Want to shine a light on the role real estate professionals play in fighting discrimination? In honor of Fair Housing Month, the National Association of REALTORS® is launching several resources to help you promote your fair housing commitment, as well as educational resources to keep you informed about the latest issues surrounding fair housing topics.
Promotional graphics. Access promotional graphics including a poster, social media assets, a fill-in-the-blank press release, and a model fair housing proclamation that can be used by local officials. Where: realtorparty.realtor.
Toolkit. Scan this collections of recommended books, videos, podcasts, and national and local organizations that you can turn to if you want to be a fair housing champion. Where: NAR.realtor.
Events. On April 8, NAR’s Advocacy Policy Forum Series will feature a webinar, “Tipping the SCALE: How Alternative Data Promote or Impede Fair Lending Goals.” During the one-hour event (1 p.m.–2 p.m. Eastern), NAR will unveil independent research about alternative credit scoring models and minority homeownership. Register for the April 8 webinar.
On April 15, in partnership with the Memorial Foundation Inc., builders of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., NAR is sponsoring a special event, “The Past, Present, and Future of Fair Housing.” Soledad O’Brien, an award-winning documentarian, journalist, speaker, author, and philanthropist, will host the event. Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge is the headline speaker. Watch “The Past, Present, and Future of Fair Housing” live, April 15, 2 p.m. Eastern, at NAR’s Facebook page.
Fair Housing Month is in recognition of the anniversary of the passage of the 1968 Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin, sex, handicap, and family status. The REALTOR® Code of Ethics requires REALTORS® to provide equal service on the basis of these protected classes, as well as on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
“Fair Housing Month honors the sacrifices and tenacity shown by so many during the fight to expand equal access to housing in America,” says NAR President Charlie Oppler. “This month also presents an opportunity to remember the critical role all REALTORS® play in this ongoing effort, and all the work that remains in front of us. As the largest trade association in the world, NAR has a powerful voice, and we will continue to use that voice to champion efforts to build safer and more inclusive communities throughout our nation.”
NAR has launched several educational resources over the past year in affirming its Fair Housing Action Plan, which emphasizes Accountability, Culture Change, and Training to ensure REALTORS® are doing their part for equal housing opportunity. Fairhaven.realtor, an online simulation training program, takes you through the experience of selling homes in the fictional town of Fairhaven. You’ll learn to walk in the shoes of a home buyer facing discrimination and be reminded of practices to adopt in your daily business. Bias Override: Overcoming Barriers to Fair Housing is a video that, in about 54 minutes, takes you through the unconscious bias that we all encounter and offers strategies for keeping your interactions bias-free.
Meanwhile, you can continue to access the fair housing print and social assets built for you to support the fair housing messaging from NAR’s That’s Who We R national ad campaign. All the social assets, both static and animated, are part of the library of ad campaign assets you can easily access and personalize on NAR’s Photofy app.
And brand-new for Fair Housing Month: fair housing merchandise for sale at the REALTOR® Team Store, allowing you to literally wear your commitment to fair housing on your sleeve.
