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Once Homeless Real Estate Broker Authors Book on Building a New Paradigm in Real Estate

Valencia Burton Horton was then a real estate broker but couldn’t provide a home for her own family. She kept her faith and continued to move forward with Buddha International Realty, to help people in need. She sees that real estate agents and brokers need to improve how they operate, how the injustices of what happened to Blacks in American history needs to at least be acknowledged, and how we as individuals need to take care of ourselves and our character.

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From left: Michael Horton, Oshalla Diana Marcus, Valencia Burton Horton and Paul Austin. (Photo by Godfrey Lee).
From left: Michael Horton, Oshalla Diana Marcus, Valencia Burton Horton and Paul Austin. (Photo by Godfrey Lee).

By Godfrey Lee

Valencia Burton Horton, a real estate agent and broker living and working in Oakland, recently gave a reading on her book “Buddha International Realty — Building a New Paradigm” at the Marin City Library.

A book-signing and reception were held for Horton at the Marin City Art Gallery. Paul Austin, who filed a lawsuit to expose racism in the real estate marketplace concerning the selling of his home in Marin City, interviewed Horton about her work.

Valencia Burton Horton was born in Oakland on May 13, 1976. She graduated from Hayward High School and went to live in Los Angeles with her husband Michael Horton and her five children. While Horton was still living in Los Angeles, she started her real estate agency, Buddha International Realty in June 2015.

When Horton decided to go back to the Bay Area, her five children were ages 17, five, three and one. They were hoping to live with her father-in-law, but he did not own the house he was living in and the owners made them get out.

The Hortons became homeless and lived, ate and slept around Oakland’s Lake Merritt in their 2004 Toyota Sienna minivan for more than a year. They would drive to a storage facility to wash in the public restroom and dress in their storage stall — even as the couple worked, and their children went to and graduated from their schools.

On page nine of her book, Horton writes that “rent in the Bay Area skyrocketed due to gentrification.” Workers in San Francisco would live in Oakland where rent was cheaper than San Francisco, and that the Tech workers from San Francisco through the Peninsula area and Silicon Valley often “would pay more than a thousand dollars a room.” There were also the “homeless tent encampments throughout the city (of Oakland) with unsanitary conditions — urine and feces reeked throughout.”

Horton was then a real estate broker but couldn’t provide a home for her own family. She kept her faith and continued to move forward with Buddha International Realty, to help people in need. She sees that real estate agents and brokers need to improve how they operate, how the injustices of what happened to Blacks in American history needs to at least be acknowledged, and how we as individuals need to take care of ourselves and our character.

Horton says she was influenced by the 2006 best-seller “The Secret” authored by Rhonda Byrne, that describes the “Universal Law of Attraction,” which says that “we shape our reality through our thoughts; therefore, whatever we think, we attract it.” But there are other qualities that Horton covers in her book that we can instill in our lives, such as Well Being, Authenticity, Integrity, Service, Community, Allowing, and Growth and Expansion. These principles will become a new paradigm for transformation, Horton said.

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Oakland Post: Week of May 28 – June 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 28 – June 3, 2025

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Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

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OPINION: Your Voice and Vote Impact the Quality of Your Health Care

One of the most dangerous developments we’re seeing now? Deep federal cuts are being proposed to Medicaid, the life-saving health insurance program that covers nearly 80 million lower-income individuals nationwide. That is approximately 15 million Californians and about 1 million of the state’s nearly 3 million Black Californians who are at risk of losing their healthcare. 

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Rhonda M. Smith.
Rhonda M. Smith.

By Rhonda M. Smith, Special to California Black Media Partners

Shortly after last year’s election, I hopped into a Lyft and struck up a conversation with the driver. As we talked, the topic inevitably turned to politics. He confidently told me that he didn’t vote — not because he supported Donald Trump, but because he didn’t like Kamala Harris’ résumé. When I asked what exactly he didn’t like, he couldn’t specifically articulate his dislike or point to anything specific. In his words, he “just didn’t like her résumé.”

That moment really hit hard for me. As a Black woman, I’ve lived through enough election cycles to recognize how often uncertainty, misinformation, or political apathy keep people from voting, especially Black voters whose voices are historically left out of the conversation and whose health, economic security, and opportunities are directly impacted by the individual elected to office, and the legislative branches and political parties that push forth their agenda.

That conversation with the Lyft driver reflects a troubling surge in fear-driven politics across our country. We’ve seen White House executive orders gut federal programs meant to help our most vulnerable populations and policies that systematically exclude or harm Black and underserved communities.

One of the most dangerous developments we’re seeing now? Deep federal cuts are being proposed to Medicaid, the life-saving health insurance program that covers nearly 80 million lower-income individuals nationwide. That is approximately 15 million Californians and about 1 million of the state’s nearly 3 million Black Californians who are at risk of losing their healthcare.

Medicaid, called Medi-Cal in California, doesn’t just cover care. It protects individuals and families from medical debt, keeps rural hospitals open, creates jobs, and helps our communities thrive. Simply put; Medicaid is a lifeline for 1 in 5 Black Americans. For many, it’s the only thing standing between them and a medical emergency they can’t afford, especially with the skyrocketing costs of health care. The proposed cuts mean up to 7.2 million Black Americans could lose their healthcare coverage, making it harder for them to receive timely, life-saving care. Cuts to Medicaid would also result in fewer prenatal visits, delayed cancer screenings, unfilled prescriptions, and closures of community clinics. When healthcare is inaccessible or unaffordable, it doesn’t just harm individuals, it weakens entire communities and widens inequities.

The reality is Black Americans already face disproportionately higher rates of poorer health outcomes. Our life expectancy is nearly five years shorter in comparison to White Americans. Black pregnant people are 3.6 times more likely to die during pregnancy or postpartum than their white counterparts.

These policies don’t happen in a vacuum. They are determined by who holds power and who shows up to vote. Showing up amplifies our voices. Taking action and exercising our right to vote is how we express our power.

I urge you to start today. Call your representatives, on both sides of the aisle, and demand they protect Medicaid (Medi-Cal), the Affordable Care Act (Covered CA), and access to food assistance programs, maternal health resources, mental health services, and protect our basic freedoms and human rights. Stay informed, talk to your neighbors and register to vote.

About the Author

Rhonda M. Smith is the Executive Director of the California Black Health Network, a statewide nonprofit dedicated to advancing health equity for all Black Californians.

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