美国国家公共电台 NPR--Some white Oregon homeowners are selling at a loss to Black and Indigenous buyers

Some white Oregon homeowners are selling at a loss to Black and Indigenous¹ buyers

Transcript²

An advocacy organization in Portland helps White homeowners sell their homes below market rate to Black and Indigenous buyers. (Story first aired on All Things Considered on May 11, 2023.)

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

In Portland, Ore., some white homeowners are taking reparations into their own hands, selling their homes at a financial loss to Black and Indigenous people. Here's Tiffany Camhi from Oregon Public Broadcasting.

TIFFANY CAMHI, BYLINE³: Randal Wyatt is Black. Annie Moss⁴ is white. They first met in 2020 through an email.

RANDAL WYATT: She titled the email, Transfer My Home to Black Ownership.

CAMHI: Moss, who inherited generational wealth, wrote that they wanted to redistribute some of their housing equity⁵ to a Black family.

ANNIE MOSS: I was saying, I do not want to profit-maximize. Like, I want it to be affordable⁶.

CAMHI: Wyatt was emerging as a Black community organizer in Portland, and Moss thought maybe he would know of a family that could benefit.

MOSS: I think actually, the first time I reached out, I didn't hear back.

CAMHI: That's because Wyatt thought it was too good to be true. But Moss eventually followed up.

WYATT: I was like, wow, she's actually really serious about this. So I said - well, I was renting at the time, you know? So I reached out, and I was like, I am 100% interested...

(LAUGHTER)

WYATT: ...In this transaction.

CAMHI: The deal went through. In December 2020, Moss sold their home to Wyatt for what was left on the mortgage - $230,000. At the time, Zillow listed the fair market value of the home at more than $644,000. That means Wyatt walked away with more than $400,000 in home equity.

Lily Copenagle is an organizer with the all-volunteer PDX Housing Solidarity⁷ Project. The group was born out of the home sale between Wyatt and Moss.

LILY COPENAGLE: This is a redistribution of the wealth that should have been accumulating for these families from the beginning.

CAMHI: Its goals are to educate people about racial disparities in homeownership by encouraging people to redistribute their wealth. There are complications, though. PDX Housing Solidarity specifically helps white homesellers sell only to Black and Indigenous people, but the Federal Fair Housing Act protects people against discrimination when buying a house.

There is a workaround, says Willamette University law professor Paul Diller - if a property is not advertised and realtors are not used.

PAUL DILLER: If I want to sell my property to my brother, I don't have to list it. I can just make a deal with him, and that obviously had the effect of excluding anybody who wasn't my brother's race or religion.

CAMHI: It's also easier to do this kind of transaction in Portland because it doesn't have property tax and real estate transfer tax complications that might prove difficult elsewhere.

So we're walking into the backyard?

WYATT: To the backyard - yep - which needs - it's going to be getting some work done.

CAMHI: The median home price in Randal Wyatt's neighborhood is now $750,000, according to real estate company Redfin. He's not planning on selling anytime soon. He wants to hold onto the home for his twin teenage sons. PDX Housing Solidarity launched last year and has so far helped seven families buy homes in Portland. Sometimes, the group connects people who will sell below market prices. Other times, it facilitates cash gifts for down payments.

WYATT: One thing our country has not done for white people who actually know the history and actually want to do something to change the future is provide a clear path of reconciliation⁸.

CAMHI: And he says this is just one way for white people who support reparations to take action now, while a systemic approach to reparations continues at a much slower pace.

For NPR News, I'm Tiffany Camhi in Portland, Ore.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

5 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

6 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

7 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

8 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。