The N.J. Division on Civil Rights present on "Combating Appraisal Bias and Discrimination in New Jersey."
Housing Discrimination can impact anyone, including renters and homeowners of all backgrounds. The NJ Division on Civil Rights (DCR) enforces the Law Against Discrimination which makes it unlawful to discriminate against someone based on their race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, disability, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and other protected characteristics. The Law Against Discrimination (LAD) also prohibits discrimination in housing, employment, and places open to the public. Research demonstrates that the undervaluing of properties falls disproportionately on buyers and sellers of color, leading to persistent racial disparities in rates of homeownership and wealth. This has led to a stark racial wealth gap in our state.
In this meeting, audience members will learn about home appraisal bias, how to identify it, and how to report it. Audience members who have received an unfair, inaccurate, or discriminatory home appraisal will learn how to request that their home be reassessed and how to file a complaint with the NJ Division on Civil Rights.
Aarin Michele Williams, Esq. (she/her) is an experienced and versatile attorney who works to champion the principles of equity, justice, and opportunity, over civility or respectability. She is barred in New Jersey, New York and the Southern District of New York but has appeared in various jurisdictions around the country. She is an experienced civil rights litigator, social, racial, and reproductive justice movement lawyer and proud criminal defense attorney. Aarin is currently the Chief Advisor to the Director of the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (DCR). She has held various roles with DCR and has led teams in a landmark mortgage redlining matter with the DOJ, published civil rights reports on issues including the spread of white supremacy and bias in the state, promulgated our nation’s first Fair Chance in Housing Act and much more. Currently, she also leads DCR’s home appraisal discrimination initiative, the nation’s first state-based home appraisal task force of its kind.
Presented in partnership with Not In Our Town Princeton.
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