An investment group curated by a guild of female friends is doing their part to mitigate the consequential impact of gentrification on people of color. Birthed in Pasadena, California, the investment group started “Buy The Block” to impede the gentrification process occurring in the San Gabriel Valley area.
The idea for the investment group came when a video went viral (now removed) of a Pasadena business owner criticizing a woman for having a Black Lives Matter sign visible on her car.
Jacqueline Kuykendall, founding member and realtor, believes African Americans should invest more in properties in their communities.
“Because I am in the real estate industry, I see the disparity first hand,” she said. “I see what happens when people do have generational wealth and how they’re able to build their wealth buying properties and help their children. I want that for my own community and my own children.”
The investment group’s blueprint involves purchasing a multi-unit property by the end of year, in which they plan to use $1.5 million of their own money to achieve this goal.
“To come together and have people in the community invest in property and say, ‘You know that building right there? I own a piece of that,'” Kuykendall continues. “That makes people feel positive, and that makes them feel like they can do more and really invest and build their wealth for the family.”
Lynnae Musgrove, a Pasadena native and co-founder of the initiative, believes that by purchasing properties in diverse communities will inevitably restore the power of the people while making the cost of living more affordable.
“I think in order for us to reclaim our community, we have to purchase properties here, so that it’s reasonable enough for working class people to be able to afford to live and raise their children within this community,” Musgrove said.
Eventually, the group plans to utilize crowdsourcing to fund the initiative, along with incentives that give people who donate a percentage of equity in purchased properties. The investment group believes the lure of equity will help people of the community build wealth, as well.
