John Legend Unveils Systemic Racism Within The Real Estate Business Like a Boss

FameJuly 8, 2020

John Legend is speaking up about the issue of racism within the real estate business.

Medium | Legend has always been open about issues of racism and bias

After news surfaced this week that Houston real estate professionals would quit using the word “master” while referring to the main suite of a property due to the word’s connections to slavery, the performer responded on Twitter pointing them out for suggesting something irrelevant as opposed to attempting to fix a substantially more critical issue in their industry.

The vocalist took the liberty to point out the difference between a real and a fake problem. The fake problem, he said, was using words such as “master” to refer to the main bedroom in a house. The real problem, he added, is real estate professionals not showing people of color all the properties they meet all requirements for. Ending the tweet, he urged these professionals to start focusing on the real issue within their industry.

Twitter | John Legend highlights the real and the fake problem in the industry

The musician further let out his thoughts in three subsequent tweets, highlighting the fact that not all realtors participate in this behavior, but emphasizing that the issue is broad and reported enough to be spoken about. He called upon agents to take initiative by accepting that this issue is genuine and implore their partners to improve.

Legend’s posts come following cross-country protests on police brutality, which have driven the Black Lives Matter movement to the forefront of socio-political debate globally. Numerous enterprises are wrestling on how to improve internal and external affairs with regards to assorted anti-racism, diversity, and inclusion. For instance, Quaker Oats as of late declared that its Aunt Jemima brand of pancake blend and syrup will get another name and logo since Auntie Jemima’s inceptions are based on a racial generalization. The American country music group once in the past known as Lady Antebellum and the Dixie Chicks additionally reported name changes and has consequently been renamed to Lady A and the Chicks, due to the previous names’ connection to the pre-Civil war south.

The Houston Association of Realtors’ choice to replace the word “master” with “primary,” as TMZ reports, is in a similar vein. However, Legend’s tweets are an update that there is a whole other world to racial discrimination than just the choice of words.

Twitter | The star asks neutral realtors to encourage their friends to behave similarly

In a subsequent tweet, Legend shared the link to research analyzing the acts of Long Island realtors that outlined the biased treatment of different racial groups on the search for a house. He, later, went on to share a follow-up tweet about that a similar issue has been analyzed in Boston, too.

Notwithstanding the reality of the issue, Legend, who has for quite some time been vocal about issues of race, sealed off his case with a shameless recommendation, stating that all MTV Cribs watchers realize ‘this is the place the where the magic happens’ is the only adequate way to refer to the room which belongs to the homeowner.