When it comes to building wealth, Black Americans have faced their fair share of challenges. But here’s the thing – investing in real estate has proven to be one of the most effective ways to generate wealth.
Unfortunately, racist policies have kept people of color from fully enjoying this opportunity. From historic redlining to gentrification-driven displacement, the path to homeownership has been riddled with obstacles.
Homeownership is key when it comes to building generational wealth. It’s a way to stabilize families and take control of our neighborhoods.
The National Association of Real Estate Brokers is changing that narrative. America’s oldest minority professional trade association is hosting a “Welcome to Wealth Row Fireside Chat,” featuring Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings, co-founders of Earn Your Leisure, along with MG The Mortgage Guy, Matthew Garland, on Aug 3.
We caught up with Courtney Johnson Rose, NAREB’s president-elect, and Shante Patton-Golar, education chair of NAREB, to get the inside scoop on this exciting collaboration with Earn Your Leisure.
Defender: How does the NAREB envision this event benefiting the Black community?
Rose: Our platform for NAREB is building Black wealth. Our focus is homeownership and real estate. That has been the organization’s focus for 76 years. Our education chair, Shanta Patton-Golar reached out to get information on Earn Your Leisure and looked at the platform and what they’ve built, and what they stand for in terms of building wealth for the Black community. It was a perfect fit to be able to feature them and have our members and the Houston community be here to see them live.
Defender: What topics can attendees expect to be covered during the Fireside Chat?
Patton-Golar: One of the main things about Earn Your Leisure is they have traveled the world talking about the importance of Black homeownership, Black wealth and how to use financial literacy to get out into the community and provide the message that they can hear in a digital way. A lot of what we do is belly-to-belly in the community, but we will find at times a lot of people don’t show up that way anymore. So, they have managed to create a digital movement to get the same people, especially the younger Black people, to talk about stocks, financial literacy and real estate. They are in tune with all things financial, but also things that maybe other races have the availability of these resources. This particular session is called “Moving the Culture through Real Estate.” The goal is to show people what that looks like from an entrepreneurial standpoint from someone who is just starting out or for those who have the ability but have lost sight of how to get the new group of people because they’re all in the digital space.
Defender: How can individuals who can’t attend the event in person, benefit from the Fireside Chat wisdom?
Patton-Golar: Currently, it’s for only people in person. We don’t have it linked up to be recorded. This is why it’s such a great opportunity for them to come in and be able to experience that. For the public the convention is $250 and $150 for anyone who is in attendance for our conference. But what we can do is provide a promo code so that the public can get the same pricing as those registered to attend.
Defender: What follow-up resources or support will NAREB offer event participants after the Fireside Chat?
Patton-Golar: From our standpoint, this is what our organization does all the time. This is a great collaboration with Earn Your Leisure to move forward with something that potentially could become permanent. For anyone who is attending, we can connect them to all the different resources the Earn Your Leisure has. Our democracy, housing and their assets over liability just combines so well for us.
I would also like to mention that there is a Houston Black Real Estate Chapter here. So, if you’re in Houston and are looking to build wealth, we have a very active chapter that has events, luncheons, and community days. Get involved and expand your knowledge and network.
For tickets to attend the event visit eventbrite and secure your seat.
