Social Equity Action & Education Highlights | April 2021

As I start this article, I want to acknowledge that the land I live and labor on is the original homeland of the Lummi, Nooksack, Samish, Semiahmoo and other Coast Salish Native American Tribes, land that they are still connected to today.

As a member of the Bellingham community, I and so many others know that there is a lot of work to be done when it comes to bettering our social equity for the various communities and industries that make up our city, and the real estate industry is no exception to that.

Once a month, we'll be sharing resources on anti-racism, social equity & equality through various mediums like National Association of Realtor (NAR) Classes, workshops, articles, podcasts, books, educational videos & more! This is something that we will be sharing monthly in our real estate HUB Community for Whatcom & Skagit County real estate professionals, and while we share content in that group that will help them attain better practices and social equity in their business world, we also will be sharing content that allows and teaches them to do the same in their personal, everyday lives.

This month, we're focusing on the ever-present racist systems that affect business & real estate, and the impacts systemic racism have had on Black citizens in the U.S. regarding their own business & housing experiences.

Word of the Month - Gentrification

We start with our word of the month, that being ‘Gentrification’. Gentrification originates from Ruth Glass in 1960, and was initially used to describe how working class neighborhoods in London, England were morphed into middle/upper class communities. This would mean that the neighborhood and its value would increase, and would usually be partial to those that were affluent, young, white individuals.

This means that residents in these working class neighborhoods, usually those that house communities of color, are pushed out due to increasing rents and property value, oftentimes causing them to lose their home because they were forced to move. An example of this could be a building being bought, torn down and replaced with upscale, mid-luxury condos or apartments in a neighborhood that’s also seeing more corporate businesses moving in, causing property values to increase and slash a sharp contrast against those that have been living in this neighborhood for years under a lower rent.

You can read more about the scales of gentrification by clicking here.

Book Recommendation - Race for Profit

This month, our book recommendation is Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor. This book explores the exploitative real estate systems and practices that stretched far past the laws enacted to prevent them. Even with redlining being outlawed, “racist structures and individuals remained intact after its [redlining’s] end”, and Realtors and industry workers in real estate alike continued to practice impropriety. Not only did they continue to practice those, but were enabled by their brokerages, governments and fellow industry members to do so.

You can purchase this book on Amazon or at our favorite local bookstore in Bellingham, WA, Village Books. Check out their online option to purchase this book here.

Podcast Recommendation - Pod Save the People

An amazing podcast series that you can find on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and everywhere else that you listen to your  favorite podcast, is Pod Save the People. This podcast is hosted by DeRay Mckesson, an activist & organizer who explores various topics such as politics, social justice, news & culture alongside other hosts Sam Sinyangwe, Kaya Henderson & De’Ara Balendger. Mckesson and his team release episodes every Tuesday, and often bring on experts on the topics they explore, influencers and national leaders to deepen the conversation and dialogue that they explore each episode.

This month, we recommend that you listen to Episode 197, Pat Yourself on the Back with Shaka King & Dorothy A. Brown. “Kaya Henderson sits down with Shaka King, the director and co-writer of "Judas and the Black Messiah". Netta Elzie gives an update on what's happening with the nationwide protests. DeRay interviews author/professor Dorothy A. Brown about racial discrepancies in American tax law” (Pod Save the People).

Video Recommendations - NPR & Trevor Noah

We’ll let these videos speak for themselves. Down below are two recommendations we have for some bite-sized info you can watch right now on how segregation and the gap on Black home ownership are still so relevant and present today.

Why Cities Are Still So Segregated | Let’s Talk by NPR

“In 1968, Congress passed the Fair Housing Act that made it illegal to discriminate in housing. Gene Demby of NPR’s Code Switch explains why neighborhoods are still so segregated today" (National Association of Realtors).

Black Home Ownership - If You Don’t Know, Now You Know | The Daily Social Distancing Show by Trevor Noah

"The home ownership gap is worse for Black Americans now than during segregation. Trevor breaks down how the housing system is rigged against Black America, and Leo Deblin has a new service to help Black homeowners sell their properties" (The Daily Show with Trevor Noah).

Article Recommendation

This article was sourced by the official Realtor magazine by the Realtor Association of Prince William. Below is an excerpt from the article, the full piece you can read here.

“Racial inequality and justice must be discussed within brokerages as well, says Sandra Butler, chair of NAR’s Fair Housing Policy Committee. But the conversation has to go beyond reinforcing fair housing, which is real estate’s traditional avenue toward addressing discrimination, she adds. “What draws people to a neighborhood is more than housing—it’s schools, walkability, access to food, and health care. We can talk about housing, but if we’re not at the table talking about those other issues, we’re not part of the solution. The housing component is just one piece of the pie” (Realtor Magazine).

Class/Seminar

As all current NAR Courses for Racial Equity are sold out and until new ones are scheduled, we highly encourage attending this virtual seminar!

"Come Meet A Black Person" includes guest speakers, interactive questionnaires, open conversations and an awesome group of participants. We will interact in #RacismTalkRooms and #BlackExperienceRooms as we do our part in eradicating racism in America. Come Meet A Black Person" hosts this workshop monthly and offers a space for everyone to come together to talk actively about anti-racism” (Eventbrite). You can find more information on this event here.

Next month, we’ll be bringing awareness to a different topic within the same vein of social equity and education. We highly encourage those that come across this content to participate in as much of the recommended content that you can. Whether you're a reader, listener or watcher, we've provided items that are there for everyone to utilize and that meet everyone’s learning style. We’ll see you next month.

Sources Cited

Miller, Lindsay M. “We Need to Change How We Think About Gentrification.” National Civic League, 25 Jan. 2019, www.nationalcivicleague.org/ncr-article/we-need-to-change-how-we-think-about-gentrification/.

Pod Save the People. Created by DeRay Mckesson, season 1, episode 197, Spotify, 6 Apr. 2021.

Saunders, Pete. “The Scales of Gentrification.” American Planning Association, www.planning.org/planning/2018/dec/scalesofgentrification/.

“Taking Action to Make Your Business Anti-Racist: REALTOR Association of Prince William.” REALTOR Association of Prince William |, 19 June 2020, www.pwar.com/taking-action-to-make-your-business-anti-racist/.

“‘Come Meet A Black Person’ Anti-Racism Virtual Series.” Eventbrite, www.eventbrite.com/e/come-meet-a-black-person-anti-racism-virtual-series-tickets-127424507131?aff=ebdssbeditorialcollection.