*John Legend is calling on realtors across the country to step up, speak out and help eradicate structural racism in housing by showing Black people “all the properties” for which they qualify.
“Real problem: realtors don’t show black people all the properties they qualify for,” wrote Legend on Twitter.
In follow up tweets, the R&B crooner noted that racism in the housing industry is “widespread and well-documented enough to be an actual issue.”
He called upon brokers to “show some leadership by recognizing that it’s real and encouraging your colleagues to do better.”
His remarks came in response to a report from TMZ about the Houston Association of Realtors decision to stop using the word “master” to describe bedrooms because of its connections to slavery, per Hello Beautiful.
Realtors will now use the term “primary” bedroom.
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Real problem: realtors don’t show black people all the properties they qualify for. Fake problem: calling the master bedroom the master bedroom. Fix the real problem, realtors. https://t.co/Qq7yQ8Gb3g
— John Legend (@johnlegend) June 27, 2020
Legend called out the group for not addressing the “real problem” at hand.
“Fake problem: calling the master bedroom the master bedroom,” Legend wrote in a thread on Twitter.
Legend is encouraging realtors to advocate for systemic change.
“But also show some leadership by recognizing that it’s real and encouraging your colleagues to do better,” he continued.
Real problem: realtors don’t show black people all the properties they qualify for. Fake problem: calling the master bedroom the master bedroom. Fix the real problem, realtors. https://t.co/Qq7yQ8Gb3g
— John Legend (@johnlegend) June 27, 2020
The realtors association in Houston “agreed” with Legend’s posts, adding the hashtag #RacismHasNoHomeHere.
“We are trying to do our part by educating realtors and consumers about the real issues surrounding race,” the group tweeted. “This is just what everyone has chosen to focus on out of everything else we are trying to do to enact positive change.”
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