Silver State Fair Housing Council
celebrates 20 years of Fair Housing Advocacy
"The Chicago Freedom Movement, 1965-1966"
Reno, Nev. – In January 2009, Silver State Fair Housing Council (SSFHC) celebrates 20 years of ensuring equal housing opportunity in Nevada. Since opening its doors in 1989 as Truckee Meadows Fair Housing, the agency has been instrumental in opening doors for hundreds of Nevadans who have experienced housing discrimination. As SSFHC celebrates 20 years of growth and accomplishment, Board of Trustees President Jennifer Stoll-Hadayia notes, “We are reminded that this is not a time to pat ourselves on the back, but to recommit ourselves to our mission, our vision, and the values that define us. There are doors still to be opened to many people in our state.”
On Friday, January 9, 2009, SSFHC will hold an opening reception for “The Chicago Freedom Movement, 1965-1966”, a rarely seen color photo exhibit documenting the first large scale fair housing campaign in the country and the most ambitious civil rights campaign in the North. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil rights leaders focused the Chicago Freedom Movement on open housing and placed the issue of equal opportunity in housing before the people of the nation. Thousands of peaceful demonstrators participated in the marches and rallies in Soldier Field, Marquette Park, Grant Park, and in front of Chicago City Hall. These photos are a record of the work of so many people to achieve equality in housing and are also a reminder that the fight for open housing remains an integral part of the civil rights movement. These stirring images, photographed by Bernard J. Kleina, encourage us to not only look back at where we have been, but also to reflect on the challenges we face and the direction we are taking as a nation and a community.
Photographer Bernard J. Kleina will be the speaker at the opening reception, which will take place on Friday, January 9, 2009, from 5pm to 8pm at the Washoe County Commission lobby, 1001 E. Ninth St in Reno. Mr. Kleina has served as the Executive Director of HOPE Fair Housing Center, in Wheaton, Illinois, for more than 38 years and is one of the most respected fair housing advocates in the country. Mr. Kleina will speak about his experience with the Chicago Freedom Movement and its impact on him and the nation.
“The Chicago Freedom Movement, 1965-1966” photographic exhibit will be on display from 9am-5pm at the Washoe County Commission lobby from Friday, January 9, 2009, until Friday, January 23, 2009. Select photos from the exhibit will be displayed at the South Side School, 190 E. Liberty in Reno, from Monday, February 9, 2009, until Thursday, April 2, 2009. “We hope that community members will take advantage of this opportunity to view these historic photographs, acknowledging those whose courage paved the way to equal housing opportunity,” says SSFHC Executive Director Katherine Knister.
