Disband or rebrand DEI? Three considerations for your association or company
Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you see DMV?
There are no wrong answers, but for some of us, just the thought of the DMV gives us chills, especially if you’ve ever had to wait in long DMV lines. But for others, like new drivers, there is a palpable sense of excitement, anticipation and perhaps – dare I say – even joy.
The starting point:
Words can alienate or advocate
In several classes I teach on advocating—and not alienating—fair housing, I mention the DMV along with a few other seemingly random phrases that deliberately provoke strong reactions from students.
Why?
The words we use can evoke emotions that can create immediate camaraderie or be so off-putting that it alienates those we hope to work with.
An example of such a term is DEI (which stands for diversity, equity and inclusion). It has been rebranded with positive nicknames like “DEFINITELY deserved” and also negative nicknames like “NOT deserved”.
Frankly, none of these unofficial slogans speak to the mission of this real estate and fair housing phraseology, which is to provide access and opportunity to everyone, whether a client or a colleague.
Fair housing is not about earning it or being worth it. Fair housing is simply – to borrow from the Constitution – an inalienable right. To codify this right to housing, we not only have the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, but we also have several federal amendments and executive orders, as well as state and local laws that isolate more than 19 protected classes in various parts of the US, under which:
- Race
- Colour
- Sex
- Familial status
- National origin
- Disability (this has evolved to “a person who uses an assistive device”)
- Religion
- Age
- Ancestry
- Sexual orientation
- Gender identity
- Marital status
- Military status
- Victims of domestic violence
- Source of income
- Genetic information
- Pregnancy
- HIV/AIDS
- Criminal record history (fair housing)
- And others
So the national conversation about merit is actually pointless place in real estate (pun intended). Further, specific companies becoming infamous for DEI “to wind back‘ do not share the same oppositional history that our real estate associations do.
Unfortunately, this is not new to us: Broker-led DEI is being disbanded
Some historical examples of broker-led opposition to ‘access and opportunity’ include:
- Professional exclusion (1920s – 1960s):
- The courts were asked to do this “Realtor” an exclusive trademark that would prohibit specifically black American real estate professionals not to use the term.
- White real estate professionals committed to fair housing were also excluded from REALTOR associations. For example, broker/owner Margaret Collins attempted to join the Main Line Board of Real estate agents three times to access a comprehensive list of properties for sale in the area, but was turned down each time. She was convinced that the rejection was based on the color of her clients sued the Board of Directors for illegal restraint of trade and won.
- What made matters worse was that Black, Asian, and Hispanic/Latino/x/e American real estate professionals were often violently forbidden of brokering in communities labeled as ‘white’ (cf. Atlanta’s ‘Berlin Wall’, Scottsdale, etc.).
- With such bans, this is no surprise Broker associations active campaigned to prevent this passing fair housing laws (such as the Rumsford Act), even going so far as to name “forced housing“.
Make no mistake, despite massive opposition, there has always been a remnant of realtors who have been advocates, what I call Fair Housing DECODERS.
GTTP: Access and opportunity for all
Like a “you are here” shopping card indicator, knowing our history helps us understand how we got to this moment and hopefully makes us less likely to repeat it. Our industry does not need to repeat its opposition to “access and opportunity” for all. Ultimately, this brief history shows why the committees and boards of the Realtor Association and real estate firm DEI are still needed – to intentionally welcome all (as colleagues and customers), especially the demographic groups (in some cases still alive) who have historically seen as still alive. ruled out.
But the national conversation around DEI is so polarizing (whether welcoming to some and distasteful to others) that it distracts from our industry’s goal: fair housing for all. As a result, if you can’t tell by now, the reframing I’ve been training on has to do with “access and opportunity” for all.
The result?
Even in states like Florida, where DEI is banned on many levels, “access and opportunity” are welcome in real estate. This encouragement signals that it may be time to change – not simply eliminate – our efforts to ensure everyone has “access and opportunity” in real estate.
Lee Davenport is a real estate coach/educator and author.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of HousingWire’s editorial staff and its owners.
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