Whereas April 11, 2023, marks the 55th anniversary of the date of enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, title VIII of which ( 42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq. ) is commonly known as the Fair Housing Act; Whereas the Chicago Freedom Movement, led by the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr., expanded the fight for civil rights from the South to the North, raised the national consciousness about housing discrimination, and shaped the debate that led to the landmark Fair Housing Act; Whereas the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson and commonly known as the Kerner Commission, found on February 29, 1968, that our nation is moving toward two societies, one black and one white—separate and unequal ; Whereas Congress passed the Fair Housing Act as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, and President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Act into law on April 11, 1968, one week after the assassination of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr.; Whereas the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights recognize adequate housing as a human right; Whereas the original Fair Housing Act prohibited discrimination in housing and housing-related transactions on the basis of race, color, national origin, and religion; Whereas the mission statement of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reflects a commitment to build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination ; Whereas, in section 808 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 ( Public Law 93–383 ), Congress amended the Fair Housing Act to include protection on the basis of sex, including gender identity and sexual orientation; Whereas September 13, 2023, will mark the 35th anniversary of the congressional passage of the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988