FORUM
Where is the village when we need it?
I James B.
Ewers Jr.
Guest
Columnist
I grew up
in the East
Winston sec
tion of
Winston
Salem. Our
neighbor
hood was
- close knit as
we knew our
neighbors. In fact, we knew who the
neighbors were that stayed three and four
streets over from where we lived. Back in
the day, if my mom ran out of flour for the
fried chicken, she would go next door or
down the street to get some more flour.
Adults who lived in the neighborhood
would discipline us boys and girls if we
got out of line.
During the summer, I would sit on the
“block” with my buddies swapping stories
until the street lights came on! Now once
the street lights came on, it was time for all
kids to vacate the “block” and go home.
The games that we played as children
were inexpensive. While we had fun, edu
cation was taken very seriously by all
adults. I don’t ever remember a time
when an adult didn’t ask me about how I
was doing in school. I can remember the
times when some of my friends and me
were given thesd education talks by the
neighbors. Mind you, many of these edu
cation talks were given by men and
women without a college education.
As I reflect now, I am not surprised
that education was my career choice. My
next-door neighbor, Mrs. Scales, was a
high school English teacher at Atkins
High School (my high school). My U.S.
History teacher, Mr. Earl lived around the
comer from me. Mr. Earl gave me my
first briefcase when I started my teaching
career at Ballou High School in
Washington, D.C. as, you guessed it ... a
history teacher.
The kids in my neighborhood were a
part of the village. We had elders there
who provided us with guidance, instruc
tion and discipline. We listened to them
because they knew more than we knew.
Men and women in East Winston kept us
in love until it was time for us to make our
own way.
Many years ago, Sam Cooke sang “A
Change is gonna come.”. He was right!
Gosh, at this moment it is a great time to
be around. What young people can do
these days is without equal.
However, in this drive to the top and
the quest for success, do we know our
neighbor? Can we as adults go and bor
row a cup of flour from our neighbor
down the street? Do our neighbors talk
to our children about their educational
pursuits? Maybe my parents and otters
like them were moving fast, too; however
I do know that at a certain time the streets
were quiet. Why? Because families had
dinner together. Sometimes, we had the
same food for consecutive days. They
were called leftovers. In some circles this
is unheard of today as our children want
“new food” each day.
I think we have lost some very impor
tant aspects of the village and we must get
them back. My neighborhood didn’t have
a Neighborhood Watch Program but we
trusted one another. Let’s take some time
to slow down. Let us walk around the
neighborhood or make an unannounced
visit to our child’s school. Let us give our
children some great growing up memo
ries. If we become a part of the village,
then others will join us.
James B. Ewers' Jr. EdJD. is a former
tennis champion at Atkins High School in
Winston-Salem and played college tennis
at Johnson C. Smith University, where he
was all-conference for four years. He is a
retired college administrator. He can be
reached at ewers ,jr56@yahoo .com.
, ■ m
1
PHI
1 -:d
years after
Fair Housing Act, we
still have a long way
to go
Jeffrey
W. Hicks
! Guest
\Columnist
We have come a long
way toward building Black
homeownership since the
Fair Housing Act was
signed into federal law 50
years ago. In commemo
rating that milestone, we
recognize and emphasize
that, with fewer than half
of Black Americans own
ing their homes, we,still
have a long way to go to
reach economic parity
through Black homeown
ership.
TThe National
Association of Real Estate
Brokers (NAREB) has
advocated for Black
American homeownership
since it was founded on the
principle of "Democracy in
Housing" in 1947. We
were at the forefront and in
the trenches of this move
ment prior to April 11,
1968, when this act sig
naled a new level of com
mitment to self-determina
tion and empowerment for
Black people. NAREB was
there, active in ensuring
that the law passed. Today
we continue working to
ensure that fair and equi
table treatment for Black
Americans under the law
remains intact as we work
to increase homeownership
in Black communities,
nationwide.
The importance of the
Fair Housing Act cannot be
over-emphasized as vital to
the journey to full fair
housing for all Americans.
Recognizing this history
helps to fortify us for the
next stage of this ongoing
movement. The obstacles
to achieving fair housing
may have changed over the
past 50 years, but NAREB
remains vigilant and ready
to challenge any institu
tional and systemic barri
ers to increasing the rates
of affordable and sustain
able homeownership for
Black Americans.
We recognize the chal
lenges. Today, Black
Homeownership is at a
very low 42 percent. At its
peak in 2004, Black home
ownership stood 49 per
cent. We're working to
return to-and then surpass
that level.
Democracy in Housing
represents something far
different today - the sys
temic obstacles of increas
ingly economically-segre
gated communities. We
fully understand that de
jure segregation and insti
tutional racism remain per
vasive problems through
out the United States. We
will continue to use all
available tools in 2018 and
in the future to increase
Black homeownership as a
pillar of the .American
Dream. We will keep advo
cating for supportive poli
cies and educate our com
munity about the inter-gen
erational wealth-building
power of homeownership.
NAREB will host a
series of events and activi
ties throughout 2018 to
educate and inspire the
public about the never
ending struggle for equali
ty and true Democracy in
Housing. Our continuing
movement to increase
Black Homeownership sig
nals our unshakable con
viction that this pillar of
the American Dream is still
achievable, desirable and
affordable for African
Americans.
The
National
Association of Real Estate
Brokers Inc. (NAREB)
was founded in Tampa,
Florida, in 1947 as an
equal opportunity and civil
rights advocacy organiza
tion for Black American
real estate professionals,
consumers, and communi
ties in America. The pur
pose of NAREB is to
enhance the economic
improvement of its mem
bers, the community-at
large, and the minority
community that it serves.
Although composed pri
marily of Black
Americans, the REALTIST
association embraces all
qualified real estate practi
tioners who are committed
to achieving our vision of
"Democracy in Housing."
For more information, visit
www.nareb.com.
Jeffrey W. Hicks is the
30th president of the
National Association of
Real Estate Brokers.
Millennials become driving force in housing
| Chris G.
Cox
I
Guest
olumnist
As the U.S. economy
recovers from a decade of
slow growth, more and
more millennials - general
ly defined as people bom
between the early 1980s
and about 2004 - are
becoming a significant fac
tor in the real estate market
as they pay off student
loans and become estab
lished in their professions.
• “I work with many
well-educated millennials
who are finally working in
the professions they trained
so hard for and are settling
down and getting married,”
said Brooke Cashion, a
broker with Allen Tate
Realtors and president of
the Winston-Salem
Regional Association of
Realtors. “Some are look
ing for more traditional
properties, while others
prefer modem construc
tion, but they are all look
ing for a good real estate
investment that will help
them to grow their money.”
As many millennials
begin to get on the feet
financially after years of
struggling with student
debt and difficulty finding
jobs in their chosen fields,
she explains, they tend to
be conservative in then
financial planning and
want to avoid taking on
more debt than they can
comfortably afford.
Cashion says that mil
lennials are also looking
for homes that reflect then
lifestyles, allow them to
live among likeminded
neighbors and that offer the
opportunity to be part of
the communities where
they live. “I find that mil
lennials are very empathet
ic,” Cashion said. “They
want to play a role in mak
ing their communities bet
ter places to live.”
Brian A. Hudson, exec
utive director and CEO of
the Pennsylvania Housing
Finance Agency, agrees
with Cashion that commu
nity is very important to
millennials. “They want to
live close to where they
work, especially when they
can obtain a mortgage that
is less than the rent they are
paying.”
Hudson notes that the
hot rental market in the last
five years has caused more
and more millennials to
evaluate the tipping point
between paying rent and
paying a mortgage. “Even
if they are not sure how
long they will be in a cer
tain community,” he notes,
“many believe it makes
sense to transition from
renting to owning when
rent payments equal or
exceed mortgage pay
ments.”
One of the obstacles
facing millennials, as well
as other homeowners,
Cashion notes, is the lack
of housing inventory. “I
recently had a listing,” she
says, “that had seven offers
only a short time after it
went on the market.”
Cashion, who notes that
millennials comprise 30
percent to 40 percent of her
client base, said that this
level of interest is not
unusual for quality proper
ties in the current real
estate market.
“This lack of quality
housing inventory,”
Cashion says, “is not just a
problem here in the Triad
area, but in many commu
nities across the country as
well.”
An important require
ment in reaching millenni
als, Hudson says, is mak
ing use of digital media.
“Running magazine
and newspaper ads as we
did for years does not work
well with millennials.
These days you have to be
on Facebook, Snapchat,
Insta£ram, Twitter and
other social media because
that’s what they rely on to
gel information.”
Christopher G. Cox is
publisher and managing
editor of
wwwrealesawy.com.