PRESS AND MEDIA FEATURES FOR TAKING OWNERSHIP PDX
02/16/22 - Present
Reclaiming Your Neighborhood in the Age of Gentrification: Ideas We Should Steal Festival 2023
MacArthur “Genius” Majora Carter, community-focused real estate developer, Princeton professor and author; and Portland’s Randal Wyatt, of Taking Ownership PDX. Moderated by Citizen Co-executive Director and Executive Editor Roxanne Patel Shepelavy, plus audience Q&A.
The 6th annual Ideas We Should Steal Festival® presented by Comcast NBCUniversal took place on November 17, 2023 hosted in the Ralph J Roberts Forum of the Comcast Technology Center in Philadelphia.
We scoured the country for the ideas, changemakers, and innovators who are transforming cities and brought them to Philadelphia to share their successes.
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Portland group works to make wealth redistribution a reality through real estate
By Tiffany Camhi (OPB)
May 18, 2023
A group of volunteers who call themselves PDX Housing Solidarity Project helps connect people with ample resources to Black and Indigenous homebuyers in Portland.
When Annie Moss decided to sell their second home in 2020, making the most money possible from the sale was not a top priority. It wasn’t even a priority at all.
“I wanted to sell it to a Black family,” said Moss, who is white. “And I didn’t care if I wasn’t maximizing my profit in doing that.”
And that’s exactly what they did. An off-market sale for the three-bedroom house in Portland’s Albina neighborhood closed on Dec. 4, 2020. The buyer was Randal Wyatt, a Black single father of two who grew up in a nearby neighborhood.
“I was skeptical the whole time up until the day we closed,” Wyatt said of the sale. “I was like, ‘This is gonna fall through. This isn’t gonna happen. This is too good to be true.’”
Moss did not know Wyatt before selling the home to him, but they were familiar with his work as a racial justice organizer. Wyatt bought the house for what was left on Moss’ mortgage: $230,000. At the time, real estate company Zillow estimated the fair market value of the home to be about $644,000.
That means Wyatt walked away with more than $400,000 in home equity. It was the most financial wealth he had ever accumulated in his life.
Grassroots Groups Are Doing Small-Scale Reparations in Absence of Federal Action
One reparations group in Portland, Oregon, is working to redistribute wealth and enable Black residents to own homes.
Published January 10, 2024
For 27-year-old Tanya Roberts, owning a home was not something she ever thought was in the picture for her. Roberts’s parents were divorced, and she moved to a new rental apartment with her mom every year from kindergarten through 9th grade, never staying in one place long enough to unpack all her boxes. “I still have that internalized trauma of ‘OK, but I’m gonna leave soon so why bother unpacking?’” she told Truthout. For Roberts and her partner, who comes from similar circumstances, home ownership was not just a way to build wealth, but also to feel a kind of stability that they never had but deeply wanted.
As descendants of enslaved people in the American South, Roberts’s family never had the opportunity to amass the kind of wealth that white people have hoarded over generations. Her family was unable to contribute to the down payment for a home, and living in Portland, Oregon, that was not a small amount to pay. Roberts decided to research grants or funding options that exist for people of color or queer people, when she came across the PDX Housing Solidarity Project. She asked to be identified by a pseudonym in this article as she is still in the process of buying a home, to protect her from retaliation from underwriters who may not approve her mortgage if they find out this information.
IDEAS WE SHOULD STEAL:
GRASSROOTS HOUSING REPARATIONS
BY ROXANNE PATEL SHEPELAVY
AUG. 29, 2023
A rapper-turned-community activist is preserving Black wealth in Portland, the Whitest big city in America, by helping homeowners repair — and therefore stay — in their homes
In the midst of the racial protests following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, Randal Wyatt started helping Black homeowners in Portland, Oregon fix up their houses to ensure they could stay in their homes and pass on the property to their children. It was, he says, his way to protest the racial inequities that plague his city and country.
Wyatt himself, though, did not actually own a home. He and his identical twin teenage sons lived in what he describes as a “crummy apartment, with mice and stuff.” Then he got an email from a Portland woman named Annie Moss, with what would turn out to be a life-changing subject line: “Transfer My Home to Black Ownership.”
Some white Portland homeowners are selling at a loss to Black and Indigenous buyers
May 11, 20234:29 PM ET
Heard on All Things Considered
By Tiffany Camhi/OPB
A grassroots wealth redistribution effort in Portland, Ore., helps white homeowners purposefully sell their homes at well under market value. It links Black and Indigenous buyers with these sellers.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
As cities across the U.S consider reparations programs for Black Americans, there's a grassroots wealth redistribution effort growing in Portland, Ore. Some white homeowners are selling their homes - at a financial loss to themselves - to Black and Indigenous residents. Tiffany Camhi from Oregon Public Broadcasting has more.
TIFFANY CAMHI, BYLINE: Randal Wyatt is Black. Annie Moss is white. They first met in 2020 through an email.
RANDAL WYATT: She titled the email, Transfer My Home to Black Ownership.
CAMHI: Moss, who inherited generational wealth, wrote that they wanted to redistribute some of their housing equity to a Black family.
Portland group works to make wealth redistribution a reality through real estate
By Tiffany Camhi (OPB)
When Annie Moss decided to sell their second home in 2020, making the most money possible from the sale was not a top priority. It wasn’t even a priority at all.
“I wanted to sell it to a Black family,” said Moss, who is white. “And I didn’t care if I wasn’t maximizing my profit in doing that.”
And that’s exactly what they did. An off-market sale for the three-bedroom house in Portland’s Albina neighborhood closed on Dec. 4, 2020. The buyer was Randal Wyatt, a Black single father of two who grew up in a nearby neighborhood.
“I was skeptical the whole time up until the day we closed,” Wyatt said of the sale. “I was like, ‘This is gonna fall through. This isn’t gonna happen. This is too good to be true.’”
Moss did not know Wyatt before selling the home to him, but they were familiar with his work as a racial justice organizer. Wyatt bought the house for what was left on Moss’ mortgage: $230,000. At the time, real estate company Zillow estimated the fair market value of the home to be about $644,000.
‘It's a gift for sure’: Nonprofit helping Black Portlanders stay in their homes gets new electric car through Pacific Power grant
Author: Kale Williams
Published: 5:21 PM PDT April 24, 2023
Updated: 5:44 PM PDT April 24, 2023
Randal Wyatt used to bring his tools to job sites in an old Mazda — and they didn’t always fit.
Now, the founder of Taking Ownership PDX — a nonprofit that provides free home upgrades to Black Portlanders — has no trouble getting all his tools where they need to go, and he does so without emitting any fossil fuels.
"It's a gift for sure," Wyatt said. "We now are able to get all our tools to all of our volunteer projects. We're able to get our merchandise to tabling events and whatever supplies we need, they all fit into this SUV, and it's beautiful because we're reducing our carbon footprint."
The SUV Wyatt is referring to is a 2023 Volkswagen ID.4, which Taking Ownership was able to acquire through a grant from Pacific Power’s "E-mobility" program.
Since 2020, the utility has awarded more than $4.5 million in grants to recipients across the state. From Bend to Astoria and Sweet Home to Pendleton, the utility has helped install new chargers where there were none before, and provided funds to purchase electric school buses, utility vans and even a tractor.
Nike pushes mission of Portland-area Black nonprofits forward through donations
By Demi Lawrence – Staff Reporter, Portland Business Journal
Mar 9, 2023 Updated Mar 9, 2023, 1:54pm PST
In 2020, Nike pledged $140 million over 10 years to local and national organizations focused on social justice and racial inequality in the U.S. Two local recipients said the donations helped them do things they otherwise could not.
Taking Ownership PDX; Helping Black Neighbors Stay Housed
by Ellen Clark
When he became a parent to twins at age 19, Randal Wyatt wanted to build a better community for his children. Fatherhood led Wyatt, a hip hop artist, to involvement in social services. That was seventeen years ago. In 2020, he founded the organization Taking Ownership PDX. Now he is devoting his time to helping Black homeowners to stay in their homes by providing landscaping, maintenance, cleanup and whatever is needed that they don’t have the immediate resources for.
“I knew from a young age, as soon as my twins were born, that I wanted a solid foundation for them. I dedicated my life to giving back to my community. Even before I was a father I wanted to be active in my community and give back however I could,” said Wyatt. “That passion was amplified when my twin sons entered the world when I was 19 years old. I knew it was up to me to do my best to better the community and potentially the world around them, so their generation can live more peaceful and stable lives than mine.”
A fire made her Portland house uninhabitable. A group fighting Black displacement is making it home again.
Updated: Mar. 10, 2023, 3:25 p.m. / Published: Mar. 07, 2023, 6:00 a.m.
Her house of 30 years was still on fire, smoke pouring out the windows. Neighbors had just gotten Thelma Stone a chair to sit in while firefighters worked to douse the blaze that somehow started in her kitchen. Stone, still in shock, reached for her phone. She knew who would help.
She called Randal Wyatt, leaving a brief voicemail. Emergency radios beeped in the background. Her voice quavered.
Pacific Power awards electric mobility grants to Oregon communities
by KATU Staff | Monday, January 30th 2023
PORTLAND, Ore. — Pacific Power is distributing more than $2 million in electric mobility grants to communities and service providers across the state.
This round of grants includes the communities of Sweet Home, Pendleton and Grass Valley, which will now be able to build electric vehicle charging stations where few or none exist.
In Multnomah County, the public library, as well as nonprofits that repair homes and improve energy efficiency to underserved communities will be able to add electric vehicles to their fleets.
Portland group helping Black families restore their homes, build generational wealth
by KATU Staff | Monday, February 6th 2023
PORTLAND, Ore. — A local man is fighting to change the course of history for local Black families by helping them save their homes and lay a stronger foundation for generations to follow.
The group Taking Ownership PDX helps Black homeowners with everything from yard maintenance to roof repairs.
Randal Wyatt, who founded Taking Ownership PDX, says it's all part of an effort to fight the gentrification that has pushed so many local Black families out of their own neighborhoods.
KGW8 article about Nike giving a $75,000 grant to Taking Ownership PDX
Author: Bryant Clerkley (KGW)
Nike gave a $75,000 grant to Taking Ownership PDX, which helps low-income Black families with housing repairs they might not be able to afford.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Nike is making some investments in the community in Portland, particularly the Black community. The company gave out nine grants to different nonprofits around the city that focus on the Black community. Taking Ownership PDX received a $75,000 grant from Nike. The goal of the organization is to help Black families build generational wealth after a history of economic exclusion and racist policies by helping with home repairs.
Everyday Hero helps build generational wealth within Portland's Black community
Author: KATU Staff
With donations from the community and a couple of grants, Randal has raised $700,000 to help 60 Black families in Portland with home projects.
“A lot of people need support that they're not getting,” the rapper and activist said. “I thought this would be a, a creative way to give back to the Black community.”
Growing up in northeast Portland, Randal noticed his Black neighbors being pushed farther east.
He said the home projects and repairs help slow gentrification and keep Black homeowners in their homes so they can build generational wealth.
“There's not a whole lot of resources for the middle class unfortunately when you make a certain amount of money, you don't get government assistance,” Randal said. “You don't qualify for a lot of services. And that's who I've really wanted to target.”
PRESS ARCHIVES FROM 07/01/2020-02/15/2022 LISTED IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER BELOW
Willamette Week
A Month Ago, Randall Wyatt Launched Taking Ownership, a Nonprofit That Funds Home Repairs for Black Portlanders. It’s Already Doing Big Things.
So far, the projects range from rebuilding a porch for a recently unemployed grandmother to overhauling the interior of a house in Lents and providing the family with a new fridge.
To Continue reading this Willamette Week article CLICK HERE
Portland Mercury
A New Portland Group Fights Gentrification by Renovating Black-Owned Homes
“Real estate is inherently racist,” says real estate agent Lauren Goché.
Activism is no trend for Randal Wyatt.
The 35-year-old hip-hop artist born and raised in Portland has been a fixture in the local Black community since long before George Floyd’s murder ignited two months of protests and brought federal officers to town. Since May, Wyatt, a member of the band Speaker Minds and a longtime mentor of BIPOC youth, has been inundated with messages from fellow Portlanders.
to continue reading the Portland Monthly article by Elise Herron
Coffee & Bong Hits with Jessie
Watch Randal Wyatt be interviewed by Jessie Sponberg (another local Portland activist) on his YouTube/Facebook Show; Coffee & Bong Hits. The day that Randal was interviewed was the day he became the Executive Director of Taking Ownership
The interview starts at 21:50 on video if you want to fast forward
The Ask Your Oldhead Podcast
with Justice Rajee
Taking Ownership with Randal Wyatt
Today I am joined by Randal Wyatt a portland native, musician, and activist. I have had the pleasure to work with Randal in a professional capacity and enjoy his creative works as a performer. Randal has been in the torrent created when a call to action is met with an outpouring of compassion. Randal reached out for volunteers to repair homes, in hopes of helping our community. He was greeted with an outpouring of positive energy that has set his life on a new path. Listen to the episode and hear for yourself!
To listen to the episode CLICK HERE
The Movement
on KBOO 90.7 Community Radio
Randal has been battling gentrification on the front lines. Reviving black-owned homes & rejuvenating souls by locating extra resources needed to help these people succeed.
To listen to Randal radio interview with the crew from The Movement.
The music on The Movement is always worth the listen, and we highly recommend it, but if you just want to listen to the interview it can be found at 94:00- 83:15
@Sree's daily global show
with Sree Sreenivasan
Portland in Crisis. Episode #138
Portland is in the midst of unprecedented turmoil as the Federal Government goes after peaceful protestors.
On this show, we discuss three crises: health, the economy and race.
think Real Estate
By Laura Bower
As part of our ongoing effort to address historic and systemic racism in Portland and the Real Estate industry, Think is proud to support Taking Ownership PDX, a local Black-led organization that is dedicated to helping Black homeowners to age in place, generate wealth, and deflect the gentrification process. Founded by Portland musician and activist Randal Wyatt, Taking Ownership PDX is a community collective of contractors, realtors, neighbors, and businesses working together to renovate and revive Black-owned homes in Portland.
KGW News Segment about
Taking Ownership PDX
By Christelle Koumoué (KGW)
Bettye Loving had family in mind when she bought her Northeast Portland home in 1992.
“I was ready to have a granddaughter and I wanted some place where she could play off the street," said Loving.
The big backyard also meant she had plenty of space to garden. But recently, Loving got sick and hasn't been able to do much around the house. Her roof started to leak, she had electrical issues and then potential buyers started showing up to her house.
Homeowner Bettye Loving and Randal Wyatt, executive director at Taking Ownership PDX
Klyph Notes Podcast
by DJ Klyph
In times like this, it's encouraging to see community work together for those in need. I talked to local artist Randal Wyatt about his new venture, Taking Ownership PDX, and how he's leading this non-profit organization in changing lives in the city of Portland Oregon, funding home repairs for black folk. Peep this bonus episode of the Klyph Notes podcast.
LISTEN BELOW
Urban Nest Realty article
Community Organization Highlight: Taking Ownership PDX
We are excited to highlight a local organization that is working tirelessly to help revive and restore Black-owned homes in our community. Taking Ownership’s goal is to enable Black homeowners to age in place, generate wealth and simultaneously deter predatory investors and realtors to deflect the gentrification process. As a company, we acknowledge the historic and systemic barriers to People of Color that exist within the Real Estate industry to this day. We whole-heartedly support the efforts of Taking Ownership as they work to turn the tide with a commitment to impactful grassroots change in support of the Black home owners of our city. If you would like to get involved see ways you can help at the end of this post.
INMAN.COM article
Randal Wyatt didn’t exactly set out to create an actual nonprofit that helps Black homeowners.
It was May 2020 and police in Minneapolis had just killed George Floyd, setting off protests over policing and race across the U.S. Wyatt, a long-time community advocate and socially conscious hip hop musician, was speaking out about the killing when people started hitting him up.
“People started reaching out and asking how they can be better allies,” Wyatt, who lives in Portland, Oregon, told Inman. “And I told them, ‘You’ve got to share your resources, and those are your money and your time.'”
More Talk Radio Show on KBOO
Hosted by Cecil Prescod, Celeste Carey
Conversation with Randal Wyatt about Reviving and Restoring Black Homes.
A conversation with Randal Wyatt about Taking Ownership PDX: a community collective of contractors, realtors, neighbors, and businesses brought together by Portland musician, activist Randal Wyatt to renovate and revive Black-owned homes, with an emphasis on enabling Black homeowners to age in place, generate wealth and simultaneously deter predatory investors and realtors to deflect the gentrification process.
Sox and Sandals Podcast
Episode 165: Taking Ownership PDX
On this episode I had the pleasure of speaking with Randal Wyatt. He a father, an artist, and the Executive Director of Taking Ownership, LLC. - Taking Ownership PDX is an organization with a mission to renovate and black-owned homes that request help, with an emphasis on enabling black home owners to age in place, generate wealth, and simultaneously deter predatory investors and realtors to deflect the gentrification process. We also discuss Randal latest album 'Sixteen' which was released 4.4.2021
Be enlightened, be inspired, be empowered!
Release date: 19 April 2021
Concordia Neighborhood Assoc.
news article
by Michael French | CNA Media Team
When her furnace went out this winter, 83-yearold Lorene Wilder lived without heat for days before she took a leap of faith. With just $400 in the bank, she wrote a $722 check for repairs and hoped for the best.
Help came just in time when a friend connected the 50-year Woodlawn resident to Taking Ownership PDX. The soon-to-be nonprofit provides free critical repairs to Portland-area Black homeowners and business owners. The organization covered her furnace repair, ordered heating oil and cleaned up her overgrown yard, all at no cost to Lorene.
KPTV News Segment
Local musician and activist, Randal Wyatt was looking to make a change in our community – so he started “Taking Ownership PDX”, see how he’s making a change – one home at a time.
Next City article
by Emily Nonko
Randal Wyatt was working as a student advocate for a Portland nonprofit, as well as performing as a hip-hop artist, when police killed George Floyd in Minneapolis. He’s long been outspoken on social justice issues through his work and on social media; soon he was flooded with direct messages from white people, both friends and strangers, asking how they could be better allies to Portland’s Black community.
Portland Monthly article
by Elise Herron
Activism is no trend for Randal Wyatt.
The 35-year-old hip-hop artist born and raised in Portland has been a fixture in the local Black community since long before George Floyd’s murder ignited two months of protests and brought federal officers to town. Since May, Wyatt, a member of the band Speaker Minds and a longtime mentor of BIPOC youth, has been inundated with messages from fellow Portlanders.
He says people were reaching out “trying to get information about how they can be allies.”
His answer? Support Black homeownership.
“My idea was to go out and repair and revive Black-owned homes and businesses,” Wyatt says, “to raise property values in these very small and dwindling communities that Portland has, because of displacement, gentrification, and redlining.”
NAREB: National Assoc. of Real Estate Brokers web feature
by Emily Nonko
Randal Wyatt was working as a student advocate for a Portland nonprofit, as well as performing as a hip-hop artist, when police killed George Floyd in Minneapolis. He’s long been outspoken on social justice issues through his work and on social media; soon he was flooded with direct messages from white people, both friends and strangers, asking how they could be better allies to Portland’s Black community.
Portland, a city with a deeply racist past, is the whitest big city in America, with a population that is roughly 77 percent white and 5.8 percent African American. Wyatt, born and raised in the Black communities of southeast and northeast Portland, felt simply that these communities needed dedicated investment. “I said it was time to put your money where your mouth is,” he recalls. “Exclusionary laws have contributed to Black and Brown communities being in the hole. We need reparations, we need to be given a piece of the pie.”
Next Home Realty Connection article
by Krista Pham
Randal Wyatt, a student advocate for a Portland nonprofit and hip-hop artist, was long outspoken on social justice issues when it came to his work and social media. Not far after the killing of George Floyd, Randal was flooded with messages from white people asking how they could help support Portland’s Black community.
With a past of racism, Portland has a predominantly white population with only 5.8 percent of African Americans. Wyatt, who was born and raised in the black communities of Portland, felt the communities needed dedicated investment. “ ‘I said it was time to put your money where your mouth is,” he recalls. “Exclusionary laws have contributed to Black and Brown communities being in the hole. We need reparations, we need to be given a piece of the pie’ ” (❡2). Soon after, the idea quickly took off and turned into Taking Ownership PDX, a vehicle that collected donations for Portland’s Black community. It is a collective group of contractors, realtors, neighbors, and businesses making free upgrades and repairs to Black-owned homes. The goal for this movement is to become a nonprofit and to increase the number of Black homeowners and businesses in Portland.
PSU CHRONICLES article
LIFE AT PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY
FROM STUDENT BLOGGERS AND SOCIAL MEDIA WRITERS
PORTLAND STATE GRAD SERVES COMMUNITY BY FIXING UP BLACK-OWNED HOMES
In June of 2020, Randal Wyatt started Taking Ownership PDX, a grassroots nonprofit that helps Black property owners keep their homes by repairing and renovating them. He’s about to graduate from Portland State University with a degree in Social Science, a double minor in Black Studies and Sociology and a 3.92 GPA.
His PSU story: “I was born and raised in Portland, attended community college, then had twins at age 19 and dropped out. I started a band called Speaker Minds. We rap about social issues, and I built a name for myself doing benefit concerts and fund raisers. I went back to community college and got my associate’s degree, became a residential treatment counselor, and then a mentor for Black and Latino boys on probation.
Portland Business Journal article
By Jonathan Bach
"With my new endeavors, and my kids being older and having busier schedules, I just don't really have the time to manage a band full-time," Randal Wyatt says about the Speaker Minds breakup.
Randal Wyatt talks about why his last band broke up, his latest album and the housing group Taking Ownership PDX.
REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL
by Hannah Wallace
A former professional boxer who has spent 30-plus years training young men how to fight, J.C. Wade wasn’t exactly used to asking for help.
“I’m the proud man guy, you know?” says the resident of Woodlawn in Northeast Portland. “Don’t want to let nobody know I need help.” But now he freely admits that he needed it.
OREGON LIVE / THE OREGONIAN ARTICLE
by Hannah Wallace
A former professional boxer who has spent 30-plus years training young men how to fight, J.C. Wade wasn’t exactly used to asking for help.
“I’m the proud man guy, you know?” says the resident of Woodlawn in Northeast Portland. “Don’t want to let nobody know I need help.” But now he freely admits that he needed it.
Wade, 68, has four types of arthritis and recently went through prostate cancer treatment. The chemotherapy exhausted him and he had to quit his job as a city bus driver. Stuff piled up around his house. But his biggest issue was the kitchen sink.
PSU ALUM WYATT GIVES BACK WITH COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
By PSU Admissions Staff
While still a student during the pandemic, Randal Wyatt started the nonprofit Taking Ownership PDX to help black property owners keep their homes by repairing and renovating them. He graduated from Portland State in 2021 with a degree in Social Science, a double minor in Black Studies and Sociology and a 3.92 GPA.
His story is one of determination and focus, from dropping out of school to be a father at a young age to building a band focusing on social issues and finding a path to help homeowners remain in their community. At Portland State, he utilized flexible learning options to pursue his degree while working full time and raising his twin sons. Through hard work and study, he created a successful business built on helping Black home owners maintain their residences, relying on the generosity of like-minded social advocates to make a difference in the lives of many.
YES! MAGAZINE ARTICLE
BY HANNAH WALLACE
A former professional boxer who has spent 30-plus years training young men how to fight, J.C. Wade wasn’t exactly used to asking for help.
“I’m the proud man guy, you know?” says the resident of Woodlawn in Northeast Portland. “Don’t want to let nobody know I need help.” But now he freely admits that he needed it.
Wade, 68, has four types of arthritis and recently went through prostate cancer treatment. The chemotherapy exhausted him, and he had to quit his job as a city bus driver. Stuff piled up around his house. But his biggest issue was the kitchen sink. The pipe had clogged, and because the sink was built into the cabinets, they’d have to replace the whole thing, which he couldn’t afford. “So for about four years, I had a big pot up under the sink that the water would run in,” he chuckles, “and I would filter the garbage out and pour the water down the toilet.”