A recent initiative by professional sports organizations is seeking to do what Realtors have been doing for more than a year: Pledging to do more to create inclusive communities.
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I got pumped while watching a recent Today Show as I got ready for my day. Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, along with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman joined host Craig Melvin to unveil their joint #TimeOut Against Hate.
They were just four of the nation’s sports leaders, along with those from MLS, NASCAR, WNBA and the NHL who have brought their organizations together to call a timeout against hate in our nation. They used the symbolic “T” hand gesture to make the point.
“While this country, of course, has made tremendous progress in so many ways, when you line up the data, and whether it’s antisemitism, anti-Muslim, anti-Black, anti-LGTBQ, that the data, as Robert is saying, is scary, you know, when you see the direction that this country’s been going in in the last few years,” Silver said that morning.
While TimeOut Against Hate is great, and we certainly benefit from the high-profile sports world shining the light on the horrific impact of discrimination, I want to remind real estate professionals that we were a year ahead of them with our Stop Hate in Real Estate (SHIRE) initiative that so many of you have signed onto and uphold today.
Stop Hate in Real Estate
A little over a year ago, the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA), LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance, National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) and WomanUP! created Stop Hate in Real Estate, recognizing that attacks on one community are attacks on all minority communities seeking equity and opportunity.
Since the launch of SHIRE in September 2023, housing discrimination hasn’t waned:
- AREAA joined the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), Housing Opportunities Project for Excellence, Inc., and the Fair Housing Center of the Greater Palm Beaches in filing a fair housing discrimination suit in federal court in Miami challenging Florida’s SB 264, a state law that almost completely prohibits Chinese citizens and people domiciled in China from buying property in the state.
- The Alliance was asked, honored and signed on as formal sponsors of Congressman Brad Schnieder’s (D-IL) House bill and Senator Tim Kaine’s (D-VA) Senate bill, The Fair & Equal Housing Act.
- Hispanic immigrants have been subject to numerous political attacks, and Donald Trump has blamed them for the run-up in home prices.
Despite HUD recently announcing the availability of $22 million to housing organizations across the nation to address housing discrimination, it is safe to assume that discrimination is an unwarranted barrier to increased diverse homeownership levels.
Diverse rates of homeownership
The U.S. Census Bureau second quarter Residential Vacancies and Homeownership Report showed that non-Hispanic Whites had a homeownership rate of 74.4 percent which was dramatically higher than Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) at 62.8 percent, Hispanics at 48.5 percent and the Black community at 45.3 percent, while UCLA’s Williams Institute continues to report LGBTQ+ homeownership rate is 49.8 percent.
To date, more than 2,000 in the industry have taken the Stop Hate in Real Estate pledge which reads:
By participating in Stop Hate in Real Estate:
- I believe we have the power to help change the trajectory of our nation so that we don’t have to wake up each morning to headlines of hate.
- I pledge my support to the Realtors Mission to “preserve, protect and advance the right to real property for all.”
- I support the positive impact the real estate industry can make in stamping out hate.
- I believe that I can be a positive influence within my sphere of influence and community and do what I can to combat hate when I see it.
I want to remind you of what 2023 Alliance National President Erin Morrison (the visionary and engineer of the SHIRE initiative) once wrote in Inman:
“There are about 1.5 million Realtors. The majority are anti-hate and anti-discrimination. Our industry is filled with people who want to find resolution and compromise instead of living in a divided country.
Who is better than those of us in real estate to lay the groundwork for change?
Real estate professionals, with their extensive networks and local influence, are well-equipped to speak out against any hate or attacks on minority communities. We are already well-equipped. We understand Fair Housing. From redlining to refusal of service, we understand the importance of eliminating biases and creating an industry that truly serves everyone.“
My goal … no, my hope … is that public opinion being generated from the sports world creates a reminder for you to take the pledge at StopHateinRealEstate.org and show the leaders in our industry and nation that the real estate industry has had enough of hatred and discrimination.
We’re better than that. We’re above that.
After all, we can’t help build communities while allowing a vocal minority to continue to destroy and dismantle those very same ones.
Ryan Weyandt is the CEO of The LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance, a 501(c)6 nonprofit dedicated to empowering the LGBTQ+ community on the path to homeownership through advocacy on behalf of the community on housing issues. The Alliance, founded in June 2020, is an all-inclusive organization that works to improve the professional lives of its members through a public-facing Alliance Referral Community.
