A Texas couple says they want to help Black men overcome historical inequalities and other barriers to purchase houses.
Houstonians Kevan & Ayesha Shelton designed the “Black Men Buy Houses” initiative to galvanize and equip Black men with the financial literacy tools needed to start their home-buying journey.
The event will take place on September 30th, 2023, from 12pm to 3pm at the The Community Collective for Houston.
According to the couple, the program will aim to address the disparities in purchasing Black men often encounter compared to Black women.
“Black men often face formidable challenges when it comes to purchasing homes, which can be attributed to a combination of factors,” a news release states. “Firstly, there is a lack of accessible knowledge and information about the home-buying process, leaving many black men unfamiliar with the steps involved and the resources available to them. Secondly, limited financial resources and opportunities hinder their ability to amass the necessary funds for down payments and closing costs. This financial barrier, compounded by historical inequalities, exacerbates the difficulties they encounter.”
The program comes at a time when Black women are outpacing Black men in homeownership, education, entrepreneurship rates and earnings.
As previously reported by ESSENCE, in 2020 the National Center For Education Statistics shows that Black women are enrolled in college at a higher percentage than any other group including white women, Asian women and white men. Black women have also been obtaining degrees at a consistently high rate for the last ten years as compared to Black men; between 2009 and 2010 Black women accounted for 68 percent of associate’s degrees, 66 percent of bachelor’s degrees, 71 percent of master’s degrees and 65 percent of doctorate degrees awarded to Black students during that time frame.
What’s more, Black women also have the highest labor force participation rate of all women according to 2021 data from the Department of Labor—meaning a higher share of Black women are either employed or unemployed and looking for work.
More information about the program can be found at https://www.InnovatingMarketingGroup.com.