Racism is alive and well folks! Not that this wasn’t obvious given the worldwide Black Lives Matter movement protesting the inequality of minority groups.
Black Lives Matter has taken over the media, but racism still manifests in small, hidden ways. Recently a young, black, gay broadway actor bought a mansion built by slaves. This isn’t even the punchline. This man was told by the seller of the house that since he was black they assumed he couldn’t even afford it. Ouch.
The house located in Great Barrington, Massachusetts was a cash-only offer of $349,000 (£282,854). Robert Hartwell was aware of this and said the moment he laid eyes on the house he knew it would be his. The seller, on the other hand, was obviously still stuck in the 1800s when slavery was legal and black individuals weren’t seen as capable enough to buy a house like this.
Robert reflected on his ancestor’s past and wished he could have told them while they were building the house that a gay, black man would eventually call it home.
Robert plans to live in his new house with pride and celebrate his accomplishment with love for the people closest to him. It should be noted that Robert was well aware that this house was huge, maybe too huge for one person. He bought it because it sent a message to other members of the black and LGBT+ community that anything is possible.
Yes, there are racists that still exist, but god dammit if a beautiful young, black, gay actor can buy a house painted white that was built by slaves then I’d say progress is in the works! As for the seller, their career is definitely over.
Looking for more things to hate about America? New York’s iconic Central Park also has an extremely racist history. Well, this country was built on and by racism so I’m not really surprised.
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