Create professional development programs that help REALTORS® strengthen their businesses.
Protect private property rights and promote the value of REALTORS®.
Advance ethics enforcement programs that increase REALTOR® professionalism.
Protect REALTORS® by providing legal guidance and education.
Stay current on industry issues with daily news from Illinois REALTORS®, network with other professionals, attend a seminar, and keep up with industry trends through events throughout the year.
This month, Illinois REALTORS® will celebrate the accomplishments of Black leaders in the industry and introduce you to emerging Black talent that epitomizes our 2021 ethos: united, strong, resilient.
How do you celebrate Black History Month? Below you’ll find five Illinois-centric ways to enhance your celebration and enrich your February:
- Visit a museum online! Illinois is host to multiple world-class African American history museums. While they are temporarily closed due to COVID-19, each offers troves of engaging online content. Tour the DuSable Museum of African American History from the comfort of your home with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Listen to the Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum’s oral history project, which features Springfield real estate professional Jerome Reynolds. Or learn about Underground Railroad message quilts, local artwork and artifacts at Carbondale’s African American Museum of Southern Illinois.
- Read a book! Or better yet, if you are part of a book club, choose a book written by or about an outstanding Black leader. For an idea that touches on real estate close to home, how about Natalie Moore’s The South Side. By the way, as part of Illinois REALTORS® Diversity and Inclusion Initiative, we have an evolving list of book club recommendations.
- Celebrate the Performing Arts. Take in a free jazz concert, Feb. 16 on Facebook Live, compliments of the Logan Center for the Arts and the Hyde Park Jazz Society. The Chicago Children’s Choir will provide a livestreamed concert that demonstrates how Black music has preserved African traditions, Feb. 25. Get your tickets for Second City’s new virtual show featuring Chicago-based Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) comedians providing Black perspective on today’s news.
- Join the Dearborn REALTIST® Board. The nation’s oldest Black real estate association was founded in 1941 in Chicago. It is the local chapter of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB).
- Support a Black-owned business. Check out and patronize some groundbreaking Black-owned businesses at www.blackshopfriday.com and, if you know of other Black-owned businesses in the Chicago area, you can submit their names for inclusion.
