Today, African-American homeowners and two civil rights organizations announced a settlement in a post-Hurricane Katrina housing discrimination lawsuit brought against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the State of Louisiana regarding the “Road Home” program.

On April 8, 2011, a federal court of appeals issued a ruling explaining its decision to set aside preliminary injunctions previously granted against the State of Louisiana regarding its administration of the Road Home program.

Yesterday, Plaintiffs filed a brief in Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center v. HUD, a case alleging discrimination in the “Road home” program – the single largest housing recovery program in U.S. history.

On Wednesday the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued an injunction protecting funds from the Road Home Program so that displaced homeowners can have an opportunity to show that Louisiana and HUD have distributed recovery funds in a discriminatory manner.

Today a federal court in Washington, DC, prevented Louisiana from continuing to utilize a discriminatory formula as part of the federally-funded “Road Home” Program, which was designed by the Louisiana Recovery Authority and approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) to aid homeowners in their efforts to rebuild in the wake of devastating damage resulting from Hurricanes Rita and Katrina.

By Damon Hewitt
A year and a half after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, native son and R&B singer Roi Anthony released a song entitled “A Long Way From Home.” Part mournful and part hopeful, the song captured the burdened yet resilient spirit of New Orleanians displaced by the storm. Sadly, over three years after Katrina, his lyrics continue to ring true.