If I told you that the gap between White and Black homeownership rates was wider now than in 1960 when housing discimination was actually legal would that bother you? When I first heard this fact more than a year ago, it bothered me and has stuck with me since. I recently had the privilege of visiting the “Redlined: Cities, Suburbs, and Segregation” exhibit at the Johnson County Museum in Overland Park, KS. It opened my eyes to the history of redlining and how this practice is still impacting home ownership among minorities today. (If you’re unfamiliar with the term ‘redlining’, it has come to mean any type of racial discrimination as it relates to housing, but the term comes from the government maps that outlined areas where black residents lived and were therefore deemed risky investments.) Unfortunately, the exhibit has ended, but the museum published a book by the same name that I am patiently awaiting. Contact the Johnson County Museum to get your copy and learn for yourself the effects that redlining had on the black community in Kansas City and surrounding areas.

The question now becomes “As a real estate agent, what can I do to affect or help increase home ownership among Black Americans?” I believe there’s a lot I can do, but first I have to better understand the current roadblocks that Black Americans face when it comes to home ownership. To do this, I have been reading and learning more about redlining. I am also having conversations with black friends and black leaders to get their perspective about why home ownership is so low in the black demographic and what type of help is needed to combat this.  I hope to take what I learn and put a plan in place to help increase home ownership among the black community.

I strongly believe that home ownership is a fundamental building block to personal wealth. It’s a known fact that with wealth comes power. If we’re going to continue increasing equality in our country, the power must be equalized as well. That’s why I believe that I can play a part in the balancing of power by helping Black Americans become homeowners and subsequently help them build wealth. I hope you’ll follow along and support this initiative with me. I’ll be sharing more information on my social channels.