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Welcome to the Neighborhood...

"Them houses they put up for colored in them areas way out all seem to cost twice as much as other houses. I did the best I could." (Hansberry 93)

A major topic that we see pop up in the name of racism, is the right of whether anyone (no matter their background) should be able to buy absolutely any house they want, at any time. Whether they are aware of it or not, many realtors carry and express racist tendencies when it comes to selling a house. The victims that receive this racism the worst are African-Americans. Blockbusting, redlining, and steering--the most common examples that are used by these real-estate agents, but sadly, these aren't the only methods. An example of blockbusting is when in a multi-racial neighborhood, the real estate agents will alert the dominate race members that their neighborhood is "changing" (or growing in number of minorities) and that they should sell their property. This practice that is exercised by the agents declines the freedom and choice of the minorities who may be moving for a fresh start, and prevents for the progression of diversification. As the Government became aware of these illegal discriminations, they began to develop and introduce new acts and laws. The main law that was produced was the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which officially made blockbusting and other racist actions against minorities illegal, However, even with this act and the other laws, the racist practices of the agents and citizens continued. In my opinion, I believe these laws are not enough, therefore, we need something more stable and stronger. While I do believe that the Fair Housing Act is doing good, I think that, behind the scenes, evaluations and protocols need to be updated. By updated, I mean that real-estate agents need to be re-evaluated to determine whether they have the right mindset or not when it comes to selling. Similarly, I think protocols need to be updated by improving the selling and buying process. For example, maybe instead of having only one real-estate agent, have two. This way fairness of the customers is more likely to be ensured. 

Comments

  1. Julia StarrDecember 8, 2019 at 9:55 AM

    I like how you said evaluations and protocols need to be updated. Even though the Fair Housing Act was a law passed, it doesn't mean people will stop their racist and discriminatory practices. There comes a point when a law isn't enough anymore and things need to change even more.

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