Here & Now

Helping Build Black and Brown Homeownership in Wisconsin

Frederica Freyberg:

Our “Wisconsin in Black and White” series on the racial wealth gap focused on the barriers to homeownership for people of color in Wisconsin. Special project journalist Murv Seymour launched the project and tonight has this report on work in two cities to get people into their own homes, starting first in Milwaukee.

Teacher:

The city of Milwaukee has a $5,000 grant but you have to live in the city of Milwaukee.

Murv Seymour:

School is always in at Milwaukee Area Technical College.

Teacher:

The minimal credit score requirement to get preapproved for a home loan is 620.

Murv Seymour:

On this day –

Teacher:

Make sure that you’re paying your bills on time.

Murv Seymour:

Members of the Men of Color Initiative, a mentoring group that helps Black and brown men get through college learn about the ins and outs of what it takes to become a homeowner.

Teacher:

You need to show that you’ve been working for six months to a year.

Murv Seymour:

The goal is to encourage and educate students like Jeremiah Crawford to become homeowners sooner rather than later.

Jeremiah Crawford:

I think homeownership for the Black community is a dream that many don’t believe they can achieve.

Teacher:

When I bought that duplex, I was not making a lot of money at all.

Jeremiah Crawford:

It’s more than just having a place to stay. It’s about building your future. You don’t want to have to continue to rent from someone and paying their mortgage when you could be paying your own mortgage.

Sara Alvarado:

The Alvarado Real Estate Group is a small brokerage.

Murv Seymour:

From a small office just down the street from Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, owners of Alvarado Realty Group look to change the game in real estate.

Sara Alvarado:

We are unapologetic about supporting Black and brown homeownership.

Murv Seymour:

They do it by putting their mouth where their money is. Sarah Alvarado candidly admits growing up, she thought everyone had an equal path towards owning a home.

TV announcer:

At last, the Bryants have all the space they need. Big floor-to-ceiling closets for each member of the family.

Sara Alvarado:

If your parents go to college, you just assume you’re going to go to college. If your parents have a house, you assume you’re going to have a house. So it wasn’t until I started working with people who were like, “Oh, my gosh, to own a house is my dream. ”

Murv Seymour:

Historians and housing experts openly acknowledge for too long federally run, race-based policies like redlining and overall discrimination have systemically kept homeownership out of reach for most Black and brown families.

Sara Alvarado:

Dane County numbers, it’s 15% of families that are Black or brown own homes compared to 65% of white families. In 1968 when they had the Fair Housing Act and then they were like, okay, now no discrimination, Black and brown people go ahead and try and catch up to this accumulation of wealth in these neighborhoods that have been segregated on purpose and these school districts that have been segregated on purpose, how is that possible without their — without there being a plan of some sort?

Murv Seymour:

Sara and her husband’s plan is called OWN IT: Building Black Wealth.

Sara Alvarado:

It is a down payment assistance program with an education aspect to it.

Murv Seymour:

In a partnership with One City Schools where more than 85% of the students are Black and brown, OWN IT funds a $15,000 payment towards a home for any One City teacher or parent.

Sara Alvarado:

We’re about learning and teaching about wealth building because wealth building in itself is critical and there are lots of different ways to do it.

Murv Seymour:

Fueled by a growing number of real estate professionals, investors, homeowners, and anyone who wants to change the narrative, contributions and proceeds from home sales drive OWN IT.

Sara Alvarado:

We get a lot of contributions within the real estate industry and within the community. We’ve had sellers who, at the time of closing, write a check. Sometimes it’s a thousand dollars.

Murv Seymour:

Meet Jodie Pope and her son, Cameron.

Jodie Pope:

We knew nothing as children, really, about homeownership. When you put your fingers on there, what does it do?

Murv Seymour:

Since OWN IT took launch in 2020, the Sun Prairie single mom is one of 10 families in the Madison area who now proudly owns and no longer rents because of the program.

Jodie Pope:

Homeownership is significant. It was an emotional process because I almost didn’t get the keys. This was my seventh offer.

Murv Seymour:

We met with Jodie days away from the one-year anniversary of her move-in.

Jodie Pope:

It’s ours so it gives you a sense of pride, a sense of ownership. I’ve kind of leaned into my projects and I’ve hung drywall. I’ve painted. My son and I are social and I love to be able to host people over here. No one can tell you to leave. No one can tell you what you can do. You can paint the wall. You can put Steph Curry stickers all over the wall and on the ceiling fan.

Murv Seymour:

His mom says gradually Cameron is getting more comfortable in their new community.

Jodie Pope:

My son can walk to school. He never has had the neighborhood experience of having friends that live two and three doors down. Being able to provide that stability, to go to the same school for your entire life, from here out, right, that type of stability to form those relationships with the friendships, with teachers, within the school district is key.

Murv Seymour:

Jodie says most importantly, her son is learning about wealth and homeownership.

Jodie Pope:

To teach him how to put a new handle on a toilet, which I’ve done, how to unclog a garbage disposal. Our housing prices, rental prices, it leaves us out. We need to do this.

Murv Seymour:

The name OWN IT represents the painful past –

Jodie Pope:

Owning the history of what has happened in the real estate industry.

Murv Seymour:

While supporting the promising future.

Jodie Pope:

It is literally me owning this place.

Murv Seymour:

Reporting for “Here & Now,” I’m Murv Seymour.