(WASHINGTON) — Community Change applauded the ruling today by the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the 1968 Fair Housing Act, which allows Americans to live where they choose and protects them from discrimination in housing based on race.

“The Supreme Court today made the right decision for working Americans today when it ruled that Americans have the right to live where they choose without fear,” said Michael Anderson, director of the Center’s Housing Trust Fund Project, which works on making housing affordable for all families. “We live in a more segregated society today than in 1968 when the law was created. Today’s decision protects the rights of families, people of color, immigrants and people with disabilities to live in the communities that choose.”

The court ruled 5 to 4 that housing discrimination is illegal, even if it is not intentional. The ruling stops efforts by opponents of the civil-rights law — builders, lenders and insurers — to reduce the effectiveness of the law and prohibits practices by the housing industry that have a discriminatory effect on families.

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