The federal government on Monday filed a lawsuit against the Housing Authority for the City of Ruston, alleging it has engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against black tenants.
"Access to housing free from racial discrimination is everyone's right, including those who seek public housing assistance," said Jocelyn Samuels, acting assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division. "The department will continue its vigorous enforcement of the Fair Housing Act."
The civil complaint, filed in federal court in Monroe, alleges the housing authority maintained a "racially segregated housing authority by steering and assigning applicants to its five complexes based on race, rather than in order of their placement on the Ruston Housing Authority's waiting list."