Page 10 - 2021 MAHOGANY REVUE 02 APARIL

4B MAHOGANY REVUE 02 APRIL 2021

THE TRUTH ABOUT STEVE PROPHETIC POLITICS AND
HARVEY'S DAUGHTERS BLACK AMERICA: “WHAT
WILL YOU DO UNTO THE
(L-R) Wynton, Karli, Morgan, flipped over. dent. LEAST OF THESE?”
Marjorie, Steve, Lori, Brandi,
and Jason Harvey Thankfully, there were no When police arrived, Lori was
By Dr. Benjamin F. their strong objection to an
reports of sustained injuries, arrested on two counts of mis- Chavis Jr., National effort that Councilmember “The effort to dismantle
PART III but photos from the scene demeanor hit and run and Newspaper Publishers Gray is leading to termi- this program is troubling
Association President and nate the contract of the enough on its own,” the
CEO service provider currently ministers write. “But it is
running the short-term even worse in light of the
If it were not for the Black housing program at The fact that you have openly –
Church in America, our Horizon in Ward 7. and at times inexplicably –
long struggle for freedom, taken a hostile stance
justice, equality, equity, As the letter points out, against CORE DC regard-
and empowerment would that program has been ing the organization’s plans
not have made the progress delivering an essential to open another facility in
that has been accomplished service to families in des- Ward 7, a residential reen-
over the past 500
to 400 years. I
speak in the tra-
dition of my
Presbyterian
great-great
grandfather, The
Reverend John
Chavis (1763-
1838) in North
Carolina and The
Reverend Nat
Turner (1800-
1831) in Virginia.

Depending on
obtained by the media outlet delaying a police investigation.
when you define
Proof that you should never showed just how serious the "She was arrested for the two the beginning of
text and drive! On the evening collision was, as Lori's airbags charges and released on scene, the international
Transatlantic
of Oct. 20, 2019, Lori Harvey were deployed, her windshield not booked," an authority from
Slave Trade will
was involved in a car accident, was broken, and "parts of the the Beverly Hills Police give you a deeper
because she was allegedly too vehicle were torn off and hang- Department explained to OK! insight on why
the religious,
busy looking at her phone. The ing loose." Yikes! When the magazine. "She identified her- political, and his-
incident took place in Beverly person driving the other vehi- self properly and signed a writ- torical perspec-
tives of people of
Hills when, according to an eye cle pulled Lori out of the dri- ten promise to appear in court."
African descent
witness cited by OK! maga- ver's seat to safety, she may still matter in the
zine, Steve Harvey's youngest have tried to skip the thanks At the time of this writing, the United States and
across the
daughter reportedly crashed and exchange of insurance Harvey family have yet to pub-
African Diaspora
into another car so hard, her info. Rather, she allegedly tried licly comment on the ordeal. in 2021.
Mercedes SUV actually to leave the scene of the acci- peration and facing home- try center for returning cit-
The Reverend Dr. Martin lessness. And the social izens.”
Luther King, Jr in his theo- service provider that the
BLACK REALTOR TEACHING logical genius, courage, city entrusted to provide I am hopeful and prayer-
and prophetic utterances, this essential service, ful that Councilmember
INVESTORS CREATIVE AND challenged all of us when CORE DC, has been laud- Gray will respond affirma-
he clearly stated, “An ed by city officials as a tively and will heed the
PROFITABLE ALTERNATIVES injustice anywhere is a dedicated and ideal partner. requests of church and

community leaders to sup-
threat to justice every-
It is therefore troubling port CORE DC and The
where.” Black church lead-
TO GENTRIFICATION ers uphold the tradition of that anyone would want to Horizon residential facili-
speaking truth to power.
end this, particularly since ties in Ward 7 to continue
the program is a bedrock of to offer critical needed
Denver real estate It is, therefore, a reaffir- stability for those most in services to DC’s homeless
broker Michelle mation of my faith in the need, as well as a transfor- and those returning citi-
Thomas remembers oneness of God and the mative centerpiece of zens from prisons and jails.
well her early days oneness of humanity that I Washington, DC Mayor
growing up in must join to publicly sup- Muriel Bowser’s effective There will always be
North Aurora, a port my African American fight against poverty in the political differences among
rough part of the clergy leaders in nation’s capital city. elected officials. Yet, dif-
ferences of opinion about
Denver, Colorado Washington, DC and The ministers argue that public policies among
across the nation who dare
metro area, that to remind even some of our Councilmember Gray’s elected officials should
includes East own local African effort has nothing to do never rise to the occasion
Colfax Avenue. American elected officials with the exemplary servic- to permit a turning of backs
Stretching 26.5 that we all should stand for es CORE DC continues to on the poor and the home-
miles, it’s the helping those among us provide. Instead, the minis- less. In other words, those
longest commercial who are less fortunate, ters say this is all driven by who are privileged to make
street in the United poor, homeless, malnour- Councilmember Gray’s decisions that will impact
States, but it and the ished, imprisoned, return- opposition to a completely the quality of life of others
unrelated project involving should always be con-
ing-from-prison, and desti-
surrounding area is tute. the federal government’s cerned about the least of
best-known by plan to contract CORE DC those among us.
natives, for long- To that end, a group of to provide critically needed
standing squalid distinguished African reentry services for men All of the major metropol-
conditions: dilapi- American clergy leaders returning home from peri- itan areas in the United
dated buildings and and other community lead- ods of incarceration in fed- States are facing the chal-
seedy motels over- ers on March 9, 2021 sent eral prison. lenges of homelessness
and poverty. While we live
run with drugs and violence, a plethora of valuable ameni- not have to pay any capital an urgent letter of concern We hope that is not, in in the richest nation in the
to The Honorable Vincent
haven for the homeless and an ties, luxury homes, and new gains tax on their Opportunity C. Gray, DC Ward 7 City fact, what’s unfolding, par- world, we cannot afford to
enduring symbol of hopeless- businesses. She believes, Zone investment, which is a Councilmember and for- ticularly at a time when a lose sight of our mutual
ness and despair. However, however, with some targeted remarkable deal.” The pro- mer Mayor of Washington, pandemic has exacerbated civic and moral responsi-
Thomas, now 39-years old, a effort, North Aurora, home to gram has faced some criticism DC. I consider Vincent the desperation of individ- bilities to be our “brothers’
University of Colorado world-class medical facilities, for not being well promoted Gray a friend that I have uals who are on the eco- and sisters’ keepers.”
Boulder Leeds School of a light rail station and new and some assert that it prima- admired over the past nomic margins of society,
Business graduate who went hotels and apartment develop- rily benefits mostly larger, years. but the ministers are never- The following biblical
theless adamant in their
on to establish her own resi- ments, along with other dis- commercial investors. The ministers expressed plea. Continues Next ISSUE
dential and commercial and tressed communities nation- Thomas, however, disagrees.
real estate business, has a dif- wide in certain zip codes, can She believes with some cre-
ferent vision. thrive without having to resort ativity and a front-end invest-
Thomas, a Senior Real Estate to gentrification. “My hope is ment smaller investors can get
Advisor at KW Commercial, that many more commercial their piece of the pie in dis-
sees great “hope, promise and property investors will begin tressed areas. BLACK WALLSTREET &
potential” in dense urban zon- to see the light,” she says.
ing areas, often consisting of “They just need a little push For example, Thomas says
many crumbling small C- and it does not have to entail she has enjoyed success ASSOCIATES
class, 5-40 unit multi-family pushing out lower-income res- recently, connecting her com-
apartment buildings. She says idents who have deep roots in mercial real estate clients, For Business & Personal Needs
many residents complain that the community.” with lucrative multi-unit hous-
the properties are in disrepair ing deals that qualify for 702.900.7962 or 877.201.9509 ext 103
due to slumlords who do little That “push” Thomas believes Opportunity Zone Program
to nothing in terms of invest- could be – and she asserts incentives. Many have pur-
ing into their properties or the more often can be – achieved chased and renovated dilapi-
community overall. with the help of a little-known dated apartment units and
housing initiative spearheaded leased them out to Section 8 ~~Taxes & Accounting Services~~
“Rents are much lower in during the Trump administra- tenants; thwarting gentrifica-
distressed neighborhoods, so tion. The Opportunity Zones tion, allowing many residents For Businesses & Personal Trucker’s
many owners of small apart- Program is a community to remain in a community for
which they have deep roots Tax Specialist Annual Income
ment buildings are not moti- investment incentive program
vated to make improve- established by Congress in the and yielding a high return. Tax Tax Forms W-2, 1040, 1099, etc
ments,” says Thomas, a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 “It’s a win-win,” quips
licensed Colorado real estate aimed at encouraging long- Thomas. “Renting out to
broker and active real estate term investments in low- Section 8 tenants fills a long-
investor. “Many buildings are income urban and rural com- standing void in the rental ~~Notary Services ~~
not up to city code, which pre- munities nationwide. The market. My investor clients Notarize documents and type documents to
vents many landlords from national program provides a get guaranteed money every
being able to accept Section 8 tax incentive for investors to month because Section 8 pro- be notarized
program vouchers, which re-invest their unrealized cap- gram vouchers are usually
comes with the added benefit ital gains into dedicated much higher than unrenovated * Afterhours, Holidays, and Mobile Service
of rent payments subsidized Opportunity Funds in certain apartments leased at market
from county/city government. targeted zip codes. rate. So, they are enjoying a
This adds to the ongoing prob- considerably higher return on
lem of a lack of affordable and “It’s a national program with these investments; even high- solo,” says Thomas, who got can do the same, without
quality housing for many low- the objective of encouraging er than that of their other In many ways, her passion her start in the industry mar- pushing out longtime resi-
income tenants. I believe investors to focus on dis- properties in other parts of for breathing new life into keting luxury properties for a dents.”
there’s a way that’s being tressed communities through- town.” Explains Thomas: long-neglected communities Keller Williams firm in metro
overlooked for both the out America and rewarding “They have fixed up these also resonates with her per- Denver before branching out Thomas is available to share
investor and the renter to ben- them with huge tax incen- buildings that had long been sonally, as she, mom to a on her own three years later. “I her story of resilience in real
efit.” tives,” says Thomas, of Far in disrepair, in some cases for teenage daughter, had to was able to grow and build estate, a perfect Women’s
Northeast Denver. “They can decades, and made them so endure a “makeover” and wealth for myself and my History Month feature,
She says progress has been defer paying taxes on the orig- nice, that the tenants want to “renovation” of sorts, nearly a daughter,” she says. “As a real through all media platforms.
slow in North Aurora, espe- inal capital gain until they dis- stay forever. It’s good for decade ago following a dev- estate professional from For more information, visit
cially in comparison to the pose of the investment or until everyone.” Thomas has also asting divorce. “I had to work Colorado, woman, especially MichelleThomasRE.com
explosive growth experienced 2026. If they hold on to the been working with some local hard at rebuilding myself and an African American woman
incomparable urban neighbor- investment for at least five nonprofits, helping them pur- building up my knowledge in this industry, who came To arrange an interview,
hoods in Denver, which have years, they will have to pay 10 chase affordable properties, and experience in the real from this area, I have a strong please contact Jasmine Jones
emerged as hot real estate percent less taxes on the orig- renovate them so they can estate business, while also sense of community. I want to at mediamavenllc@gmail.com
markets, attracting large-scale inal capital gain. If they hold it occupy the buildings in lieu of juggling the responsibility of give back and empower and or 404-832-5302
redevelopment, drawing a for at least ten years, they will leasing a building long-term. taking care of my daughter educate others on how they