In the latest Illinois REALTORS® podcast, several REALTOR® members talk about the significance of Black History Month, offer suggestions for celebrating and explain how the idea connects to the American Dream of homeownership.

Listen to the discussion that includes REALTORS® Crystal Blanton, Courtney Jones, Darell Powell-Lee and Celeste Wheeler.

Full Transcript:

Jeremy Goeckner: Hello, and welcome to the IR weekly podcast, keeping you up to date with all the latest news in the REALTOR® world. I’m Jeremy Goeckner. And I want to thank you for joining us for this very special edition of the podcast today, as it does every year, February marks the beginning of black history month in the United States. The first call for national observance happened in 1926 when Carter G. Woodson and the ASALH designated the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Woodson felt deeply that at least one week would allow for the general movement to become something annually celebrated over the next five decades.

The week continued to grow in popularity with colleges, towns, and communities picking up the cause. This culminated in 1976, when President Gerald Ford formally recognized the entire month of February as Black History Month during the United states’ bicentennial celebration. In his own words, Ford urged Americans to seize the opportunity to honor the too often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history today, Black History Month continues to mark the incredible legacy of the African American community, but also serves as an inspiration to the next generation of incredible mold breakers and Illinois REALTORS® is proud to once again, celebrate Black History Month.

We recently talked with a few prominent African American REALTORS® for their thoughts on this month and what it means to them. Crystal Blanton of Fathom Realty in Chicago summarizes it well.

Crystal Blanton: Black History Month to me is a laser focused time of the year to rejoice and celebrate the impact that African Americans have had on our society.

Jeremy Goeckner: Most consistent of all though, was a simple idea that while Black History Month comes every February, the message is to be lived all year long, Celeste Wheeler, the first African American president of the REALTOR® Association of Southwestern Illinois, articulates it well.

Celeste Wheeler: Being a person of color, I would have to say all year round this is what we live. I have been surrounded by so many people who have done these great things and you know, we just celebrate those achievements and accomplishments all the time. We recognize that.

Jeremy Goeckner: Courtney Jones of the Dearborn REALTISTS® reiterates:

Courtney Jones: I celebrate our illustrious history every day, you know I pay homage to the, the ancestors, you know, every day. I’m excited to talk about, like we are talking about today just the different opportunities that are available today that weren’t available in the past.

Jeremy Goeckner: For Darell Powell-Lee of Chicago Homes Realty Group, this sentiment takes on an even deeper meaning.

Darell Powell-Lee: So, in my household Black History Month is daily. It’s not just the month. It’s something that we celebrate all year. We make sure our daughter knows that Black History Month is recognized by a lot of corporate sponsors. It gets a lot of attention, TV and publication, but no actuality. We are a part of American history. Our history won’t fit inside of all. And so we make sure that she knows daily the contributions of African Americans to the United States of America.

Jeremy Goeckner: It’s sometimes easy to forget that while much progress has been made when it comes to the American dream of home ownership, things started in a much harsher place. Darrell continues,

Darell Powell-Lee: Being in real estate for those who are watching this, the African American community has been redlined historically in terms of being able to purchase real estate. So I like to use this analogy—if this is a race,  if real estate is a race you know, we started 20 minutes after everybody else did, right? So we’re just catching up as a community in terms of homeownership and the importance of it. And Dearborn has a special relationship with the African American community in terms of education and facilitating that homeownership. And that’s something that I hold dear and I’m very proud of the organization and being part of the organization to be able to contribute to the black community, to show them that homeownership is possible.

Jeremy Goeckner: Courtney Jones reiterates that this history has led to modern day consequences in the collective psyche of large swaths of the African American community.

Courtney Jones: Coming from the community that I come from ownership is not even a notion for many folks because of the perils of what they’ve seen through systemic racism. So to play a part in helping people realize that dream, and then for others who have, you know, a more high capacity, the business of scaling in this space, you know, ownership is the key when we go to school and we come back, we come back to home. You know when you have a great day, you come back to home. When you have a tough day, you come back to home. So, realizing that ownership and the pride associated with ownership, you know, the wealth building component was second. For me, it was deprived around being able to say, this is mine, and I want everybody to have that same privilege

Jeremy Goeckner: While the path to the American Dream of homeownership, hasn’t always been available to the African American community. The promise is still as strong as ever Crystal Blanton continues.

Crystal Blanton: And when there, I, when I think about the connection between the American Dream of homeownership and black history month, it’s a deep, deep, deep connection. When we focus on the historical events that pave the way for African Americans to have a chance at true home ownership, we are not only creating a sense of pride, but also creating a belief that we too have a right to pursue the American Dream of home ownership.

Jeremy Goeckner: And for Courtney Jones, the ability to achieve the American Dream doesn’t stop at homes, but at every level of the home buying process.

Courtney Jones: And leveraging data as a steppingstone to say, how do we open more doors? You know, how do we get more black, real estate professionals with the different commercial designations. How do we get more of the black real estate professionals and appraising and, you know, just access to capital and addressing some of the hurdles that we see with accessing to cash, period. I celebrate the successes of where we are today, but I try to encourage our board of directors and just those in the community as well. We have a long journey ahead and we carry the water that was left at our feet. So, there’s no time for the weary. There’s no time for the weak and excuses.

Jeremy Goeckner: As we all heard before, one thing is abundantly clear. As we at Illinois REALTORS® embark on our American dream campaign, the connections and import of Black History Month has never been more paramount. Continue to stay tuned all throughout February IllinoisRealtors.com for more celebrations of black history month and the American Dream.