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"We literally had to get a white couple to pose as us because real estate agents wouldn't show, in 1969-70, they wouldn't show black families homes in most of Bergen County," Booker told Maher, a Rivervale native.
Booker was on the HBO program Friday night to promote his new book titled "United: Thoughts On Finding Common Ground & Advancing The Common Good." He told Maher the book was dedicated to Harrington Park and Newark, "two towns that had such a profound impact on me."
Booker explained that his family worked with a woman on the Northern New Jersey Fair Housing Council to have a white family bid on their Harrington Park home on their behalf.
"The bid was accepted and on the day of the closing, instead of the white couple showing up, my father did and a lawyer," Booker explained.
The real estate agent was so mad that he sicked a dog on his father and picked a fight with his lawyer, Booker said.
The Harrington Park native was also featured in Friday's issue of the New York Times with actress Susan Sarandon, and was interviewed by NPR earlier this month.
Watch Booker's full interview with Maher above.
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