Helping REALTORS® and Communities
Embrace Diversity
BY LEE NELSON Shaleen Young was born in Guam but was raised in Washington, D.C. She served in the military and came from a strong military family. Despite her successes as broker/ owner of Young Realty & Associates in Matthews, N.C., Young feels discrimination wherever she turns. “I feel like it happens to me every time I step into a room or open my mouth,” she says. “I feel that my words are thought about twice before considered. I feel like this is because of the way I look, or perhaps because I look young or because of the color of my skin. Maybe, it is a bit of paranoia, but that feeling is there.” Those feelings of being persecuted, prejudiced against or completely invisible to others because of a myriad of reasons hurt, humiliate and hinder ncrealtors.org • INSIGHT 27
