4:00 PM Pacific/ 5:00 PM Mountain/ 6:00 PM Central/ 7:00 PM Eastern
On Thursday, June 25, 2020, Genuine Hustle hosted a virtual Q&A session about anti-racism in real estate. Tacoma Real Estate Agent Marguerite Martin interviewed Tori Williams Douglass, an anti-racist educator, writer, content creator, and creator of “White Homework,” and their thought-provoking, in-depth conversation about being actively anti-racist in the real estate is a must-listen for anyone in the industry (and really, anyone interested in anti-racist work will find their 1-hour conversation extremely valuable).
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Tori uses the intersection of history, data, and neuroscience to create a compelling story about race, racism, and restorative justice. Together, Tori and Marguerite dive into how racism shows up in real estate and what it looks like to identify and acknowledge a realtor’s role in that.
“When I first realized that racism wasn’t just like a bad feeling in my body and a bad thing I say or do to somebody, but it’s actually the work I’m doing and it’s built into the systems I participate in and benefit from, I freaked out and I was like I need to be a good white person, I need to fix it,” shares Marguerite.
A lot of people may want a simple “five point plan” to “fix” racism (Marguerite certainly did), but as Tori points out, there’s no “one size fits all” solution. Tori encourages real estate agents to first challenge some of the assumptions we have about the society we live in, which includes a Western framework for measuring success.
Needless to say, there’s a lot to unpack, and Tori and Marguerite dive into this during the session.
“With white realtors, anti-racism work is really going to be bringing your privilege to bare for the greater good in your community,” says Tori.
This starts with learning about our country’s history and the systems that we’re a part of today. “We can’t make any progress if we’re not willing to deal with things as they are, and that fundamentally requires understanding our history,” adds Tori.
How can real estate agents be anti-racist?
There are many things that agents can do to work toward creating more equitable communities, but like Tori and Marguerite talk about in the beginning of the Q&A session, there’s no simple, one size fits all solution. However, here are a few things that you can do to work towards being an actively anti-racist real estate agent:
Educate yourself. Begin by asking yourself “How is the system racist today?” Self-education is essential, and this includes examining your own biases, listening to BIPOC and people who are most affected by the housing policies in your specific city/county/state.
Follow local working class BIPOC leadership. You will need to seek these voices out. There are already BIPOC in your city who are advocating on behalf of their communities. Following local people is important because not every city is going to have the same issues. Social media is the best way to seek out these voices.
Ask yourself tough questions. “What is my individual part as a realtor, or an office manager, or as a company owner in creating a more equitable community? How do I know I am doing my part to offset the harm I’m doing just by going to work everyday?”
Figure out what it looks like to build reparations into your business model. How can you and/or your company use your resources to create more equity? Operate from a place of benefiting the larger community.
Create new models for what success looks like. Companies and individuals can create new models for what success is going to look like going forward. We have to create a brand new way of looking and seeing who is being impacted and a brand new way of modeling our entire business and the way we see our communities.
Create a culture in your office where doing anti-racist work is the expectation. According to Tori, bias training doesn’t work. The information in bias training can be important, but it turns out that bias training doesn’t actually change the culture of an office. If your office does not have a culture where you can bring up topics like racism and equity, now is the time to change this.
While creating a more inclusive industry where there are more Black real estate agents, managers, and owners is important, this is not going to automatically create more Black homeownership and equity in the community.
“We’re not going to fix the problems with the same tools that caused the problem,” emphasizes Tori.
The problem of systemic racism in real estate is larger than any individual agent. Each of us must work in our own corner of the industry to continually educate ourselves over time. As we work to hold companies and organizations within our industry accountable, we can make the outcomes more equitable for everyone.
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After Tori’s conversation with Marguerite, Tori answered questions from the audience as well.
We’ll talk about moving out of a one size fits all model for anti-racist action and focus on our individual parts as real estate agents in this system. Tori will take questions from the group.
“If you’ve learned or felt challenged by my advocacy about the nexus of real estate and justice in America, I’d like to challenge you to take the next step. I first encountered Tori’s writing in a piece where she was working through the cognitive dissonance of white American evangelicals on issues of police and state violence against Black people. I have a reputation for being blunt to audiences, she’s the Michael Jordan of the art. I don’t always agree with Tori, but she always leaves me thinking about my choices and my advocacy. Engaging with Tori has made me a better advocate.” Nate Bowling, GH Tacoma Keynote Speaker, Washington State Teacher of the Year 2016
Outline
Who is Tori
Moving out of the One Size Fits All Model for Antiracism
What is my part as an individual Realtor?
What do you mean real estate is a racist system?
What do you mean by complicity in a racist system?
Additional questions from the group