On April 20, 2026, ACAR’s CEO Mike Valerino headed to Parma City Council to show support for a resolution declaring April 2026 as Fair Housing Month in the City of Parma. ACAR, representing roughly 6,000 real estate professionals across northeast Ohio, was proud to be there in support.
The declaration points back to a pivotal moment in American history: April 11, 1968, when the Fair Housing Act was signed into law. The Act represented a hard-won victory against entrenched housing discrimination and racial segregation and it didn’t come easily. It came because people organized, marched, advocated, and refused to let the status quo stand. Fifty-eight years later, that fight continues, and cities like Parma declaring Fair Housing Month is part of how communities keep that commitment visible and alive.
The Council also called on Parma’s community leaders to use the month as an opportunity to raise awareness, to make sure residents understand their rights under local, state, and federal law, and that those protections are real and enforceable.
For ACAR and the nearly 6,000 REALTORS® it represents across northeast Ohio, this kind of civic action matters deeply. Fair housing isn’t something we think about once a year during a required training. It’s embedded in our professional identity, in the belief that the real estate market should be genuinely open to every buyer, seller, renter, and homeowner, regardless of who they are or where they come from.
Throughout April, metro bus ads across the region will highlight Fair Housing Month, offering a visible, public reminder of what’s at stake and what we’re working toward together.
ACAR is proud to stand alongside Parma and the broader communities of Cuyahoga, Portage, and Summit Counties in this commitment. The door to equal opportunity in housing should be open to everyone, and we’ll keep working until it is.
View the resolution here.
