When Tomresa and Jejuan Ferguson decided they wanted to buy a home three years ago, the task seemed daunting.
Due to a history of racially-biased government policies and market practices, only about a third of Black Cincinnati residents own their own home, compared to almost three-quarters of white residents. That disparity — which is mirrored across the country — has contributed to a big wealth gap between white and minority families.
Ferguson says the couple wanted something different for their two sons.
"We stayed up plenty of nights wondering, 'What can we do for our two sons so that they have something left behind when we're no longer here?' " he says. "That was the key point of us saying, 'We need to buy a house.' So we just randomly went to a homebuying seminar. We weren't anywhere near ready or anything."
The Fergusons met a loan officer who walked them through the long, complex process, eventually securing them downpayment assistance on a house in Price Hill.
City officials, nonprofits and banking professionals gathered on the Fergusons' lawn Tuesday to announce a symposium coming later this month that they say could help others achieve similar success.
Realtor Darrick Dansby co-founded Own Blk Cincy, a two-day event June 28 and 29 designed to help families like the Fergusons.
The symposium will feature a number of lenders, realty groups, city and other government officials and nonprofits. Day one will include panel discussions on policies and practices that could help address the disparity in Black homeownership in Cincinnati. Those include addressing rising property taxes, how to tackle deferred maintenance issues in homeownership and other issues. Speakers will include U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman, Hamilton County Commission President Alicia Reece and Cincinnati Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney.
Day two will feature sessions designed to help prospective and current minority homeowners navigate buying and maintaining a home.
Dansby says it's the holistic nature of the event that sets it apart.
"One of the big things that makes this so special is that we're doing this with all of our housing partners at the same time to eliminate any accessibility issues," he says.