of apartment units it owns from 459 to 629, a 37 percent hike. Schuman brothers, long-time Housing Center backers, sell buildings to ResCorp

The Fair Housing Act protects people from discrimination when they are renting or buying a home, getting a mortgage, seeking housing assistance, or engaging in other housingrelated activities. The Federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing because of: