1. This action is brought by the United States to enforce
the Fair Housing Act, Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968,
as amended by the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, 42 U.S.C.
§§ 3601-3619.
2. This Court has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to
28 U.S.C. § 1345 and 42 U.S.C. § 3614.
3. Defendants, the City of Blakely Housing Authority
("BHA"), the City of Blakely, Georgia, and Dan Cooper, in his
individual and official capacity as the Executive Director of the
BHA, have violated the rights of numerous African-Americans and
engaged in a pattern or practice of racial discrimination by:
refusing to rent apartments to African-American tenants or
applicants at Cedar Hill Homes II; subjecting African-American
tenants to different terms and conditions in the rental of BHA
apartments; tolerating and/or failing to protect African-American
tenants from racial harassment and discrimination; and coercing,
intimidating, threatening and/or interfering with African-American tenants in the exercise or enjoyment of rights granted
or protected by the Fair Housing Act. The United States seeks
declaratory, injunctive, and monetary relief.
4. Defendant City of Blakely Housing Authority is a public
body corporate and politic created to provide decent, safe and
sanitary dwellings to persons of low income. Ga. Code § 8-3-3(10). The BHA owns, operates and manages five public housing
complexes, Cedar Hill Homes I, Cedar Hill Homes II, Willis Cain
Homes I, Willis Cain Homes II and Baptist Branch Homes. These
five public housing complexes are dwellings within the meaning of
42 U.S.C. § 3602(b).
5. Defendant Dan Cooper was hired as Executive Director of
the BHA on April 15, 1994, pursuant to a delegation of authority
from the Commissioners of the BHA. Ga. Code § 8-3-51(e). Mr.
Cooper currently serves as BHA Executive Director.
6. Defendant City of Blakely established the BHA on May 2,
1950 by resolution of the City Council. The Mayor of the City of
Blakely appoints Commissioners of the BHA. Ga. Code § 8-3-50.
In addition, the Mayor may remove any BHA Commissioner from
office. Ga. Code § 8-3-53. The five public housing complexes
owned by the BHA are subject to the planning, zoning, sanitary,
and building laws, ordinances and regulations of the City of
Blakely. Ga. Code § 8-3-7.
7. Defendant City of Blakely has a long history of active
involvement in the design, construction and operation of BHA
housing. In 1954, Defendant City of Blakely and Defendant BHA
designed and constructed Cedar Hill Homes I, with all 26
apartments officially designated for white tenants; and Willis
Cain Homes I, with all 49 apartments officially designated for
"Negro" tenants. In 1964, the Cedar Hill Homes II complex was
built adjacent to Cedar Hill Homes I, with all 14 apartments
officially designated for white tenants; and the Willis Cain
Homes II complex was built adjacent to Willis Cain Homes I, with
all 10 units officially designated for "Negro" tenants.
8. Defendant City of Blakely and Defendant BHA
intentionally established a racially segregated dual system of
public housing. In support of this racially segregated dual
system of public housing, Defendant City of Blakely and Defendant
BHA located the Willis Cain Homes adjacent to the "Negro" high
school and residential area, thereby increasing the concentration
of minorities and furthering racial isolation and segregation.
9. In 1981, Baptist Branch Homes were constructed, with 50
units unrestricted by race. In the early 1980s, Defendants began
placing African-American tenants in Cedar Hill Homes I, but
continued to refuse to rent apartments in Cedar Hill Homes II to
African-American tenants.
10. After Defendant Cooper was hired as BHA Executive
Director in 1994, he continued to implement Defendants'
discriminatory policies by refusing to rent vacant apartments in
Cedar Hill Homes II to eligible African-American applicants on
the BHA waiting list and by holding those apartments vacant until
suitable white applicants could be located.
11. Defendant Cooper's methods of implementing Defendants'
discriminatory policies included, but were not limited to:
(a) skipping white applicants over black applicants - who
had higher positions on the BHA waiting list - so that
white applicants could be placed in vacant Cedar Hill
Homes II apartments;
(b) placing white applicants in Cedar Hill Homes II
apartments without verifying their application
information and refusing to place African-American
applicants in Cedar Hill Homes II apartments, even if
they were entitled to waiting list preferences; and
(c) placing and maintaining single white tenants in two-bedroom Cedar Hill Homes II apartments and thereby
making those two-bedroom apartments unavailable to
African-American families on the BHA waiting list, in
violation of the BHA Admissions and Continued Occupancy
Policy (June 27, 1996), which states that single
tenants must occupy studio or one-bedroom apartments.
12. Since Defendant Cooper was hired as BHA Executive
Director, African-American tenants have been subjected to racial
harassment and discrimination, including but not limited to
Defendant Cooper's actions of: using racial slurs and derogatory
terms when speaking of African-American applicants and tenants;
walking through the predominantly African-American housing
complexes wearing fatigues and armed with a gun; stopping and
searching African-American tenants without cause; and, at various
times, requiring African-American tenants to remain inside their
apartments and out of BHA common areas and meeting rooms.
13. Beginning shortly after Mr. Cooper arrived, numerous
African-American tenants have complained of racial harassment and
discrimination to Defendant Cooper, Defendant BHA and Defendant
City of Blakely. Defendants have failed or refused to take
adequate action to prevent, stop or correct the racial harassment
and discrimination suffered by African-American tenants.
14. African-American tenants who complained of racial
harassment and discrimination have been subjected to coercion,
intimidation and/or retaliation, including but not limited to
Defendant Cooper's and other BHA employees' actions of: refusing
to allow African-American tenants to use BHA meeting rooms or
recognize their tenants' council; having the police detain
African-American tenants or otherwise disrupt their meetings;
improperly increasing African-American tenants' rental rates or
transferring them to smaller apartments; and threatening African-American tenants with eviction and initiating unwarranted
eviction actions.
15. Defendant BHA and Defendant City of Blakely have failed
to take effective steps to: alert Defendant Cooper and other BHA
employees that racial harassment, discrimination and/or
retaliation would not be tolerated on BHA property; take
appropriate action against discipline Defendant Cooper and other
BHA employees who engaged in racial harassment, discrimination
and/or retaliation; inform tenants of the procedures for
reporting racial harassment, discrimination and/or retaliation;
or train Defendant Cooper and other BHA employees in procedures
to prevent, stop and correct racial harassment, discrimination
and retaliation.
16. As set forth above, Defendants' statements, actions,
and failure to act, including the maintenance of policies
intended to discriminate against African-Americans, constitute:
(a) A pattern or practice of resistance to the fullenjoyment of rights granted by the Fair Housing
Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601-3619; and
(b) A denial to a group of persons of rights granted
by the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601-3619,
which raises an issue of general public
importance.
17. Defendants, by their statements, actions, and failure
to act, as set forth above, have:
(a) Refused to rent, refused to negotiate for the rental
of, or otherwise made unavailable, dwellings because of
race or color, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 3604(a);
(b) Discriminated in the terms, conditions or privileges of the rental of a dwelling, or in the provision of
services or facilities in connection therewith, because
of race or color, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 3604(b);
(c) Made statements with respect to the rental of dwellings
that indicate a preference, limitation, or
discrimination based on race or color, or an intention
to make such preference, limitation, or discrimination,
in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 3604(c); and
(d) Coerced, intimidated, threatened or interfered with
persons in the exercise or enjoyment of, or on account
of their having exercised or enjoyed, their rights
under the Fair Housing Act, in violation of 42 U.S.C.
§ 3617.
18. Persons who have been the victims of Defendants' racial
harassment, discrimination and/or retaliation are aggrieved
persons, as defined by 42 U.S.C. § 3602(i), and have suffered
harm and incurred damages as a result of Defendants'
discriminatory housing practices.
19. Defendants' discriminatory actions were intentional,
willful and/or taken in disregard for the rights of those
African-American applicants and tenants who were subjected to
Defendants' discriminatory housing practices.
WHEREFORE, the United States prays for an Order from this
Court that:
1. Declares that the discriminatory housing practices of
Defendants, as set forth above, violate the Fair Housing Act, as
amended, 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601-3619;
2. Enjoins Defendants, their agents, employees and
successors, and all other persons in active concert or
participation with them or any of them, from:
(a) Refusing to negotiate for the rental of, or otherwise
making unavailable or denying, a dwelling to any person
because of race or color;
(b) Discriminating against any person in the terms,
conditions or privileges of rental of a dwelling
because of race or color;
(c) Making statements with respect to the rental of
dwellings that indicate a preference, limitation, or
discrimination based on race or color, or an intention
to make such preference; and
(d) Coercing, intimidating, threatening, or interfering
with any person, in the exercise or enjoyment of any
right granted or protected by the Fair Housing Act;
3. Awards such damages as would fully compensate each
identifiable victim of Defendants' discriminatory housing
practices for injuries suffered as a result of Defendants'
discriminatory conduct, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 3614(d)(1)(B);
4. Awards punitive damages to each identifiable victim of
Defendants' discriminatory housing practices, pursuant to 42
U.S.C. § 3614(d)(1)(B); and
5. Awards civil penalties to the United States, in the
amount authorized by 42 U.S.C. § 3614(d)(1)(C), in order to
vindicate the public interest.
The United States further prays for such additional relief
as the interests of justice may require.
