| While the banking and real estate industries may have played substantial roles in perpetuating racial inequalities in America, that doesn’t mean firms today have to resort to charity to help heal those wounds.
From building massive tracts of suburban homes after World War II with covenants that excluded Black homebuyers to redlining and other explicitly racist lending standards, both industries helped lay the groundwork for today’s sobering reality that Black families have far less net wealth than their white counterparts. That same reality helps perpetuate many other types of inequality today, from minority business owners’ difficulty accessing capital to the much higher toll taken by COVID-19 in Black and Latino communities than in white ones.
But as stories in this issue reveal, some lenders and development teams see commercial opportunities in helping close this yawning gulf in opportunity.
At the same time, many leaders in these firms noted how difficult closing these gaps can be when left simply in the hands of private industry. From providing discounted capital or land to builders of low-priced suburban homes to using government-owned land to help catalyze development in disinvested neighborhoods, municipalities, the state and the federal government must also put their shoulders to this wheel.
Between private industry, including the growing force that is environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing, and public resources, including the tremendous power of government borrowing ability and regulatory authorities, the groundwork can be laid for more equitable growth in Massachusetts.
As this paper in recent months and many other outlets before us have outlined, American capitalism isn’t working for everyone. We must all work together to fix that and ensure all have access to opportunity.
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