Proclamation 5470—Fair Housing Month, 1986

The year 1986 marks the eighteenth anniversary of the passage of title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, commonly referred to as the "Fair Housing Act," declaring it a national policy that housing throughout the United States should be made available to all citizens on the basis of equality and fairness.

The Federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Fairness is the foundation of our way of life and reflects the best of our traditional American values. Invidious discriminatory housing practices are abhorrent to the American sense of fair play.

In this eighteenth year since the passage of the Fair Housing Act, Americans should continue to work together to uphold the Fair Housing Act and the principle of equal opportunity on which it is based.

The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 303, has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation designating the month of April 1986 as "Fair Housing Month."

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim April 1986 as Fair Housing Month.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and tenth.

RONALD REAGAN