Racism, right here in River City
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) charged an East Moline landlord Tuesday with violating the Fair Housing Act for allegedly discriminating against an East Moline family.Think about this story the next time you hear some right-wing ideologue trying to say that there's no need for civil rights laws or affirmative action because blacks no longer face discrimination.
Doris Rofrano, 1855 41st St., Moline, advertised a townhouse for rent at 3615 Kennedy Drive, East Moline, during the week of Aug. 20-26, 2004 in The Argus and The Dispatch, according to a HUD news release.
Carol Collins, who is black, told her son, Troy, who was moving from Wisconsin, called about the ad. He called Ms. Rofrano, who is disabled, to see if he could view the unit, but she told him she had no one else to show him the property.
Mrs. Collins then called Ms. Rofrano and explained her son would only be in town for a few days. Ms. Rofrano agreed to give her the keys so they could view it on their own, according to the complaint.
On Aug. 25, Mrs. Collins, Mr. Collins and her daughter, Nicole, drove to Ms. Rofrano's home in Moline to pick up the key. But when Mrs. Collins went to ask for the key, and Ms. Rofrano discovered she was black, Ms. Rofrano allegedly told her, "I do not rent to colored people."
Desperate to see the unit, Ms. Collins lied to Ms. Rofrano and said her husband was white. By lying to Ms. Rofrano, they could view the townhouse, the complaint said.
After viewing the unit, Mr. Collins wanted to rent the townhouse, but Ms. Rofrano told Mrs. Collins it could only be rented by her and her "husband." Mrs. Collins requested to sign a lease, pay the deposit and first month's rent, but Ms. Rofrano said she would have no blank leases until her personal assistant came in the next day, the release said.
She let Mrs. Collins keep the key so she could show the unit to her "husband," an HUD report said.
On Aug. 27, Mr. Collins returned to the unit to show his girlfriend, but he noticed the locks were changed. He called Ms. Rofrano, who told him the unit was no longer available, the complaint said.
Mr. Collins called his mother, who then called Ms. Rofrano. She told the Collins family the property was being removed from the market due to repairs and to leave the keys in the mailbox, the complaint said.
After being taken off the market, the unit was rented to someone who was not black.
The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, family status and disability. Penalties for housing discrimination includes a civil penalty of $11,000 for a first offense.
Ms. Rofrano also owns a complex of stores and offices at 367 Avenue of the Cities, and at 4113 4th St., both of East Moline, a HUD report stated. She declined to comment on Tuesday.
A hearing for Ms. Rofrano is scheduled for Oct. 25 in Chicago.
And why wasn't this front page news instead of being buried on page C-1 of the Dispatch/Argus??
posted by The Inside Dope @ 8/11/2005
4 comments
4 Comments:
I'm not a racist myself. But does an owner have any rights when it comes to who they want to rent out their own property to?
I'm curios as to what you are up against as a landlord if you did not want to rent to another person whether it be for skin color, religious affil, criminal background etc.
Inside Dope, you are doing a great job with this blog. If this spam in the comments continues you may have to go back to not accepting anonymous comments.
You are absolutely correct that Conservatives seem to incorrectly believe that racism is a thing of the past. The fight against ignorance and prejudice is very much an on-going battle.
Hey Dope did you see the channel 8 news tonight?
There was a story on the girl from Milans that was killied in Iraq.
Her biological father was awarded a huge sum of money because of this girls death. Verschoore was questioned about it.
Apparently it is some state benefit that he championed.
But there is no way this guy deserved the money.
To the first anonymous in comments, I think LL pretty much spelled it out. You can be racist as all get out, but you have to invent some other reason to not rent to them. This is the sort of stealth racism that is practiced by much of the right wing today.
You can always invent a reason for rejecting a renter or job applicant. Sometimes it's so blatant that people can still win suits, but the fact remains that there are miriad ways to discriminate while appearing not to.
And beyond that, the fact remains that it should NEVER be tolerated in this country if a person refuses to rent to or employ a person, all things being equal.
If a person has a steady job, good credit, good references, can pay the damage deposit and other requirements, then it is and very much should be against the law to discriminate against them simply because of their race, religion, sexual preference, or any other condition.
In other words, any standards, whatever they may be, for renting or selling or employment should be standard across the board for EVERYONE, PERIOD.
That's the standard, and that's as it should be.
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