(LEX 18) — A group of Lexington-area realtors are working all week to get more Black Kentuckians involved in real estate and homeownership.
Chancellor Scott, Realtor and President of The National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) Central Kentucky, says real estate can play a huge role in closing the racial wage gap.
"In order to close that wealth gap we have to generational wealth. We have to be proactive about talking about financial literacy," said Scott.
He says education, practice, and learning from his parents allowed him to create generational wealth for his family.
"Whenever I saw the opportunity to get involved with investing, I jumped on it," said Scott.
According to the Federal Reserve, the racial U.S. homeownership gap was the largest it had been in a decade in 2021. Black homeownership was 44%, while white ownership was 29 percentage points higher, at 73%.
"That's a big difference, that's a huge difference and that's where we are right now," said realtor and NAREB member Ivy Barksdale.
Barksdale says racist practices of the past, like redlining and discriminatory housing covenants, have made a significant impact.
"We've got a lot of history to overcome," she explained.
The 2023 State of Housing in Black America (SHIBA) report reveals some obstacles to homeownership remain.
"Sometimes, because things are so stacked against Black people in real estate, we have to come up with different programs that allow us to participate, and so we're always looking for programs that help with down payments, help with building credit, help with just anything to help people get in and stay in home ownership," said Barksdale.
That's why, during their week of celebrating the progress Black realtors have made in the industry, NAREB Central Kentucky is also pouring into the progress of their community.
"To let people kind of expand their horizon when it comes to financial health and if you look at any people with any kind of financial success real estate is part of that," said Barksdale.
The organization will host its first Black Wealth Summit in the city on Saturday at Bluegrass Community and Technical College. Throughout the week, it hosted and participated in several events to advocate for and educate people. These events included networking, meetings with local government representatives, a fair housing educational session, and community service.
Wealth Summit|Building Black Wealth will be a day of breakout sessions at Leestown Campus, 164 Opportunity Way, on Saturday, April 13, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and is free to attend.
NAREB says they have advocated for diversity and equality in real estate since 1947, when Black people were prohibited from joining the National Association of Realtors.
Since then, NAREB has worked to combat discrimination in housing. The local Central Kentucky board says, "They aim to solidify a community of Black real estate professionals in Central Kentucky who are committed to elevating one another and amplifying their collective voice to better represent the community we serve as we strive to meet the NAREB National goal of Democracy in Housing."
