Even though Ranesha Halliburton was turned away as a tenant by two white landlords because of her race, the 25-year-old black college student said she remains devoted to building her life in Detroit Lakes, Minn.
For refusing to rent one of their properties to "these kinds of people," Pearl Beck, 92, and her son, Gregory Beck, 51, were ordered to pay Halliburton $25,500 as part of a settlement filed Thursday in federal court in Minneapolis.Despite the agreement, the younger Beck contended Friday that government officials "were lied to" and "want to believe the minority because that's what they represent." Beck, who said he's married to an American Indian, added that he and his mother have never discriminated when renting, noting, "We got Indians in our rentals, we got a gay person in our rentals, we got a Mexican in our rentals."
He said he and his mother have had no blacks as tenants in their many decades as landlords. "We don't see that many around here. ... They don't want to come up here because it's too cold," he said.
Specifically, authorities concluded, the Becks violated the federal Fair Housing Act by refusing in 2007 to rent a dwelling to Halliburton because of her race. A month after turning her down, the Becks rented the same home to a white man, according to federal officials.
Halliburton found a place elsewhere in Detroit Lakes and filed a complaint with the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. The U.S. attorney's office sued the Becks in May 2009.
Despite feeling "disrespected and violated" in her encounter with the Becks, Halliburton continued to deepen her roots in the Detroit Lakes. She works as a nurse's assistant at a nursing home, rents a home in town and attends Minnesota State Community and Technical College in Detroit Lakes, where she studies occupational therapy.
"I have a lot of things going on here," she said Friday. "I felt I'd be giving up if I went away. I've met a lot of nice people here. I have a wonderful landlord."
Halliburton said she's not surprised that Gregory Beck denies mistreating her. "They just made excuses and never said that they did anything wrong," she said.
In its complaint, the federal government alleged that in July 2007, Halliburton answered an ad for a duplex unit for rent on West Lake Avenue in Detroit Lakes. In an initial telephone conversation, Pearl Beck said that the residence was available. She later acknowledged to HUD that she did not know the caller's race at the time of the phone call.
But when Halliburton arrived to see the property with her boyfriend and his father, Pearl Beck said it was not for rent, adding, "No way. No way. It's not for rent. I can't do this. I'm not renting to these kinds of people."
Several excuses
The next day, according to HUD, a white woman and acquaintance of Halliburton's posed as a prospective renter and met Pearl Beck at the same property. The acquaintance asked Pearl Beck whether she rented to blacks or American Indians. The landlord responded, "A carload of them came by the other day, but I will keep that unit vacant or move in myself before renting to blacks."Halliburton contacted Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota, and one of its attorneys called Pearl Beck. She told the attorney that her tenants next door had told her that they would move out if she rented to "black people." The attorney responded that that type of discrimination was illegal.
Beck then said Halliburton had dogs, and that was why she turned her down. She added that the home was too small for the prospective tenant, and that she planned to move in there herself.
As part of the agreement, the Becks paid Halliburton $25,500, and they must cease refusing to rent property based on race, display fair-housing materials in all of their rental properties and include the words "Equal Housing Opportunity" in any of their advertising material.
They also must attend a training program focusing on the race-related provisions of federal, state and local fair housing laws.