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Citizen Week of April 25, 2018

| Vol. 1 | No. 37 | www.thechicagocitizen.com

BLUES HIP HOP EXPERIENCE AT GOVERNORS STATE UNIVERSITY

Governors State University’s Center for the Performing Arts recently showcased The Blues Hip Hop Experience, a dynamic multi-generational performance that explored the legacy of blues music in Chicago and how it’s history parallels to hip-hop music.

See more on Page 3

Travel: Most Booked U.S. Destination: Vegas? Orlando? Try Cruises to Alaska for Bucket-List Vacation. - Page 2 Politiscope: Would America Vote for Oprah for President? - Page 3 |

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Photo: Urbanized Music

SUBURBAN TIMES WEEKLY

2 | CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of April 25, 2018

ART SCENE

The Driehaus Museum Announces Programming for May and June CHICAGO – The Richard H. Driehaus

Museum (40 E. Erie) presents programming for The Art of Seating: 200 Years of American Design exhibition as well as a Kentucky Derby cocktail event, a Mother’s Day flower arranging class, and discussions about the World’s Fair and Jane Addams.

DEPAUL AT THE DRIEHAUS: CHAMBER MUSIC SHOWCASE (Tuesday, May 1, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.) Discover the next generation of classical music talent in this performance by some of the top student chamber ensembles at the DePaul School of Music.

A TOAST TO THE GILDED AGE: BOURBON, BOWTIES, & BONNETS (Friday, May 4, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.) Explore the history of bourbon within the context of America’s longest running sporting event, The Kentucky Derby, first held in 1875. Come sip mint juleps, don your best hat, and listen to live music while you learn about this American distilled spirit.

FLOWERS FOR MOM! MAKE A MOTHER’S DAY CENTERPIECE (Sunday, May 13, 2 – 3:30 p.m.) World renowned designer Michael Gaffney teaches the art of creating incredible floral arrangements. Come as you are, no experience needed, all flowers, materials, and vase provided.

THE CHAIR: RETHINKING CULTURE, BODY, & DESIGN (Wednesday, May 16, 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.) Dr. Galen Cranz of the University of California, Berkeley teaches social and cultural approaches to architecture and urban design, she is also the author of The Chair: Rethinking Culture, Body & Design. This discussion will focus on the sociological development of chair design and its relationship to the body, posture, and ergonomics.

FAMILY DAY: THE THREE BEARS & THEIR CHAIRS (Saturday, May 19, 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.)

This family friendly event will explore the

museum’s current exhibition, The Art of Seating, through the popular fairy tale. Hear a re-telling of Goldilocks & the Three Bears inspired by the current exhibition. Go on a scavenger hunt, and make your own chair.

Recommended for children ages 4 - 9.

DESIGNING WOMEN: FLORENCE KNOLL (Tuesday, May 22, 6 – 7 p.m.) When Florence Knoll married the company’s founder in 1946, she was already a designer and architect in her own. Learn how she transformed a furniture design firm into an enterprise that played a major role in defining the mid-century modern design aesthetic.

LEADING LADIES OF CHICAGO’S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION (Tuesday, June 5, 6 – 7 p.m.) Historian Sally Kalmbach will discuss how the leading ladies of Chicago’s Gilded Age played an integral leadership role in creating the World’s Fair and cultivating Chicago’s successful future. Designing Women: Refining Landscapes with Vivian Beer (Tuesday, June

5, 6 – 7 p.m.) Vivian Beer is one of two 21st century designers featured in The Art of Seating. Refining Landscapes will provide a window into her inspiration, skills, and creative process.

LIVING DANGEROUSLY: THE SOCIAL CHANGE WORK OF JANE ADDAMS AND THE HULL-HOUSE SETTLEMENT (Thursday, June 21, 6 – 7 p.m.) Jane Addams – once called the “most dangerous woman in America” - was a feminist, international peace activist, a Nobel Prize winner, Chicago icon and among the most famous women in early 20th century America. She also lived in a samesex relationship with her domestic partner for over 40 years. In recognition of Pride Month, Jane Addams Hull-House Museum director and chief curator, Jennifer Scott discusses Jane Addams’ important contributions to social change and the development of Hull-House.

To purchase tickets or for more information about these programs, the Museum and the current exhibitions, please visit DriehausMuseum.org.

TRAVEL

Most Booked U.S. Destination: Vegas? Orlando? Try Cruises to Alaska for Bucket-List Vacation MIAMI – Amy Hurley of Boston cruised in

Alaska in 2017 with three generations of her family. Outside of Ketchikan, she had a jaw-dropping moment – the kind you dream about in anticipation of a cruise to a bucket list destination.

“We saw four whales spiraling down to create a whirlpool to get food and jump up with their mouths open,” said Hurley, 50, a hospital fundraiser. “It’s rare, and we saw them do it four times. That was pretty amazing. Cruising is a great way to see Alaska.”

She is not alone in this opinion. According to an annual trends survey of travel agents by leading travel agency company Travel Leaders Group, Alaska cruises are, for the first time, their most-booked U.S. destination, beating out Orlando and Las Vegas.

Statistics further tell that story. According to the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the number of cruise visitors to Alaska is expected to break records this year with 34 ships bringing more than 1.165 million passengers to the destination. Alaska

will be hot next year as well, with 37 ships expected to bring more than 1.3 million passengers.

The high demand for Alaska cruises has a lot to do with the state’s amazing scenery – from snow-capped mountains and immense glaciers to emerald rainforests.

Travelers return with stories of extraordinary experiences with wildlife and with guides who enthrall visitors with tales of native culture, frontier spirit and a rich, colorful history that includes the Gold Rush.

Next year, Alaska will celebrate its 60th anniversary of statehood.

Princess Cruises, the line that Amy Hurley cruised on with her husband, young children, mother and mother-in-law, is operating seven ships in Alaska in 2018. Next year, when Princess celebrates its 50th anniversary of bringing passengers to Alaska, it will add one of its largest and newest ships, the 3,500-passenger Royal Princess, to the region.

Holland America Line, also with seven ships deployed in Alaska, last year celebrated

Photo: Princess Cruises

Walking on a glacier is one of the unforgettable experiences guests have access to on cruises to Alaska.

its 70th season in the region. Carnival Cruise Line, the leader in the contemporary cruise market, and ultra-luxury line Seabourn also cruise through the state during its top travel season, from May into September. Next year, Cunard will return to Alaska with cruises in May and June.

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Both Princess Cruises and Holland America Line have extensive land operations including rail cars and lodges, making easy planning for those looking to explore inland to popular places such as Denali National Park, Fairbanks and beyond, on a variety of pre- and post-cruise tours.

CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of April 25, 2018

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COMMUNITY

Blues Hip Hop Experience at Governors State University Continued from page 1

BY KATHERINE NEWMAN

G

overnors State University’s Center for the Performing Arts, located at 1 W. University Pkwy. in University Park, recently showcased The Blues Hip Hop Experience, a dynamic multi-generational performance that explored the legacy of blues music in Chicago and how it’s history parallels to hip-hop music.

The evening was co-hosted by Billy Branch, a three-time Grammy-nominee and hometown harmonica hero, and Sylvia Ewing, an award-winning journalist, and PBS TV personality. The event featured several Chicago-based performers including The Sons of Blues, Branch’s own band, who were

joined by a collection of guest vocalists, hiphop artists and performance poets, including Urbanized Music.

“A lot of these artists that are performing, although we don’t work together often, are part of the same community and fabric of music here in Chicago and I think it’s a great platform to bring these two musical genres together, especially with both of their histories in black music culture,” said Amina NormanHawkins, one of two artists that make up Urbanized Music who performed at the event.

The second member of Urbanized Music is Coolout Chris who Norman-Hawkins calls her “partner in rhyme.” The duo has been creating and performing their original hip-hop music for nearly 20 years and are also co-founders of Chicago’s Hip Hop Heritage Month which is recognized by Chicago’s City

Council in July.

“I love the culture and I think that so many aspects of hip-hop are misrepresented.

Quite often people hear hip-hop and they may just think of rap music, or they think of dance in the way of a street dancer,” said Norman-Hawkins. “They don’t realize that hip-hop is a culture that has this wonderful collection of elements represented through poetry, storytelling, music, dance, art, and community. I think that the essence of hiphop is valuable and if we don’t preserve it then it will indeed become lost and people will wake up one day thinking that hip-hop is something that it’s not.”

The performance not only focuses on hip-hop, but also on blues music and how the two genres (while having significantly separate eras) overlap as it relates to themes

and inspirations.

“Blues kind of started at the turn of the century and then nearly 100 years later hiphop is the new voice representing some of the same principals that blues was founded on like improvisation, storytelling, and focusing on being a black voice at a time when black people were feeling a lot of political disenfranchisement,” said Norman-Hawkins.

Performances like these build a great platform to see the voices of hip-hop and blues together, according to NormanHawkins.

This performance was part of the Center for the Performing Arts “Made in Chicago” Series and was made possible by The Chicago Community Trust, The National Endowment for the Arts, and the Illinois Arts Council who sponsored the evening’s performance.

POLITISCOPE

Would America Vote for Oprah for President?

OCCUPYING A UNIQUE SPACE

BY CHRYL N. LAIRD

A

merica has had a black president.

Is the country ready for a black president who is also a woman?

Speculation about the candidacy of Oprah Winfrey makes clear that some voters think so. Granted, Winfrey says she won’t run, but friends, commentators and many in the Twitterverse are pushing for her to reconsider.

As a scholar of race and politics, I’m curious about whether Oprah will change her mind about running – and even more curious about whether she could win.

A paper I recently published with Harwood McClerking and Ray Block tried to shed light on this question by examining Oprah’s first major foray into politics — her endorsement of Democratic candidate Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential election.

Specifically, we wanted to know how the endorsement altered the public’s perception of her, as a way of understanding if people like the idea of a “political Oprah.”

First, it helps to understand just how popular Oprah was leading up to the 2008 election. From 2002 to 2006, Winfrey’s daytime talk show pulled in an estimated 7 million viewers every day. Winfrey also had racial crossover appeal, maintaining an audience that was predominately female, white and over the age of 55.

During this phase of her career, Oprah avoided politics, a strategy that may have helped her “transcend her race,” to borrow a phrase from political scientists Donald Kinder and Corrine McConnaughy.

For example, in an interview with the Jacksonville Daily News in 1986, Oprah described her high school experience: “Everyone went through the black-power phase … (but) I knew I was not a dashiki kind of girl.”

Talking to People Weekly a year later, Oprah said that during college at Tennessee State, a historically black college, she “refused to conform to the militant thinking of the time.”

“People feel you have to lead a civil rights movement every day of your life, that you have to be a spokeswoman and represent the race,” Oprah said. “Blackness is something I just am.”

Writing in 1994, media scholar Janice Peck asserted that Winfrey served “as a comforting, nonthreatening bridge between black and white culture.” She goes on to say that Winfrey minimized her race through “public rejection of black political activism and the Civil Rights Movement.”

WINFREY’S OBAMA ENDORSEMENT This notion of Winfrey’s racial transcendence was tested in May 2007 with her explicit endorsement of Obama, which made her racial identity and political views salient to the American people. This connection was not lost on viewers, some of whom said she was trying to “sway her mass following.”

Politics scholar Costas Panagopoulos predicted that the endorsement would cause Winfrey’s popularity to suffer. It didn’t help that Winfrey’s endorsement of Obama alienated her from white women – the largest segment of her audience – who believed that, as a woman, she should have backed Hillary Clinton.

WINFREY AND BLACK WOMEN’S CONSCIOUSNESS Oprah isn’t the first black woman to struggle with two minority identities.

Gender studies scholars find that

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historically, black women reside in a unique space where they are marginalized by black communities due to their gender and sidelined by the feminist movement due to their race.

Claudine Gay and Katherine Tate assert in their research that the experience of being “doubly bounded” has resulted in the formation of a black female consciousness.

Gender and legal scholar Kimberle Crenshaw argues that the experiences faced by black women cannot be understood through traditional understanding of race and gender discrimination. Crenshaw believes that the intersection of racism and sexism interact in a way resulting in shared experience with discrimination that is more severe for black women. To describe this situation, Crenshaw coined the term “intersectionality.”

THE FRAGILITY OF RACIAL TRANSCENDENCE To understand Winfrey’s transcendence and its fragility, we used Harris Polls’ measure of how Winfrey ranked relative to other television personalities regularly during a large span of her talk show, from 1993 to 2011. In the years leading up to her Obama endorsement – 2002 to 2006 – she was the nation’s favorite television personality. But immediately following her endorsement, her favorability dropped to No. 4. Over the next Continued on page 4

4 | CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of April 25, 2018

FOOD

Pears Make the Perfect Partner for Wholesome Snacking (NewsUSA) - Adults everywhere are reaching for healthy snacks to fuel their families, and a fresh pear’s juicy, subtle flavor pairs well with snacks such as almonds, walnuts and cheese.

America’s snacking obsession is about to get fresh with portable, packable, pair-able pears.

In season nearly year-round, fresh pears are mainly grown in Oregon and Washington by 1,600 families, who produce about 84 percent of the nation’s fresh pear crop. Pears are available in a range of varieties, from the signature-sweet Bartlett to the crisp, woodsy Bosc to the juicy Anjou.

A recent usage study commissioned by USA Pears showed that 46 percent of pear consumers eat them as mid-morning and afternoon snacks. Pears are often considered best eaten fresh and just-sliced, making them a perfect partner for wholesome, simple snacking – think sliced pears atop whole-grain toast, wrapped with prosciutto, dipped in nut butters or partnered with blue or aged, hard cheeses.

Half of all eating occasions in the U.S. are now snack-driven. According to a recent Mintel report on snacking, 94 percent of Americans snack at least once a day, compared to just 64 percent last year. Thirty-three percent say they are

choosing healthier foods this year compared to last year, with an emphasis on simple ingredients. Millennials are leading the way and are more likely than any other demographic to snack multiple times throughout the day.

Pears are a nutrient-dense, fat-free food, an excellent source of fiber and a good source of vitamin C for only 100 calories per serving. To tell when a pear is ripe, simply check the neck. If the pear gives slightly to pressure near the stem end, it’s juicy and ready for snacking.

With a warm growing season in the Pacific Northwest, a greater number of high-quality fruits are available at a “snackable” size – perfect for throwing in a lunchbox, purse or string bag on the way out the door.

Looking for more simple snacking tips?

Think outside the cracker box: • Slice pears atop whole-grain toast • Wrap pear slices in prosciutto • Pair pears with blue cheese, parmesan or aged white cheddar • Dip pears into yogurt • Pack a pear with a small portion of nuts • Smear slices with almond or cashew butter • Sprinkle diced pears onto chia pudding Visit www.usapears.org for recipes, ripening tips and more.

It’s the pear-fect snack!

POLITISCOPE Continued from page 3 five years until her show ended in 2011, Oprah’s average ranking was No. 3.

Before her endorsement of Obama, individuals were favorable toward Winfrey at relatively equal levels – between 73 and 82 percent – regardless of their race and gender. After the endorsement, a gap opened up. Black women rated her 86.2 percent favorable. Black men still maintain the second highest favorability, but we see a drop from 81 percent to 72 percent.

Similarly, the percentage of white women who hold favorable ratings of Winfrey drops from 73.4 percent pre-endorsement to 67.8 percent after.

By examining post-endorsement polling data, we argue that the impact of Oprah’s endorsement is an important factor that seems to follow the same breakdown. Her endorsement had the strongest tangible effect on black women, followed by black men, white women and white men.

These numbers are important when considering Oprah’s electability because blacks make up

only 11.9 percent of the electorate.

Having black support alone is not enough to win the presidency.

Indeed, Obama built his success on support beyond the black community by having high levels of turnout from voters under the age of 30, low- to moderateincome workers – those earning less than $50,000 – and Latinos.

OPRAH 2020?

Despite the seeming impact on her popularity, Winfrey has become more political over time.

For instance, in a recent series of articles in Oprah Magazine and www.thechicagocitizen.com

on Oprah.com, Winfrey discusses race and racial awareness in a very different way than those interviews from the 80s.

In one article, she writes, “The audacity it takes to judge another because they don’t look or sound or act like you goes against the current of humanity.” In another: “We can’t afford to say race is just a black thing, or a Hispanic thing, or an Asian thing or a #StayWoke thing. It’s a human thing.”

The speculation centered on Winfrey’s possible presidential bid – while encouraging on its own – lacks a full assessment of all

that Winfrey brings to the table.

The experiences of black women, even those that are high-profile, are often constrained by how people view them.

Oprah’s claim that “time’s up” inspired many, but our research suggests that the more political Oprah becomes, the more aware voters will be of her race and gender. And that awareness will give her not one, but two, challenges to overcome.

Chryl N. Laird is an Assistant Professor of Government and Legal Studies at Bowdoin College

CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of April 25, 2018

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NEWS

Free Legal Advice During Law Week

BY LISETTE GUSHINIERE

I

f you have a legal question, get it answered for free during Law Week, a program offered by the Chicago Bar Association (CBA). Founded in 1874, the CBA is one of the oldest and most active metropolitan bar associations in the United States with a voluntary membership of more than 18,000 lawyers and judges from Cook County and the State of Illinois, according to a CBA press release.

Law Week gives members of the public an opportunity to have free access to lawyers through the CBA’s Call-A-Lawyer Program.

On Saturday, April 28, CBA lawyers will be available to take calls and offer brief legal advice from 9 a.m. to noon at no cost to the public when citizens call (312) 554-2001.

During conversations with lawyers, members of the public can briefly explain their situation to an attorney who will then work to suggest self-help strategies or provide advice to help resolve their issues.

If callers need further legal services or have questions beyond the scope of the attorney’s practice area, they will be advised to contact the CBA Lawyer Referral Service for a referral to an attorney in the appropriate area of law.

“The CBA’s Lawyer Referral Service (LRS) has more than 200 prescreened, qualified lawyers experienced in almost every area of

law that offer their services to the public,” said Sally Daly, director of public affairs for the Chicago Bar Association. Elaborating on how the referral program works, Daly added, when contacting the LRS during normal business hours Monday through Friday, callers can be referred to attorneys practicing in numerous areas of law. Areas of the law include: •D omestic Relations (which involves divorce, custody, support and other family law matters); •P ersonal Injury (which includes auto accidents, slip and falls, products liability, wrongful death, malpractice and other types of injury cases.); •E state Planning (including will and trust drafting, probate and will contest.); •R eal Estate (including buying or selling real estate, foreclosure defense and landlord/tenant issues.) and •E mployment Law (including wrongful termination, harassment and discrimination issues.)

Additionally, the CBA offers an after-hours On-Call service which provides access to attorneys in three different areas of law at any time after normal business hours, Daly said.

“You can reach a lawyer 24/7 for help with criminal defense, personal injury and family law matters by calling (312) 554-2001,” she explained.

Law Week is being held in conjunction with

the American Bar Association’s celebration of National Law Day, typically held on May 1st of each year. National Law Day celebrates the role of law in our society and seeks to cultivate a deeper understanding of the legal profession.

“We must all work to ensure access to justice and to freedom for the judiciary The separation of powers and the checks and balances in the American system of justice has never been more important so as to preserve liberty and justice for everyone.”

CBA PRESIDENT JUDGE THOMAS R. MULROY

The CBA and it’s Young Lawyers Section plan to celebrate Law Week 2018 with a series of other events in addition to providing free legal advice on April 28.

The remaining Law Week events include: Thursday, May 3 – Meet the Judges Reception and Liberty Bell Award Presentation – The Young Lawyers Section (YLS) will host a meet and greet with judges from the Illinois Appellate Court, Federal Court and the Circuit Court of Cook County

in recognition of Law Day. The YLS will also present the annual Liberty Bell Award to an individual (non-lawyer) who works within the legal system to advocate for the disadvantaged and help increase access to the justice system for citizens who need it most. (This event is not open to the public.)

Friday, May 4 – Law Day Public Celebration – Prominent members of Chicago’s legal community will provide personal reflections on Law Week and its theme at a public ceremony at noon at the Richard J. Daley Center, 50 W. Washington.

The CBA’s Barristers Big Band will also perform selections from the big band era.

Law Week’s theme this year is, “Separation of Powers: Framework for Freedom.” The theme is, “ a good reminder that our system can only work if there is access to justice for all, regardless of income,” CBA President Judge Thomas R. Mulroy said in a press release.

“We must all work to ensure access to justice and to freedom for the judiciary,” Judge Mulroy added. “The separation of powers and the checks and balances in the American system of justice has never been more important so as to preserve liberty and justice for everyone. The Chicago Bar Association is proud to be leading this conversation with an exciting week of events for legal professionals and the public,” he added.

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6 | CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of April 25, 2018

NEWS

Guildhaus, a licensed non-profit men’s recovery home and halfway house in Blue Island, is celebrating it’s 30 year anniversary on April 26 at the Beverly Country Club.

Blue Island Recovery Home Celebrates 30 Years of Operation

BY KATHERINE NEWMAN

G

uildhaus, a licensed non-profit men’s recovery home and halfway house in Blue Island, is celebrating it’s 30 year anniversary on April 26 at the Beverly Country Club. The night will begin at 6 p.m. and feature Neil Steinberg, a journalist with the Chicago Sun Times, as the guest speaker along with a silent auction and raffle.

Founded in 1987 by Jack King, a retired Chicago firefighter, Guildhaus has been able to treat 15,000 men who suffer from addiction and alcoholism, according to information provided by Guildhaus.

“There is no magic that happens here. It’s just showing up and buying into the fact that you’re powerless over your addiction. If you can feed into that and really buy into it, that’s half your problem solved right there.

Then there are a bunch of steps after that to continue to work on yourself because in order to stay sober, you have to change and that doesn’t happen overnight,” said Kevin Lavin, executive director of Guildhaus.

Today, Lavin is the executive director of Guildhaus, but if you were to look back in time, you could see him as a recovering alcoholic sleeping on the couch at the recovery home on Canal St. in Blue Island.

“There was no other place on the South Side that had a halfway house so Jack King started this place in 87. I actually slept on a couch right in the front room because there

were no beds at the time,” said Lavin.

Staying active, remaining grateful for successful treatment, and giving back to help others suffering from addiction is the key to

Photo: Katherine Newman

Today, Kevin Lavin (pictured) is the executive director of Guildhaus, but if you were to look back in time, you could see him as a recovering alcoholic sleeping on the couch at the recovery home on Canal St. in Blue Island.

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maintaining sobriety, according to Lavin.

“I love this job because I’m able to give back what was given to me,” said Lavin. “If a guy comes in here and stays for 90 to 120 days the odds of him relapsing are down to about 44 percent,” said Lavin.

Over the last 30 years as the nature of addiction has changed Guildhaus has also adapted to make sure that they are able to provide the best treatment for their residents, according to Lavin.

“From 1987 to 1997 residents were predominately white and predominantly alcoholics. From 1995 to 2006, the demographics were different, it was more integrated, and drugs were a major factor. The crack epidemic hit the south side of Chicago and really the state and the country. We went from mostly alcoholics to crack,” said Lavin.

“There wasn’t really a big spotlight on it because it was an inner-city thing and no one seemed to really care, but when the opiate epidemic hit and heroine, now all of a sudden people care.”

One thing that has never changed is the safe space that exists at Guildhaus and allows all addicts, no matter their dependency, to find the support they need to recover.

For more information about the event and to learn about the services at Guildhaus visit www.guildhaus.org.

CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of April 25, 2018

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NEWS

Young Black Professionals, HBCU Students Join Movement for Homeownership

BY HAZEL TRICE EDNEY

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The housing crisis that caused more than nine million people to suffer foreclosure and even homelessness due to the economic slump across the U. S. 10 years ago, has now fully recovered for everyone - except people of color - especially African-Americans.

“Black people are moving into homeownership at a much slower rate than anything we have seen in the past,” says Laurie Goodman, co-author of an Urban Institute report titled, “Are Gains in Black Home Ownership History?”

The report, released last year, continues, “Gains in black homeownership have been hard won, which amplifies our concern that in the last 15 years, black homeownership rates have declined to levels not seen since the 1960s, when private race-based discrimination was legal.”

This is the reason that homeownership advocates and advisers believe new and innovative ways must be attempted to bring about equality in homeownership in 2018 and beyond. In part, that means a targeted effort to bring young Black professionals, namely new college graduates, into the financial education arena and the home buying job market - ideas whose times have come, according to HomeFree-USA, a non-profit organization that specializes in mortgage and homeownership advice.

“Most people, when they think about working in a financial institution; they think about the branch or being a teller. But, there’s a whole machine, one in which you can really build a good career. So they are interested,” says Gwendolyn Garnett, program director for the new Center for Financial Advancement (CFA) that HomeFree-USA launched on the campus of Fisk University in Nashville last September. “Awareness and education afford them opportunities whether they are jobs or internships. So they can learn more about the industry and choose to become a part of it,” says Garnett, former Neighborhood Lending executive for the Consumer Real Estate division of Bank of America.

People may simply not know the benefits and tremendous value of preparing for mortgage approval, says Marcia Griffin, president//CEO of HomeFree-USA. “It is critical for us. Yet, more AfricanAmericans are becoming renters than they are home owners. Homeownership is our primary wealth building tool. But it’s also a personal tool. It’s a life tool that enables us to provide something to leave for our children, to have a life in which you are paying yourself instead of paying the landlord,” Griffin says. “I often use this as an example: If you’re paying a thousand dollars a month rent and you rent for 10 years, conservatively you’re talking about a hundred and twenty thousand dollars

that you’ve paid to somebody else. No benefit at all.”

She also pointed out that rents often go up whereas a fixed rate mortgage stays the same.

“This is just a wealth building tool that must be promoted,” Griffin said.

In the three decades after the Fair Housing Act, signed into law in 1968, America’s Black homeownership grew nearly 6 percentage points, the Urban Institute report said. But, according to Forbes, “from 2000 to 2015, that gain dropped to about 41 percent, compared to White homeownership of 71 percent.”

The National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) sees a glimmer of hope as NAREB has detected a slight upward movement in Black home ownership rates.

HomeFree-USA is pushing to increase that trend by empowering students with the financial education that they will then spread among each other as well as to parents and ultimately into the community.

A core principal of the CFA is that the more African-Americans are involved in the lending and mortgage business, the more buyers they will attract. They hope this will result in a significant spike in the housing industry as it relates to African-Americans in general; including African-American youth.

“I agree that yes, whether you’re AfricanAmerican or Hispanic, those ethnic groups are comfortable dealing with people who look like them. And I think that’s the case not only for homeownership but a host of other experiences and consumer decisions that we make,” says Jeffrey Hicks, NAREB president/ CEO. Prospective salaries may serve as

enticements for young professionals. The annual salaries can range from an average of $75,900-$93,000 as a senior underwriter to $41,725-$135,000 as a loan officer and multiple opportunities in between according to mortgage industry salary listings.

There are opportunities for even higher salaries when sales are involved.

“Mortgage loan officer jobs are usually commission based. I know some who have made millions in this industry,” says Garnett, who worked for Bank of America for more than 24 years in various positions. “When you sell a home, when that person gets a home loan through you, you get a big commission from that...So you can make a good income, but a lot of young folks are not even aware of the industry.”

The Center for Financial Advancement has launched on the heels of a recent study that says although more African-Americans than ever are going to college, Black students are still overrepresented in majors that result in the lowest paying jobs.

“Access to college for African Americans has increased, but African Americans are highly concentrated in lower-paying majors,” says the 2016 study by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce.

The report says “only 7 percent of finance and marketing majors are AfricanAmerican.” It also says that only 7 percent of those who receive STEM-related bachelor’s degrees - which includes information technology (IT) and who earn a median annual salary of $84,000 - are Black.

IT, finance and marketing are favored

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concentrations in real estate, mortgage and banking. On the other hand, the report says African-Americans are highly represented in majors associated with serving the community, which tend to be lowerearning - “human services and community organization (20%) and social work (19%).”

Milan Griffin, Vice President of Marketing and Outreach for HomeFree-USA believes mortgage industry jobs - which are a combination of earning higher salaries while serving the community - will attract Black college graduates, most of whom tend to be socially conscious trend setters among their peers.

“People of this generation are much more social advocacy focused,” she says. “The importance of students from HBCUs entering into the mortgage industry is this is an opportunity for them to really fuse and really live through their work the essence of doing well and doing good by helping to impact lives while also doing well for themselves financially.”

Milan Griffin added that the Center movement will not only increase the number of African-Americans in the mortgage business, but the young people will likely also see the value in getting prepared earlier and purchasing homes at younger ages.

“This program is having them to rethink success: ‘I was told that going to grad school was the only option for me to boost my income. But now I see that instead of amassing a whole other pound of debt; I need to build wealth first and build my assets by managing the debt that I do have and then go into home ownership right after college.’”

8 | CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of April 25, 2018

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