Local REALTOR® and 2020 President of the Kansas City Regional Association of REALTORS® (KCRAR), Bobbi Howe, was honored this week as a 2022 recipient of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Fair Housing Champion Award.
Howe uses her opportunities as an educator, speaker and podcast host to spread the word about systemic racism in real estate and advocate for changes that will support fair housing for all. Her award was announced in an online ceremony this week, in which she shared Kansas City’s history of redlining and how its effects are still seen today.
“I realized as someone who was involved very heavily at the National Association of REALTORS®, I not only had a duty, but I had an obligation to share those things that I had learned with others,” Howe said in the video.
Also in the video, Howe referenced the Dividing Lines audio tour, which was produced by the Johnson County Library and takes listeners on an independent driving tour through the Kansas City region, explaining the history of discrimination in real estate and showing its present day effects.
“We can use our voice and our actions to actually make change within this industry,” Howe said.
NAR recognized Howe’s efforts with a $4,000 prize to be dedicated to a housing-related nonprofit of her choice. Howe selected Veterans Community Project, an organization working to house homeless veterans, co-founded by fellow KC REALTOR® Mark Solomon.
NAR also named three other REALTORS® as 2022 Fair Housing Champion Award winners: Harrison Beacher from Washington, D.C., Sabrina Brown from Fresno, Calif. and Rafael Perez from San Diego, Calif.
“NAR is committed to helping build thriving, inclusive communities in every zip code in America,” NAR President Leslie Rouda Smith said in a release. “I am so proud of all the work our winners have done to increase access to homeownership and hope their leadership can serve as an example to inspire others into action.”
Read more about the work of NAR’s 2022 Fair Housing Champions on nar.realtor.
Linda Cone • April 29, 2022 at 7:03 pm
Congrats to Bobbie. You are a champion in many ways. Your leadership has been exempted!