The board is holding its fifth annual Fair Housing Conference next month, National Fair Housing Month.

The federal Fair Housing Act became law in 1968, in an era of seething racial tension.

Forty years later, in a time when a black man has a good chance to become president, is there still enough housing discrimination to worry about?

Octavia Rainey, who chairs the fair housing board, laughed at the naivete of that question when I put it to her. I wasn't offended. Actually, I asked it rhetorically; I know housing discrimination exists.

I was a victim myself only a couple of years ago when, after a water main broke in our house, my family had to seek temporary housing while repairs were done. An apartment complex in North Raleigh played games with us, refusing to rent my family the apartment we wanted.

I suspect the discrimination was because we had children rather than because of our race. Whatever it was, I complained to the state Human Relations Commission. The apartment complex eventually settled our case for a small amount of money and, more importantly, an agreement to put all of their employees through training on fair housing laws.

Hardy Watkins, an administrator in the city's Community Services Department who is helping to organize the conference, said the city still gets a variety of complaints, including discrimination against the disabled and by lending institutions.

Far from scaling back enforcement, the city may ramp it up. The city stopped enforcing anti-discrimination laws about 20 years ago, deferring to the state, according to Rainey. But the City Council in January authorized an effort that, if the state legislature approves, would mean federal financial support for city's investigations of discrimination.

"When you look at the size of the city of Raleigh not doing enforcement of fair housing rights -- it's absurd," she said.

The conference is April 11 and 12, and is free and open to the public. The April 12 session is in North Raleigh, at St. Raphael's, 5801 Falls of Neuse Road, and focuses on residential segregation.

For more information, call 831-6100 or visit www.raleighnc.gov.

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