1 20 1 https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/44124/archive/files/3134eabaaa0ad715ffb3445725374535.pdf?Expires=1776902400&Signature=hejFRF2WeM4U1j7rJVj8fayFCXJHx6z8zZPyP51dt7IyMqkX8U5B4vrQrudxm2kQhQiI7x7UqKMAN-yxg2i97QhOV8NUqbxCCvFSIaC1RnGNZk2upOuXSpupASb6vhLUOLzW1WWXom9r8oMSn9W2QqJZGp%7EjZKEWrR6aMtoQaBnRMxn9EqFiCaew8Mr-aAqaGEYV8Yuqo4PIe4EkXeQXv03q6pAf-mUEDQUx-UQ%7EeU6smr62YtZBD-QYv-pjxPjALXf40y-rwQnBawNMphvIrptUPsuZQpZyI7PI8Gb1IUIDxP5c1c2NF6b0l5Vo3pYs0P6FfhmClLK5IjpAcixY4A__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM c311784dcd2bbaac16d73a38cb509858 PDF Text Text . ., , TO: GB L 9W and CB \" FROM: Don Mi Iler DATE: Thursday, Apri I 14, 1983 RE: Alleged Discriminatory Newspaper Advertising by DICK BELMAN, INC. r BACKGROUNP On Thursday, February 24, 1983 I received a call from a Mrs. Lois Stansberry at 4540 Old Court Road who said she listed her house with Dick Belman, Inc. through agent Lou Issaacs, on February 7, 1983. Stansberry's house (Baltimore Map Book page 24, J-12) is in a lightly int e grated neighborhood called Autumn Woods. The 1980 census tract (4026-01) shows it to be 14% Black. It is 'located in Northwest Baltimore County near the proposed Beltway Exit 19. At the time Lou Isaacs I isted the hou s e he promised, according to Mrs. Stansberry, to advertise it in the Jewish Times, Sunpapers, Afro-American, and the Home pubI ication .. this would be "full advertising coverage" according to Lou Isaacs. Stansberry became upset when she found out her house was not gett i ng the "full coverage" .. it was not in the Afro-American despite several requests by her. During the same time period her house was advertised in the Jewish Times for a number of weeks. After a call by Stansberry on Thursday, March 3 telling agent Isaacs that he was discriminating in his advertising and demanding he also advertise her home in the Afro, it then was published on Friday, March 18 and again on Friday, March 25 in the Afro. It was Stansberry's situation that caused me on Saturday, March 5th to review Belman's ads in various newspapers. This led to the following in-depth review and findings. PURPOSE Real estate advertising in general is discriminatory if it directs information to minorities about houses in integra ted or predominantly black neighborhoods rather than to house in communities of all kinds of racial makeup listed by the real estate company. Conversely, directing information to Whites about houses In predominantly white neighborhoods rather than in communities of all kinds of racial makeup is discriminatory. Furthermore, providing information in ads that makes it · easler o r more attractive to prospective buyers of one ra ce to seek out the houses is also discriminatory if the ads are differentially located In publications directed to different racial or religious groups. Speci fica"y, (1) this investigation addressed three questions: Are ads of properties in the monitored publications the same in overall ad content, including company servi ces and information about open houses? For example, do ads of properties advertised in the Jewish Times contain more information than properties advertised in the Afro? �Be l man . . page 2 (2) Are p ropert i es lo cated in int eg rated or predominantly Blac k neighborhood s more 1 i ke ly to be lo cated in the Afro th a n in the J ew i s h Ti mes or the Sunday Sun? Are properti es located in predominantly white or s l i ght l y integra t ed ne i ghbo rhoods mo re like ly to be l ocated in th e J ew i s h Ti mes or Sunday Sun than in the Afro? (3) Wh en communities of varying racial makeup a re named in ads, do these ads t end to be placed in publications directed to minorities in acco rd with the rac i a 1 ma ke up of the commun i tie s ? PROCDURE During th e fo ur (4) February weekends in 19 83 Be l ma n' s ads we re n~ nit ored in the following pub li cat ions: J ewish Times, Afro-American, Sunday Sun, and the N ews American on both Saturdays and Sunday s. Th e weekend s mo nitored in c luded: Friday, Sat urd ay and Sunday of February 4,5, and 6; February 11,12,13; February 18,19,20; and February 25,26, aAd 27 .. The Jewi s h Times i s publ i shed o n Frida y , the Afro American on Sat urda y, the Sun day Sun o n Sunday and the N ews Ame rican on both Saturday and Sunday. The invest igat ion was divided into three parts. First, the lar ge company ad i n each publication was reviewed for over-a ll ad cont e nt in c ludin g th e advert i sed genera l company se rvices to see if they wer e uniformly offe re d in each of th e moni tored publications irrespect ive o f ra ce and/or re ligion. Second, each in d ividuall y advertised property wa s id ent i fied as to th e racial makeup of it s neighbo rh ood locat ion to see if it was advert i se d in a ll of the monitored pub li cat ions or ma rket e d on ly to one segm t of th e communit y by be in g en advertised in a particular publication direct ed to a pa rticular raci a l o r relig ious gro up. Third , a ll ads co nt a inin g community name s were anal ysed to see if the commun i ty named was uniformly advertised in all monitored publications or whether certain commu ni ties appea red in particul a r publi cat io ns based o n th ei r racial composition. A tota l of 332 individual properties were reco rded from a ll three pub li cations. Thes e re presented 71 diffe rent propert ies in a tota l of 17 Belman ads. In order to determine whether diffe rential advertising costs could be a s ignificant factor in choice of publication s t a ff che cked the publi ca ti o ns for the cost of a sing l e lin e of classified advertising. Onl y the Sund ay Sun carr ies a "s in gl e line " rate at $2.17. In the J ew ish Times the sma ll est acceptab l e ad in the c l assif ied sectio n rega rdin g "house for sa l e" i s a one time 1 3/4 inch wide by 2 in ch es high at $18.20. There are two kinds of c l ass i f i e d ads in the Afro, one i s 20e pe r wo rd, the second i s a 1 in ch ad at $10 .36 i f published once-or$17.92 if published twice. The News American ha s the s ame rat e for both Saturd ay or Sunday - $1.80 pe r single line but the paper ~o n't accept anything l ess than two I ines at $3.60. It is impossibl e to compare all publications for general costs, but the Jewish Times and Afro appear to be relatively comparab l e (e.g. a J ew i s h Times 10 inch ad wo uld cost about $9 0 and in the Afro it wo uld cost about $103) . �Belman .. page 3 FINDINGS Belman advertised in the JEWISH TIMES on each Friday in February (4,11,18 and 25); in the AFRO-AMERICAN on each Saturday (5,12,19, and 25); in the SUNDAY SUN (6,20,27, and not the 13); and did not advertise in the NEWS AMER ICAN on either Saturday or Sunday in February during the period monitored. I. LARGE COMPANY ADS REVIEWED FOR OVER-ALL CONTENT AND GENERAL COMPANY SERVICES. In compar ing the over-a ll company ads as they appeared in each of the monitored publications, it is obviou s that distinct differences exist between them as follows: Jewish Times Afro-Amer ican Sunday Sun 1. References to: - All Points Nat'l Relocat ion S'ervi Ce • - H.G. Homes Prot ec tion Plan - Guaranteed Home Sale No ment ion except: "We Buy Hou ses " No men t ion 2. Velvet Hills, new housing development with interest rate informati on mention ed across entire ad. No ment ion M ntioned but in e l ess deta i I 3. Many open houses in each ad with addresses, hours, description of and directions to houses. "Call Office For ( # inserted) Open Hou ses By Appo i n tmen t" Each large ad is almost exclusively open houses 4. No mention of Equal Housing Opportunity " * II. ~v ,~J.I' ~~\J~.v ,r cr No EHO mention No EHO mention (HUD regulations require the use of an Equal Hou s ing Opportunity Logo and/or slogan in real estate ads.) INDIVIDUAL PROPERTIES ADVERTISED IN ONE OR MORE PUBLICATIONS . ~ ,~ d.d...u The second part of the investigation reveal ed two types of individual properties: A. Open Houses (properties with addresses) of which there were 40 different open houses advertised in the Jewish Times and Sunday Sun but none in the Afro; and B. Non-Open Hou ses (properties without addresses) of which there were 57 diffe rent properties, 28 in the Jewish Times and 29 in the Afro and none were advertised in the Sunday Sun large company ads. Another six smal l individual ads appeared sprinkled throughout. the Sunday Sun classified sect ion, three of which had addresses. A. Open Houses: Of the 40 different open houses that were advertised in the Jewish Times, 38 or 95% of them also appeared in the Sunday Sun while 7 or 18% appeared in the Afro and then only as properties requiring an appointment. Th e Afro ads did not contain address. �Be lman .. page 4 40 OPEN HOUSES ADVERTISED IN THE JEWISH TIMES COMPARED WITH THE AFRO AND SUN 2 Weeks 3 Week s 4W eeks Total 6 17 40 3 10 5 2 0 2 7 9 18 Didn't Adv. 37 0 0 0 0 Publ ication Week J ewi sh Times 12 Afro * Sunday Sun Not Adv. EI sewhe re 3 3 * It s hould be noted that the Afro ads were not advertised as open house s as they were in th e J ewish Times and Sunday Sun, but in stead required an appointment, he nce no ad"' dresses we re in the ads. B. Non-Op en H ouses: Of the 31 diffe rent non-open houses that were advertised in the Jewish Times, 2 or 6% of them also appeared in the Sunday Sun (a ll other Sun ads were open hou ses ) whil e 5 or 16% appeared in th e Afro . 31 NON-OPEN HOUSES ADVERTISED IN THE JEWISH TIMES COMPARED WITH THE AFRO AND SUN Week Jewish Times 13 Afro 2 W eeks 3 Weeks 4 W eeks Tot a l 9 2 4 31 0 5 2 0 Pub I i ca t i on 0 Sunday Sun 5 2 Al so , 29 other differe nt properties from tho se mentioned above were advertis ed in th e Afro and 9 or 31 % of these were a l so adve rtised in the J ew ish Times. None o f the ads appeared in the Sunday Sun. 29 NON-OPEN HOUSES IN THE AFRO COMPARED WITH THE JEWISH TIMES AND SU N Pub I i cat ion Week Afro J ew i sh Times 5 0 Sunday Sun 0 4 W eeks Tota l 6 20 2 7 3 Wee ks 6 2 Weeks 9 0 o 0 I I I . RACIAL COMPPOSITION OF THE ADVERTISED NEIGHBORHOODS. The third and final part of this invest igation identifi e d th e racial composition of the immediate ne ighborhood wherein the open hou se was located as we ll as those non-open house ads th at named a community. The publ ications were then monitored to determine if ce rt ain communities were more �Belman .. page 5 frequently advertised in one publication over another based on race and/or rei igion. A. Open Houses: A tota l of 38 different open houses were advertised in the Jewish Times and Sunday Sun. Of those, 23 or 61 % of the advertised properties are in 1980 census tracts where the Black population is less than fifteen per-ce nt ; 9 or 24 % of the properties in 1980 census tracts where the Black population is fifteen per-cent; and 6 or 15% of the properties are in 1980 census tracts having a twenty per-ce nt or more Black popu l ation. The fifteen '~pen house" properties located in 1980 census tracts witha fifteen per-cent or more Black population were further scrutinized by staff checking with knowledgeable community people for racial composit i on verification. In one case staff drove through the neighborhood and knocked on thirteen doors to identify the race of the occupants. Of the 15 open house properties scrutinized, 11 or 74% are in neighborhoods that range f~om ~ ll White ·to lightly in tegrated; 2 or 13% in neighborhoods ranging f.rom moderate to heavily integrated; and 2 or 13% in neighborhoods ranging from heavily to predominately Black. In sum, of the 38 different open houses advertised in th e Jewish Time s and Sunday Sun 34 or 89% were in predominat~o r ,l'ghtly integrated neighborhoods. B. Non-Open Houses: A total of 26 different non-ope n houses were advertised only in the J ewish Ti mes. In 21 or 81% of those non-open houses advertised, the neighborhoods were identi fiable by race . In 5 or 19% of the other ads the neighborhoods could not be identified by race becau se either the advertised community name was too large of an area or as in one ad no location at a ll was indicated. Of the 21 different non -open hou se properties advertised on l y in the Jewish Times where the neighborhoods cou l d be ident ifi ed by race, ( 14 or 67% are in all white or lightly integrated neighborhoods; and 7 or 33% are in predominantly white neighobbrhoods) a ll were in predominant l y white or lightly integrated neighborhoods. A total of 20 different non-open house s were advertised only in the Afro. Of those advertised, 12 o r 60% are in ne i ghbo rhoods that range from ~ Black to moderately integrated; 2 or 10% in lightly integrated neighborhoods; 2 or 10% in white neighborhood s; and 4 or 20% in areas too large to determine the race without an address. In sum, of the 16 non-open houses advertised on l y in the Afro, 12 or 75% were in l'feaendMiit"ly integrated or a ll Black neighborhoods. V9Cuc;t::;:ab>\ - Another 9 non-open houses were advertised in both the Afro and the Jewi sh Times. They are located in neighborhoods ranging from predom in antly white in lor 10% of the ads; lightly integrated in 4 or 45% of the ads; and moderate l y integrated in 4 or 45% of the ads . . C. Names: Of the total 58 different community names used in the large Belman company ads in the Jewish Times and Afro, (the Sunday Sun ads did not contain community names but had an open house address) 36 or 62% we re advertised only in the Jewish Times. Con~unity Of those 36 community names only advertised in the Je\.';sh Times, 33 or 92% are in near l y a l l white neighborhoods. �Belman .. page 6 Another 14 or 24 % named communities advertised on l y in the Afro. Of those only in the Afro, 11 or 79 % are in Black or moderate l y-rntegrated neighborhoods. Another 8 or 14 % named communities were advertised in both the Jewish Times and the Afro. Of those in both publications, 5 or 64 % are in predominantly white or 1 ightly integrated named neighborhoods. SUMMARY The finding of this inve st igation show that DICK BELMAN, INC . has allegedly engaged in discriminatory advertising in that the company: 1. offers general compa ny services to the Jewish communit y as mentioned in the Jewish Times ads while no mention of those same serv ices are offered to the Black community in the Afro-American ads; 2. makes no mention of equa l housing opportunities in any of the advertised properties in any of the monitored publ ications as cal l ed for by HUD's Fair Housing Advertising Regulation; 3. advert is es open houses in the Jewish Times with addresses, hours to visit, house descriptions and directions to them whi l e the Afro-American reader is instructed to call the office for open houses; and 4. advertises individual properties and community names only in the Jewish Times if they are in all white neighborhoods or those that are very lightl y integrated while the properties and community names l ocated in all Black or well integrated ne ighborhoods are advertised only in the Afro ' ,' . . Ameri can. The alleged discriminatory advertising practices as cited above are in violation of the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, Section 804 (c) and the Maryland fair housing law: "To make, print, or publ ish, or cause to be made, printed, or published any notice, statement, or advertisement, with respect to the sa le or rental of a dwel ling that indicates any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, or an int e ntion to make any such preference, I imi tation, or discrimination." The key phrase in this section of the federal and state law is: "indicates any preference". Belman is indicating or stating a preference by marketing certain propert ies located in largely white or all white areas to whites and/or Jewish persons while Blacks are marketed to those properties and communities that are l argely in all Black or integrated areas. RECOMMENDATION BNI should file a law suit in Federal Court aga in st Be l man for his alleged discrimi natory advertising, subject of course with the concurrence by BNI 's Fair Hou s i ng Lega I Pane 1 . �• Belman .. page 7 If a suit i s not filed th en a complaint with HUD, MCHR, and the Mary land Real Es tate Commi ss ion , a ll s imultaneous l y, s hould be fil e d. The filing of a com-) plaint and/or law su it shou ld be announced to the community through a press re lea se namin g the Responde nt. \ ' .' THE FOLLOWING AGREE ON THIS 14TH DAY OF APRIL , 1983, AFTER REVIEWING THE ABOVE, THAT BNI SHOULD PROCEED WITH THE ABOVE RECOMMENDED ACTION AGAINST DICK BELMAN, INC. George B. Laurent Donald J. Miller Dickens Warfield Carolyn P. Boitnott �40 Open H ouses Advertised In The J ewish Times Compared Wi th The Afro And ·Sun Jew i sh Ti mes Sunday Sun 4 11 18 25 6 13 20 7 8 9 o 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 o 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 o Twelve Trees Velvet Valley x x x x x x x x x x x x Fallstaff x Stevenson Rancher (Brighton) x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Randallstown Stoneybrook Fieldstone Kimberly West Courtleigh Randa II s town Leight!J n Green Randa 1 Is to';;n . x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Mil brook x 19 26 x Cabot Rd, 3529 Cherrybrook Rd, 3810 Church Lane, 8927 Courtleigh, 3410 Crossleigh Ct, 3707 Dell Ct, 13 Duncannon, 4716 Elmcroft, 3827 Fallstaff, 4144 " 4142 Gala Lan e, 2 " , 11 Johnson St, 5908 Joppa Rd, 205 E Lencrest Rd, 9409 M acBeth W ay, 6533 Ma r yh i II, 10 Na ssa u St, 522 OJ i bway, 10 Old Court Rd, 4540 Ol mstea d, 925 Orchard View Ave,9009 Overcrest , 5203 Papgo Ct, 10 Park Hghts Ext,l1016 Sa I t Lake Dr, 8114 Shellbrook Ct, 3702 Southall, 9812 Steven son Rd, 7932 Stevenswood Rd, 8525 Walnut Ave, 3202 Winands, 9319 Winands Rd, 9911 Winterbrook, 8833 Wood thorne Ct, 2 12 x x Ba rtwood, 3809 Birch Hollow, 3404 Byfield Rd, 3816 1 2 3 4 5 6 5 27 Ba nnock Ct, 17 Baronet Rd, 10801 o 1980 Cen su c % Black In Afro As Appmts. 8.08 14.08 .07 49.08 x x x x x x x (1) x x +20 % 6.07 6.07 14.07 28.02 46.00 14.00 6.07 .08 .08 .08 .08 12.06 8.08 15.08 l ess than 10% x x x x x x 5.04 x x (1) x 49.08 15.08 14.00 11 . 07 15.00 77.00 15.08 1.03 28.02 6.07 15.08 1.03 14.07 1. 01 15 .08 15.08 15.08 8.08 x x x x so ld sold x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x " Bedford Village " x x Colonial x x Ridgely Condo x Wi ndr i dge x x Carrol town x Velvet Hills x x Wi II iamsburg/Sudbrook x Twe I ve Tr ees Pk Autumn W oods x x Sudbrook Pk Ra ndallstown x Windsor Terr x x x Twelve Trees Greenspring Vly x Cedars x sold Stoneybrook sold Wi Idwoods x x Stevenso n x x Stevenswood x Va 11 ey Hi 1 Is x x Windridge x x Twelve Trees x sold Springbrook x x Sandalwood Co-op x x= staff checkedl 15.87 x x x x x x x x so ld x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x· x x X x x x x , , , , x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x , 38 or 95 % in both Jewi s h Times and Su n 2 or 5% in J ew ish Times, marked "sold'" (# 11 1iO TOTAL & 32) 7 or 18% in all 3, Jewish Times, Sun & Afro * (1) = smal l ads in Sunday Sun out side of the large company ad. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Baltimore Neighborhoods, Inc. Subject The topic of the resource Discrimination in housing Nonprofit organizations Citizens' associations Baltimore Metropolitan Area (Md.) African Americans Housing Baltimore (Md.) Community organization Reports Correspondence Newsletters Description An account of the resource This exhibit provides an introduction to the work of Baltimore Neighborhoods, Inc. (BNI) around issues of racial integration in housing and tenants' rights from the 1950s to the 2000s. Established in 1958, Baltimore Neighborhoods, Inc. was formed to promote an open housing market and viable integrated neighborhoods in the Baltimore area. It was established by several neighborhood associations and supported by civic organizations like the Greater Baltimore Committee. The early focus of the organization was to obtain open housing and stable neighborhoods during a period of widespread white flight and blockbusting in Baltimore City. Through education and advocacy, it sought to counter racial prejudice, to fight discrimination in the real estate industry, and to combat neighborhood deterioration resulting from segregated housing. More recently, BNI has focused on tenant-landlord relations and renters' rights. The Baltimore Neighborhoods, Inc. (BNI) collection at the University of Baltimore consists of 22 linear inches of archival records, which are described in an online collection database. The complete collection has also been digitized at the folder level and is also available in the collection database. For this exhibit, 32 documents have been selected from the complete collection. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource <a href="https://langsdale.ubalt.edu/special-collections/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Special Collections &amp; Archives, University of Baltimore</a> Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://archivesspace.ubalt.edu/repositories/2/resources/14" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Baltimore Neighborhoods, Incorporated Records, UB Special Collections &amp; Archives</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available <a href="https://langsdale.ubalt.edu/special-collections/">University of Baltimore Special Collections &amp; Archives</a> Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource circa 1958-2009 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This material may be quoted or reproduced for personal and educational purposes without prior permission, provided appropriate credit is given. When crediting the use of portions from this site or materials within that are copyrighted by us, please use the citation: "Used with permission of the University of Baltimore Special Collections & Archvies." Any commercial use of this material is prohibited without prior permission from the Special Collections & Archives, University of Baltimore. Commercial requests for use of the images or related text must be submitted in writing to: Special Collections & Archives, University of Baltimore, H. Mebane Turner Learning Commons, 1415 Maryland Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21201 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource text/pdf Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context R0015-BNI Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 2019-09 Extent The size or duration of the resource. 32 items Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Paper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Alleged Discriminatory Newspaper Advertising by Dick Belman, Inc. Description An account of the resource Memorandum and investigative report regarding the role of race in the real estate practices of Dick Belman, Inc. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1983-04-14 Subject The topic of the resource Real estate business Real estate agents Discrimination in housing Race discrimination African Americans Relations with Jews House selling Advertising Classified advertising Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Miller, Don Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available University of Baltimore Special Collections & Archives Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context bni05.01.20a Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Baltimore Neighborhoods, Incorporated Records (R0015-BNI), series V, box 1, folder 20, Special Collections & Archives, University of Baltimore Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Use of this digital material is governed by U.S. copyright law. The University of Baltimore Special Collections and Archives makes digital surrogates of collections accessible if they are in the public domain, the rights are owned by the University of Baltimore, the Special Collections and Archives has permission to make them accessible, or there are no known restrictions on use. Due to the nature of archival collections, rights information is not always discernible. The Special Collections and Archives is eager to hear from any rights owners wishing to provide accurate information. Upon request, material will be removed from view while a rights issue is addressed. Contact the Special Collections and Archives for more information regarding this image. Advertising African Americans Classified advertising Discrimination in housing House selling Race discrimination Real estate agents Real estate business Relations with Jews