Creators

The Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center (LaFHAC) is a nonprofit civil rights organization established in 1995 to eradicate housing discrimination. LaFHAC’s work throughout Louisiana includes educational offerings, free legal services for victims of housing discrimination, policy advocacy, and foreclosure prevention counseling. LaFHAC is dedicated to fighting discrimination because it is an illegal and divisive force that perpetuates poverty and segregation, and limits access to opportunity. Learn more at www.lafairhousing.org.  

Sharika Mahdi-Neville grew up in New Orleans' Ninth Ward. Sharika has embraced art since childhood, spending hours listening to music and drawing figurative images. Moving beyond drawing, she discovered painting in high school where art classes became the platform on which she would stand to unite with the world-renowned art guild Young Aspirations/Young Artists Inc. (YA/YA) which provided her with training and exposure to art. Sharika earned an undergraduate and graduate degree in Mass Communication from Lousiana State University.

Sharika's work is described as "happy" and has been praised by Charles Bibbs and Maya Angelou. Her love for kids and education inspired her work on The Fair Housing Five.

LaFHAC staff received invaluable guidance and inspiration from Monique Butler, Rowan Shafer, Crissy Moore, and 4th and 5th graders from Audubon Charter School; Vera Warren-Williams and Jennifer Turner from Community Book Center; Aesha Rasheed from New Orleans Parent Organizing Network; Lauren Bierbaum and Kelly Harris from GNO Afterschool Partnership; Catherine Robbin and Alice Spencer from TCA HeadStart; JoAnn Clarey from LSU Health Sciences Center; Shannon del Corral and Freddi Evans.

In addition, LaFHAC is grateful to students and staff at Eisenhower Elementary School, Alice Harte Charter School, Urban League College Track, and the COPS for Kids summer program.

This project was financially assisted by the Louisiana Bar Foundation. LaFHAC is also grateful for the financial support of over one hundred individual donors:  Karen Wimpelberg, Kathleen Peters, Ron Cropper, Coleen Murphy, Maryellen J Lewis, Thomas Bogan, Yaeli Bronstein, Evan Casper-Futterman, Miriam Liebman, Rachel Glicksman, Lydia Pelot-Hobbs, Karen Reifenberger, Pam Nath, Janice Spazante, Joshua Lichtman, Marcia Stein-Adams, Judith Stein, Sarah Howard, Rebecca Waxman, Melissa Sloan, Nicole Gillies, Patty Scott, Ray Nichols, Bobbie Stein, Lillian Meredith, Eva Lerner, Hannah Rosenblum, Erika Rumbley, Rachel Lee, Adele Hall, Renee Corrigan, Nick Slie, Michelle Morgan, Hannah Pepper-Cunningham, Jacob Moses, Joanna Russo, Thena K Robinson, Hannah Weinstein, Heather B Wolfe, Matt Olson, Susan Olson, Megan Stein, Corlis Perry, Stephen Clapp, Rachel Carrico, Blair Adams, Sterling Thomas, Laura Williams, William Bowling, Kathy Flower, Amber Seely, Nancy Freeman, Tamar Moskowitz, Carol Parker Stein, Andrew Stein, MB Vitale, Sherry Singer, Emily Danielson, Susan Stan, Walter Blair Adams, Geri Reinhardt, Joanna Boyce Ragland, Susan Bergson, Kate Drabinksi, Emily Drabinksi, Priya Kandaswamy, Diana Lewis, Nick Marshall, Jeanie Goddard, Ronna Frick, Ginny Karabell, Margaret L Klingmeyer, Alen Feinerman, Pam McCourt, Marsha Mirkin, Kyle Ott, Jennifer Glick, Caron Atlas, Diana Dunn, Richard Weingart, Andy Saavedra, Evelyn Hanneman, Justine Diamond, Luisa Dantas, Micheal Boedigheimer, Kady Weingart, Douglas D Chasick, Ruth Sherry, Carol Hannenberg, Shirley & Harold Stein, Deborah Samet, Anne Thonis, Kathy Johnson and Jane Wholey.