Ask the Author ~ Jorge P. Newbery

Discuss the December 2015 book of the month Burn Zones by Jorge P. Newbery.
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Jorge P Newbery
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Re: Ask the Author ~ Jorge P. Newbery

Post by Jorge P Newbery »

dorebri2020 wrote: 12 Jul 2019, 07:23 I honestly have so many questions I would like to ask, but I primarily want to know how you found the will to keep fighting in the face of so many issues. I know I would not have had the determination to do so.
Thanks for asking this. One lesson I have learned is that when things get challenging, most people assume that the situation will only get more challenging. For instance, if you are running a marathon and start to tire at mile 22, your mind may be telling you that it's time to slow down, start walking, or even drop out. Your mind may reason that if you are tired at mile 22, you will be more tired at mile 23. However, this is often not the case. Most humans underestimate their limits. What happens if you keep running and don't slow down? Will you collapse?

Rarely do we test our true limits, mentally or physically. To the extent that you push yourself incrementally further at whatever pursuit you are in, you explore your limits and mentally expand them. In the marathon example, your mind may not be able to conceive continuing to mile 26, but what if you can get to mile 23. Once you get there, can you get to mile 24, and so on.

When I was in the midst of my Woodland Meadows struggles, my goal was to simply get thorough each day. I knew that I could do that. By getting through each day for weeks, months and years, eventually I survived.
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Jorge P Newbery
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Post by Jorge P Newbery »

Washboard wrote: 12 Jul 2019, 14:47 Mr. Newbery,

How much of a role do you think racism has in decisions regarding foreclosures, condemning buildings, and other housing issues? You touched on it briefly in your book, but I wanted to see if you think it is a common issue. Thank you!
Unfortunately, there is still a racial housing gap in our country, and it's getting worse, not better. The homeownership rate for white families is 74.5%, Hispanic families is 49.1% and black families 44.1%. In the 4th quarter of 2020, the white homeownership rate for rose to a nine-year high, whilst the black homeownership rate dropped. Discriminatory housing and lending practices have challenged minority communities for decades. As examples, redlining contributed to 98 percent of the mortgages insured by the federal government between 1934 and 1968 going to whites. Further, in 1998, usurious subprime mortgages accounted for 51% of home loans in predominantly black neighborhoods, compared with only 9% in predominantly white areas. Homeownership is an extraordinary tool to financially empower minorities and narrow the racial wealth gap, and has been the most effective way that Americans have created generational wealth over the past 100 years. The median net worth for homeowners in 2019 was $255,000, compared to $6,300 for renters. We recently started AHP 75 to help raise the homeownership rate to 75% for all.
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Jorge P Newbery
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Post by Jorge P Newbery »

Meg98 wrote: 14 Jul 2019, 21:27 I would like to ask what Mr. Newbery's all-time favourite book is?
"A Democrat's Chapbook" by my grandmother, Francs Mundy-Castle using the pseudonym Peggy Whitehouse, is my favorite. Her writing exposed injustice and advocated for the oppressed, which I try to do. She wrote in a beautiful poetic style and the book, written in 1942 during World War II, was an inspiration for me.
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