Moving Black America Forward Through Homeownership!

(Black PR Wire) Louisville, KY - Noir Black Chamber of Commerce Inc., a national 501(c)(3) Economic Development Organization and certified Community Development entity (CDE), under The U.S. Department of Treasury, launches its “Advancing Black Homeownership” initiative, a national HUD certified homebuyer education program to increase black homeownership across the country. The program’s online HUD certified course platform combined with the chamber’s 11-Step homebuyer assistance process, walks clients towards homeownership. The program connects clients to credit specialist, city down payment assistance programs, mortgage lenders, realtors, insurance brokers, and financial planning entities. The online HUD certified course educates clients on homeownership and financial literacy, which results in an online course completion certificate that is valid in all United States territories. The certificate is required in order to participate in various BMR (Below Market Rate), BMP (Below Market Program), and DPA (Down Payment Assistance) homebuyer programs and or FHA loans.

“As the chamber focuses its efforts on “Moving Black America Forward”, homeownership is one of TEN Pillars the chamber has identified as a critical focus area that will lead to economic and social mobility for Black Americans, because homeownership is the foundation to building generational wealth, by building equity in the home over the years, homeowners can borrow against that wealth to cover financial emergencies, and most importantly, for sending children to college”, said John Howard Shaw-Woo, the chamber’s Founder and CEO.  

​In 2020, during the wake of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor's deaths, which sparked a national reckoning of racism and inequities in the U.S., the chamber felt a duty to focus its efforts on creating program initiatives that would assist in "Moving Black America Forward", and in doing so, it identified TEN Pillars facing Black America, that if addressed, would lead to significant economic and social change for black individuals and families. The first FOUR Pillars are centered on "Business" and consists of programming centered on supporting black entrepreneurs-start, small black businesses-grow, midsize businesses-sustain, and black corporate professionals-rise. The remaining SIX Pillars are centered around "Community", which the chamber calls the "Disease". These areas pertain to programming centered around black community trauma, black teen higher professional career attainment, apprenticeship and job training for non-college bound black teens, welfare entitlement reform, black talent corporate placement; and homeownership.

Homeownership is a key driver of wealth building and it must be made accessible to all Black Americans, if we hope to increase the financial security and economic social standing of Black Americans. Program can be accessed at www.NoirHomebuyerProgram.org or www.Noirbcc.org.