GBBR Earnestly Supports Racial Equality and Housing Equality

Over the course of the last few weeks, we have all witnessed the fear, hurt and outrage of the death of George Floyd and others, as well as the subsequent protests and riots that have followed across the country.  We recognize that racial disparities are deeply rooted in our history and unfortunately, still exist today across all aspects of society, including our industry.  We share in that grief and we stand together.

To be silent is to be complicit.  We stand as one with our members and our community in rejecting racism.  Our identity is rooted in empowering everyone in our community.  We stand for inclusion.

As the first real estate association in the country and the first organization to sign the “Equal Opportunity in Housing” statement with HUD, GBBR is committed to working with our local, state and federal leaders to create policies that address systemic racism and racial injustice.  We will speak up against racist comments and behaviors.  We pledge to proactively move towards true change.

We believe this is the time when we should be compelled to stop diagnosing what is wrong and begin to advocate and actively work for what is right.  The tragedy of these events gives us all an opportunity of reflection and renewed commitment to our core values.  For GBBR, these core values are:

We are a trusted partner:  We commit to equity, inclusion and diversity with our members and our community.

We choose right over easy:  We stand up and speak out for what’s right – even when it’s not the easy choice.  We do not condone police brutality.

We use our leadership to implement change:  We recognize that we cannot solve a systemic problem overnight, but we are committed to making progress and to working with our elected leaders to create legislation addressing the end of this abuse and solving this systemic racism.

This recommitment to our core values is only the beginning of the critical conversations we need to have as an industry.

As an initial step, GBBR will launch a series of round table discussions for our members to openly discuss eradicating social injustice, especially in the transfer of home ownership.  In the meantime, lean on us and on each other.  We are unwavering in our support of the GBBR members and to the broader community.

– GBBR Leadership Team