Home appraiser countersues professors who accused him of racism

A white home appraiser accused of racism by two black Johns Hopkins University professors hit back at the allegations with a countersuit.

Shane Lanham’s recent counterclaim responded to a federal lawsuit from couple Nathan Connolly and Shani Mott, both JHU professors, that he valued their home differently because they are black. The pair later set up an experiment where they removed identifiers from their home that would suggest to an appraiser that they were black and said the valuation increased from about $470,000 to $750,000. They also asked a white friend to present himself as the homeowner.

Mott teaches Africana studies and Connolly’s research focuses on racism, capitalism and housing, according to his faculty bio. The New York Times called Connolly an “expert on redlining and the legacy of white supremacy in American cities.”