A New Day
After the past several days of listening, learning, and finding my place in what appears to be the revolution, the segue way to resuming my day-to-day business life feels awkward. It’s time. I just need to acknowledge the moment. The weight and intensity of this renewed movement toward liberty and justice for all is beyond anything I have ever seen except in newsreels and my imagination. I’ve wondered so many times what it would take. Wondered why I didn’t do more. Wondered what I could actually do. Wondered how such gross miscarriages of justice became accepted events of American life.
Long before I ever imagined that one day I’d be happily working as a real estate agent, I was educating myself on issues around social justice. Currently, I’m reading The Color of Law, A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, by Richard Rothstein. It has really helped me to wrap my head around how racism is woven into the fabric of this country, especially in housing. It’s like the meme seen posted lately that says, “Racism is so American that when we protest against it, people think we’re protesting America.” As a realtor, I consider it my ethical obligation to understand this history and look for ways to do better. This book was recommended to me more than a few months ago by Sara Alvarado, a local broker. Just the other day my broker, Jean Armendariz-Kerr, shared an NPR interview with the author on social media. The real estate industry has certainly been complicit in these racist practices, so it matters a great deal to me that realtors in my sphere as well as local and national realtor organizations have not shied away from this ugly past. There is always more work to be done and I am glad to be aligned with groups that are working toward a more just future.
All my life I’ve heard about the “wisdom” of keeping my personal life and beliefs separate from business life. That line doesn’t exist for me. It’s all the same life. And in the course of my life, racism – from its most insidious to its most blatant expressions – has been a steady source of grief and outrage. Still, being white has allowed me to let my guard down, enjoy periods of complacency, remain comfortable, choose my battles and limit my sacrifices. We have all entered a new era together. Things will change. There will be discomfort. It will be worth it.
A few days into the protests, when it was becoming evident that this time was different, I was walking along Wingra Creek, trying to feel the change in the air. Looking out over the still water, I asked for a sign that this was, indeed, a new day. Looking down, I saw a hatched robin’s egg, shell left behind. No sense asking for a sign if you’re not going to see it when it’s placed in your path. I’ll take it.
