.MzEwMQ.MzEwMQ

-' < A~ · J,'r '~ -··. \• ~ 'ii t;u~ allal~@et m., ~2UC!ll OCD, @ • 3 @3@3 TELEPHONE Employment on Merit Program NOYES COLLINSON, ~Dace, 5 . 523-6629 DireCJor SomheaJlern Regional Offic, 1818 S. Main St. High Point, N. C. , 12 June 1967 Atlanta Community Relations Program City Hall ' Atlanta, Georgia Att~ Irving Kaler Chairman Ladies and Gentlemen: May we direct your attention to the a ttached "Cities, Jobs & Hous es 11 , with special reference to the marked passage. American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) programs ar~- concerned with the el i mination of these practices which hurt or mar the individual, offend his dignity or dep rive him of the opportunity to a chieve his God-given potential. In Atlanta AFSC has recently added a new dimensi on to its Employment on Merit program, now in its sixth year of operation--a Fair Housing or Open Occupancy program. Expe rience demons trates that in increasing instances compliance with the Equal Employment Opportunity mandates of Title VII, Civil Rights Act of 1964, i s blocked by discriminatory practices. Adequately q ualified Negroes are o f fered jobs by man ageme nt only to discover that ~hey can not a ccept them b e cause of inaccessibility to the job site ~ ) This situation is exacerbated as business and industry move away from estab lished centers into and bey ond the sub urbs, following peripheral and expre ss highway s where public t ransportation is e ithe r non - exiSta nt or wholly ina d equ a t e . White e mployee s h ave the option of f o llowing the ir j obs to r e s i denti a l areas clos e r to the n ew locations . This o p tion i s d e ni e d Ne gro e mployees and applicants, however wel l qualified. Th e r e sult is e ither a te d ious commute from the ghe tto to t he job s ite o r a s earch for a job for which h e may be l es s qualified or over q u a li f i e d, b ut to which he has r easonab le a ccess f rom his home. - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- --AT N ATION AL H EADQU ARTERS - -- - - -- -- - -- - - - -J CAOf1tR Fft;1/f)t ::r~ 'Ch,u;11>.:IJ O t'i.t\ttt-. rr- t PicK E.iT, E.r:Ct:it i t c ser;t11t1ry Emcntm e· OUN\¥/. B\!\\~ l .·~·1:, : fr~~ 1S,•cr8.:1) , GrtnrnT1 f · ~ l "TT ' Cr :': ,ui.:n "• ' H r=. ' RY 1 �-2- Secretary of Labor Willard Wirtz recently observed t h at the r a te of Negro unemployment will rise as busine ss a nd in du str y move awa y from forme r locations to new situa tions in a cce ssible to Ne g roes unless and until e q ual opportunity of residence is ava il~ a ble to all employees alike. Simply stated, unequal a ccess to job sites h ampe rs and i n increasing instance s de feats equal emp loyment opportunity . We a r e aware t hat limitations impo s e d up on the Atlanta Commu n ity Re l ations Commi ss ion by politic a l boundaries restrict fa i r h ousing ordin a nces which t h e Commission mi ght r e conm,end to t h e corporate limits of the City of Atl a nta . We are also aware that othe r u rgencie s such as sewage disp o sal, a ir p ollution and rap i d tra nsit, to mention only a few conspicuous ins t an c es , must e v e ntu a lly be dea lt wi th as Me trop oli tan Area pro l;, l ems. Howev e r, a beginning must b e made s omewhe r e by an e nligh t ened and progre ssive community . We q u es tion whe t he r At lant a c an a fford to sit i d ly b y awaiting p o s sib l e f utu r e federa l legi s l ation wh ile t h e h ous ing d ile mma i ntens i f i es with e a ch pass i ng month . Req ues ts pre s ented to Atl an t a f or fa ir housing l eg i s l a ti on hav e been par ried with the tri t e a rgume nt t h a t s uch l egis l a tion will on l y a cce l e rat e " f light to s ub u rb i a ". Th i s i s a n e asy a n swer a nd may h ave s ome e l e me n t o f fa ct. Bu t at l eas t such an o r d i n a nce wou l d t e n d t o s t a bili ze r es i denti a l areas in tra nsiti on withi n t he city limits , by e nco u ragi n g city-wi de d i spe rsal o f mi n o r ity families s e eki ng sui tab l e and d ecent homes with i n t he i r means. ~.n o pen o c cupancy ordinan c e would i n addition, recog ni ze t he rig hts o f f irst c l a ss c iti zen s h ip f o r a ll At lanta n s a like, irrespective o f race o r re ligion, -· �-3- by permitting every famil y to live in a neighborhood of its choice and compat ib le with its means and finances. We encoura ge further persuasion on the p art of the Commission directe d toward the enactment of a fair housing ordinance as a necessary concomitant of the "Forward Atlanta" movement. N~:z-~:::- Res p ectfully y ours, P r ogram Director jac:nc cc: Ma y or Ivan Allen, Jr. Cecil Al e x ander Dr. Benjamin Ma y s . Dr. Sanford Atwood Encl. ~ (.;,/~-(/ cf'7~ ernona Clay ton Housing Director �