HUMAN RIGHTS PANEL ADDRESSES HOUSING AT SIKESTON FORUM

SIKESTON -- Fair housing issues were discussed at a public forum attended by about 45 people at the Drury Inn in Sikeston Monday night.

The forum was sponsored by The Missouri Commission on Human Rights. The commission is the state agency that enforces the Missouri Human Rights Act in the areas of employment, public accommodations and housing.

Commissioners will hold a business meeting at 9 a.m. today at the Drury Inn. The meeting is open to the public.

Executive director Donna Cavitte said the commission often holds its business meetings in different regions of the state to access the needs of residents. The visit to Southeast Missouri is significant because the commission doesn't receive many complaints from the region, she said.

"We don't get a lot of housing complaints in Southeast Missouri, and one of our concerns is we don't get complaints because people don't know what the law is," she said. "This is an opportunity to not only provide housing providers but also interested people with information about the fair housing law."

The law prohibits discrimination against persons on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, handicap, age in employment issues, and family status in housing.

Longtime Pemiscot County resident Roy Cooper was the keynote speaker at the event. Cooper, who lives in Hayti and works as a housing loan officer for the United States Department of Agriculture, used biblical references and personal anecdotes to describe how race relations and housing issues have changed in his lifetime.

People have always tried to segregate others based on their differences, he said. However, segregation is a costly process, so time would be better spent learning to love each other and to live together in harmony.

"Unless a people decide that there is a right way to do the housing program, it will never be done right," he said. "This commission has a mission, and that is to see the law is carried out.

Cooper said many people practice unfair housing because they base their actions on stereotypical beliefs. It's wrong to think a particular race or family type will destroy or harm housing, he said. However, if everyone regardless of race, gender, or family type is taught the importance of caring for their homes, stereotypes can be destroyed and fair housing can become a mainstay.