2012 CONFERENCE and TRAINING SCHEDULE
From Foreclosure to Fair Lending:
Advocacy, Organizing, and the Pursuit of Equitable Access to Credit.
A Conference of the John Marshall Law School Legal Support Center
September 7 and 8, 2012
Thousands of people have engaged in Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City and dozens of cities around the world in recent weeks in expression of their anger at the financial services industry’s predatory practices that have led to the severest economic crisis since the Great Depression. Take Back the Land has moved homeless squatters into foreclosed homes to demonstrate their commitment to a right to housing and in response to the unethical and often illegal foreclosure practices of many lenders. California residents are collecting garbage from foreclosed properties that have not been maintained by the banks which have taken over the properties and delivered the trash to the headquarters of those lenders. The U.S. Departments of Justice and HUD, the Federal Reserve Board, and several state and local authorities have stepped up their enforcement activities against predatory, often racially discriminatory practices of mortgage lenders nationwide. Private fair housing groups have filed several administrative complaints and lawsuits against such lenders as well.
Clearly there is a growing social movement of various actors rising up against the exploitative practices of a range of financial service providers. This activity builds on over thirty years of organizing and advocacy that has emerged as a result of a fair lending and community reinvestment infrastructure that has been created by organizations like the Center for Responsible Lending, National Community Reinvestment Coalition, National Fair Housing Alliance, National People’s Action, the Woodstock Institute and many others. Questions arise pertaining to the overall effectiveness of these efforts and what can be done to make them an even more powerful force. That will be the topic of this conference.
Leaders of selected advocacy organizations will join with law enforcement authorities and activist scholars to examine the role and importance of organizing and advocacy initiatives aimed at realizing the fair lending objectives of the Federal Fair Housing Act along with state and local fair lending laws. Chester Hartman and Gregory D. Squires will work with the John Marshall Fair Housing Legal Support Center in organizing this event and publishing an edited volume containing the major papers to be presented. The theme that will drive this conference, and future activities of many conferees, is: From Foreclosure to Fair Lending: Advocacy, Organizing, and the Pursuit of Equitable Access to Credit.
Details and registration to follow soon....
|
