Former President Barack Obama and First Lady, Michelle Obama, countered the offering price for a mansion on Martha’s Vineyard, asking for 50% to be taken off the price to afford to live there.
The final closing cost equaled just $11.75 million for the property.
So’Chelle Justice, spokeswoman for the NACPWOM (National Association of Colored People Who Own Mansions) decried this blatant inequality in the luxury home market for people of color seeking upper-echelon living accommodations:
“Why did the Obamas not have enough money to pay full price for this property which is owned by a white couple? Why is it that the white couple was able to live in Martha’s Vineyard at full price, but the Obamas had to ask for a 50% discount to be able to afford to live out there? This obvious disparity in luxury real estate purchasing power is just another example of the legacy of the white male patriarchy infiltrating all aspects of American society.”
When asked about the long, rich legacy of African Americans vacationing in Martha’s Vineyard, dating back to the beginning of the 20th century, Justice fired back, “Well, yes, blacks have been vacationing there for over a hundred years, but how many of them actually own property there?”
When told that black people such as Abigail McGrath and Spike Lee own homes on Martha’s Vineyard and that there is actually a “Martha’s Vineyard Black Owned Business Listing,” Justice became incensed. She continued:
“The fact that black people have been owning businesses and living for decades on Martha’s Vineyard does nothing to disprove that systemic racism against blacks is just as alive and well on Martha’s Vineyard as it is elsewhere in America. Why would black people feel the need to form their own business listing unless they felt oppressed by the white majority? Systemic racism is everywhere – it’s like the air we breathe – it’s everywhere around us, but we’ve become so used to it that we don’t even notice it.”
When asked how one might be able detect the systemic racism that is all around us here in America, Justice referred back to the recent Obama home purchase: “Luckily for the Obamas, they were able to find a white couple [Wycliffe Grousebeck, the owner of the Boston Celtics basketball team, and his wife] who noticed the racism in the luxury housing market. This progressive couple did their part by giving the Obamas a 50% discount to remedy the inequality based on race in the luxury home market.”
The Obamas closed the deal on their property on December 4th, 2019. It is not known if they will use their new home as a permanent residence or as a vacation home to write their memoirs on their admirable history of community activism.
