What Does Tomorrow Mean To You?
January 20, 2008
We have just returned from Atlanta, Georgia where we hosted and produced another sold out Short Sale Seminar. I want to thank all of those who attended. It was a fun and enthusiastic crowd, and I’m happy we could all spend some time getting to know each other and engage in spirited discussions about the real estate market and how short sales are absolutely viable.
However, this article is not about short sales. It is not about profit, it is about history. It is often said that if we do not remember history, we are doomed to repeat it. As I was riding to the airport this morning, something struck me as I watched people move about. I wondered if those I had met this weekend and those I had come in contact with, while I was eating dinner, in the seminar, or at the airport , knew of the significance of the day to come tomorrow.
I felt somewhat ashamed, because I, a 47 year old black man, had also forgotten. As the taxi sped past Auburn Ave. without much fanfare, it did not even come to mind where I was. More importantly, as I continued my ride, I did not even realize what it meant to me, my family and millions of others like me.On January 15, 1929, a son was born to the Reverend and Mrs. Martin Luther King, Sr., in an upstairs bedroom of 501 Auburn Avenue, in Atlanta, Georgia. Tomorrow, we as Americans honor Dr. King.
A child who grew up to be the single most important figure in the civil rights movement. A child that would grow up and become a man influenced by Ghandi, a child who grew up to be a man who in 1964 received the honor of being bestowed the Nobel Peace Price for his efforts to end segregation and racial discrimination. Martin Luther King Jr. was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.
It is a testament to the greatness of Martin Luther King Jr. that nearly every major city in the U.S. has a street or school named after him. It is a measure of how sorely his achievements are misunderstood that most of them are located in black neighborhoods. As real estate professionals, we should be collectively ashamed, White, Black and Hispanic, that this is the case.
Nearly four decades after this man of greatness died trying to bridge the gaps of inequality in our society, nearly 40 years after an assassin gunned down a man who stood for opportunity and perseverance, we see a new Jim Crow emerging.
Jim Crow was the name of the racial caste system which operated primarily, but not exclusively, in Southern and border states between 1877 and the mid-1960s. Jim Crow was more than a series of rigid anti-Black laws. It was a way of life. Under Jim Crow, African-Americans were relegated to the status of second class citizens.
Blacks were regarded as not having the capacity to think like whites, be as smart as whites, or even partake of the same simple joys of life as whites.
Now here we stand nearly 40 years after Dr. King was killed, we have activists telling the world, openly pandering to the media, that blacks again were preyed upon and that they did not know anything about the loans they had taken out. This sub-prime crisis must be someone else’s fault. There was no accountability, they were hoodwinked, bamboozled, unaware that Plymouth Rock had again landed upon them as another civil rights activist had lamented, Malcom X.
It is absurd, insulting and a denigration to the memory of Dr. King for minorities in this Country to be asking and supporting for a moratorium on foreclosures. It is absolutely ludicrous for minorities in this country to be blaming their economic insufficiencies on others.
Dr. King died opening the doors of opportunity for Blacks and others to even be able to move into their own homes. It is an absolute travesty to support an outcry, political or otherwise, wherein blame is placed upon someone else for one’s inability to maintain the agreement and promise they had made.
A mortgage in essence is security for a promise to pay back the money, the opportunity someone gave you to allow you to enjoy and become part of an American Dream. Now, that you can not afford to pay what you agreed to, you are relying on some form of New Millennium Jim Crow by saying you did not know what you were doing.
Are you kidding me? Is that how you want to be portrayed? Is that what legacy you believe Dr. King left behind for you? Do you really want the world that killed Dr. King, that assailed this man to believe that you so lacked the intelligence and ability to comprehend what you were signing that it again is the white man’s fault? Is that what you really want the world to believe?
I for one think that the New Jim Crow is more dangerous than its predecessor. The doors of opportunity have been blown wide open for years, I can eat anywhere, I can live anywhere. This is what Dr. King afforded me. This is what I will celebrate tomorrow.
In Dr. King’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech, there is a line above all that describes what is going on in the foreclosure crisis in this country.
In arguably one of the greatest speeches ever spoken, Dr. King uttered these words:
” I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
A powerful line in an awe-inspiring speech. For those in foreclosure, let us not blame the troubles on others. Stand up and take accountability. Admit your wrongs, pay your note or move on. Exercise your ability to decide. An ability that many fought aggressively for. Understand that you do live in a nation where you can indeed be judged by your character and not by your skin color.
While there is definitely racial inequality in certain aspects of our society, a mortgage is given based upon your ability to re-pay, your credit, and your word. To me that is the ultimate judge of character over color. Seize the opportunity not to regress but to progress.
There is nothing wrong in admitting error. There is nothing wrong in admitting failure. There is however, everything wrong with admitting that you were the object of some scheme to prey upon you. It’s an excuse and it will indeed cause the doors of opportunity to be much harder to open for those behind you.
I can truly say that I have made some wrong decisions in my life and I have made some right decisions in my life, but I have been afforded the right, and opportunity to make, those decisions on my own accord.
That’s what tomorrow means to me. It means that we have been given the opportunity to be held accountable for our mistakes, while concurrently maintaining the right to actually make them.
Another line from the March on Washington speech is equally as compelling:
“And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.”
I sincerely believe that to be as Dr. King dreamed, in a time where we would be as a people truly free at last, we need to be able to openly account for our errors to enable us to enjoy our successes.
With that I can say Thank you Dr. King, and loudly state” I have overcome!”
Barry,
Thank you so very much for so eloquently espousing your views of the values and aspirations that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. envisioned and hoped for all of us in our struggle for equality and equal access to the American dream. Your message is both inspiring and on point. Please continue in your effort to get the message out and appeal to our consciousness to use soberness of judgment and accountability to achieve the promise.
William “Gil” Gilyard, III
I do agree with what you stated. It is a very important day that has gone under the radar to most. “Just another day off” to many. Maybe one day this day will be recognized for what it REALLY stands for. Growth, Progression, and Freedom (literally).
Now in regards to the real estate aspect of the article, i do agree with most of what is stated, however i dont think that ALL of the blame is to be put on the consumers. yes they should have read what they were signing and yes they should be held accountable for their actions. There are , however, buyers who were in fact taken advantage of. there were many crooked loan officers and higher ups who made this possible. By falsifying loan docs and many other deceptive practices, many people in the loan industry are to blame as well. not take anything away from the purpose of you article because i do understand the point you were trying to make and as stated before, i agree.
I could go on for days with this as I think that the blame should be shared from the very top to the bottom. from the president, the war, greenspan, greed, loan officers, mortgage companies, greed, buyers, sellers, real estate agents, and did i mention greed?
[…] we celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Barry C made a great post yesterday titled, “What does tomorrow mean to you?”. Barry C made the statement that the lessons of Dr. King have been lost on today’s society. […]