ROOTED IN DEMOCRACY IN HOUSING

The Associated Real Property Brokers, Inc (ARPB) is a predominately African American real estate trade association, founded in Oakland, CA in 1948 and chartered in 1954 as a local chapter of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB). NAREB members trade name is “REALTIST”.

ARPB is also a local chapter of the State board California Association of Real Estate Brokers, Inc (CAREB), which was chartered by NAREB in 1956. NAREB is the largest minority real estate trade association in America.

NAREB was Founded To Promote And Insure Democracy In Housing. Additionally, Black real estate professionals were constitutionally denied membership and participation in any and all activities of the predominately White real estate trade associations, the National Association of Real Estate Boards, now named, the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The primary interest of Black real estate brokers to become members of NAR, and it’s local chapters, was to have access to the Multiple Listings Service, professional designations and educational programs to help them better serve their clients.

The original name of ARPB was the Bay Area Association of Real Estate Brokers, which included Black real estate brokers with offices in ‘san Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley and Richmond. The prede-cessor was formed in 1948, but disbanded in 1952 with the acceptance of Leon Miller, a prominent leader of the predecessor group, to the Oakland Association of Realtors (OAR), the local chapter of NAR. By 1954 no other Blacks were accepted for membership, therefore the predecessor group reformed as ARPB, the Oakland chapter of NAREB.

Since 1954 ARPB has become the premiere advocate for fair, decent and affordable housing and employment opportunities in the real estate industry in Northern California. Additionally, the first president of a Realtor local board in the nation in 1973 was Ray “Jurubia” Collins, a past president of ARPB and CAREB. Ray appointed several members of ARPB to important positions at OAR and successfully mediated several housing discrimination disputes between ARPB and OAR members and their clients. “Big Ray’s contributions to ARPB, CAREB and OAR established better opportunities for Black real estate professionals and their clients locally, statewide and nationally.

The first Black state law mandated Real Estate Advisory Commissioner in the nation was also a past president of ARPB and CAREB, Ray C. Carlisle was appointed by then CA Governor Jerry Brown in 1978. “Little Ray” also appointed several ARPB members to important positions with the California Department of Real Estate and assisted in the development of several laws and regulations to combat housing and employment discrimination in CA. Additionally, for the first time in the nation, Little Ray was responsible for including who REALTIST are and what we stand for in the CA real estate primer, which is now a question on the CA real estate licensee exam. This is now a requirement on most real estate licensee programs.

Ernest Clark was responsible for reinvigorating ARPB and the REALTIST message in the 1980’s, the devel-opment of the young leadership group of ARPB and gave ARPB an expanded and active contemporary purpose ensuring members aggressively participated in local and state political activities, improved their professional skills and expanded their business opportunities and client service capabilities.

ARPB has a rich history of developing local, state and national leaders in the real estate industry salespersons, lenders, appraisers, escrow, title, leasing and insurance agents, lawyers, developers, build-ing inspectors, repair and new construction contractors, real estate educators and counselors and commu-nity development and affordable housing activists.

The complete list of early leaders is too long to list, however a few of the early pioneers are: S.B. O’Dell, A.J. Hartman, Bert Bartholomew, Albert McKee, Netha Williams, Vi Taylor-Wimms, W.D. Martin, E.J. Grinstead, C.J. Patterson and Daniel Evertz in real estate sales and lending development, Fred Farley, Ruby Barker, Lorenzo Crenshaw and Richard Brown in appraising, Red Davis, Leon Mil-ler, Nate Washington, Inez Hunter and Fran Harding in insurance and escrow, Catherine Parish, Cecil and Addie Reeves, Virgie Smith and L.P. Hines, community activists and organizational leaders. Carl Matoya, Alan Broussard, Clinton White, Donald McCullum and Hiawatha Roberts real estate and civil rights law.