Logan Fontenelle Housing Project - Lawsuit

Lawsuit

In 1990 a civil rights lawsuit on behalf of the African-American residents of Logan Fontenelle alleged that Omaha's public housing discriminated against racial minorities. A class action suit was brought against the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In Hawkins v. Cisneros, the US Supreme Court determined that the Omaha Housing Authority and the City of Omaha had violated the U.S. Housing Act and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 as related to the development and administration of Omaha’s public housing, and violated the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and other federal statutes, regulations and guidelines.

A 1994 settlement required that former residents displaced by HUD's planned closing of the Logan Fontenelle Housing Project would receive counseling and rent assistance, relocation assistance payments, an opportunity for additional assistance through Section 8 vouchers and certificates, and assistance to find housing in areas of Omaha with minority populations of less than 30 percent.