Advancing the Dream: 8 notable Civil Rights victories

By Michael Gryboski, Editor Sunday, February 09, 2025

7. Fair Housing Act of 1968

Walter Mondale (1928-2021), a former vice president, member of Congress and Democrat presidential hopeful who helped champion the Fair Housing Act of 1968. | Public Domain

In 1968, shortly after the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Congress passed the Fair Housing Act, a major piece of legislation aimed at ending racial discrimination in housing.

Sponsored by U.S. Sen. Walter Mondale of Minnesota, who would later become vice president in the Carter administration and launch a failed presidential campaign, the Act was the first measure to tackle the issue of residential segregation.

“Although the Fair Housing Act is often heralded as a key piece of civil rights legislation, in reality it was only the first of several steps Congress undertook to promote residential segregation,” wrote Princeton professor Douglas Massey in 2015.

“Despite some signs of progress toward a more integrated society, the pace of desegregation has been quite uneven and 46 years after the passage of the Fair Housing Act many metropolitan areas remain just as segregated as they were in 1968.”