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Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors®

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GCAAR webinar series: The History & Power of Real Estate

GCAAR is hosting a webinar series highlighting our commitment to continuing the conversation about racism, particularly as it relates to real estate. Our goal is to generate a healthy discussion around the history of our nation’s legislative barriers on homeownership based on race - and how those barriers are still affecting today’s society. 

If you're a GCAAR member and missed one of the webinars, visit our Members-Only Replay page to watch them back.

June 17: Three ways to be a more anti-racist real estate professional

Institutional racism has defined housing markets for generations, but we all have roles to play in dismantling it. Learn three specific actions you can take to be a more anti-racist REALTOR®, co-presented by Equal Rights Center Executive Director Kate Scott and GCAAR's Diversity & Inclusion Committee Member Maurice McKinney.

March 31: The eviction of the Broad Branch Road Black community

On Wednesday, March 31, GCAAR co-hosted the second History & Power of Real Estate webinar of 2021 with the District of Columbia Association of REALTORS® and Prince George’s County Association of REALTORS®. We invited representatives from Historic Chevy Chase DC (HCCDC) to explain the history behind the proposal to re-name and revise the signage for Lafayette Park and Recreation Center in northwest DC. They had a great presentation with the background knowledge you need to market homes in this neighborhood! 

 

January 6: Richard Rothstein and "The Color of Law"

GCAAR, the District of Columbia Association of REALTORS® and the Prince George's County Association of REALTORS® proudly presented a brand-new presentation featuring Richard Rothstein himself - the renowned author of the popular book, "The Color of Law" on Wednesday, Jan. 6. Rothstein built upon the earlier discussions we've hosted through our webinar series about how the residential segregation in the early/mid-20th century contributed to the racial segregation that characterizes every metropolitan area in the U.S. today.

Take a look at the additional resources Richard Rothstein provided to the presentation’s attendees here.

 

October 26: History of Lincoln Park

On Monday, Oct. 26 at 2 p.m., GCAAR and DCAR continued their History and Power of Real Estate series with Dr. Miriam Bunow, Education & Outreach Manager of Peerless Rockville, to discuss the development of Lincoln Park, its context in Montgomery County history and significant homes/individuals/sites within.


September 21: Mapping Segregation in D.C.

On Monday, Sept. 21 at 2 p.m., Sarah Shoenfeld, co-owner of research firm Prologue DC, led the webinar “Mapping Segregation in D.C.,” focusing on the development history and racial context of the District’s Bloomingdale neighborhood, as well as legal challenges that emerged from it

 

August 20: Race & Real Estate Context & History

To kick off the new series, on August 20, GCAAR and the District of Columbia Association of REALTORS® presented the first webinar, "Race and Real Estate Context & History."

To set the stage for the rest of the series, 2020 GCAAR Secretary Harrison Beacher and Nicole Canole, East + Ivy CEO discussed the book, “The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America”* by Richard Rothstein. Take a look at the slide deck and replay recording!

Links that contributed to this talk:

  1. Learning from Urban Redevelopment’s Failures to Build a More Inclusive DC
  2. D.C. Looks To End 'Outdated' Urban Renewal Plans As Part Of Housing Development Strategy
  3. Urban Renewal: The Story of Southwest D.C.
  4. Examining the Black-white wealth gap

Point of view videos to assist with understanding: 

  1. Talks to help you understand racism in America
  2. The little problem I had renting a house
  3. Apple TV movie "The Banker"
  4. Maggie Anderson “My Black Year” Discussion on Black Economics


Books: 

  1. The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein
  2. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
  3. How to Be an Antiracist  by Ibram X. Kendi
  4. The Fight for Fair Housing by Gregory Squires’ 
  5. The People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn


BONUS READING:  

  1. Real Estate Agents Investigations
  2. A New Show About Neighborhoods Facing Gentrification Offers a Cautionary Tale
  3. How Real Estate Segregated America
  4. A history of slavery cannot be ignored — even in real estate
  5. Book Review: "Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership"
  6. How slavery flourished in the United States
  7. Urban Wire  Housing and Housing Finance
  8. The New Deal as raw deal for blacks in segregated communities
  9. Racial wealth inequality: Social problems and solutions
  10. Testbed for the Redlining Archives of California's Exclusionary Spaces