By Hazel Trice Edney
According to the following statistics, the economic condition of America’s Black community is in dire straits:
- A recent study by Harvard University found that homeownership in the Black community stands at only 42.2 percent in the nation’s largest metro areas. That’s below the Latino-American community, which is at 46 percent and well below the White-American community, which is at 72 percent.
- In addition, the mortgage denial rate for Blacks is more than 25 percent, near 20 percent for Latinos but just over 10 percent for White applicants, according to the Center for Enterprise Development.
- Likewise, the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. says the lack of access to capital remains the greatest barrier to the establishment, expansion and growth of Black-owned businesses.
- Finally, Black-owned banks, which grant an overwhelming majority of their loans to Black people, continue to climb their way out of the disparate hit they took during the great recession while maintaining their historic role in stabilizing Black communities.
These revelations illustrating the economic struggles of African-Americans are the driving forces behind the founding of a new group that’s leading a movement for Black economic
Marie Johns, managing partner, Leftwich LLC
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justice across America. Black Wealth 2020, formally established only two years ago, aims to lock arms with some of the most historic national civic and civil rights organizations with a goal to impact economic outcomes in Black America over the next three years. The group’s three-pronged strategy is to increase the number of Black homeowners, strengthen Black-owned businesses and increase deposits in Black banks by the year 2020.
Winston had asked Waters, ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, to take action in the situation. Winston then pulled in Grant who pulled in Busby. The Comcast merger ultimately failed. But, “We decided to put together some kind of
Michael Grant, National Bankers Assoc.
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organizational team,” recalls Grant, “So that whenever these issues come up, we’ll have a united front and we’ll have a lot of organizations. That’s how Black Wealth 2020 was formed.” The ultimate goal is to “turbo charge” Black wealth, Grant says.
Jim Winston, NABOB
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nd we don’t believe that the Black community’s voice has been strong enough and effective enough in that regard,” says Winston. “And so we are able to strengthen each other in each other’s activities as well as our collective voice for the Black community.”
John William Templeton, co-founder, 14th Annual National Black Business Month
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- Black America’s current state of affairs: “This current administration is going to force us to look internally because we don’t have any help coming from outside our
Ron Busby, USBC Inc.community,” says USBC President Ron Busby. “It’s not about one organization or about one individual leading the conversation, but once the mission was set and the three goals were established we can now go back to our collective constituencies and say this is what’s important.”
- Youth involvement: National Bankers President Grant says the participation of youth is key. Black Wealth 2020 has begun incorporating and mentoring youth economic leaders in their monthly meetings. “In my study of history, going back to ancient times, I can’t think of any major movement that was a societal changing movement that wasn’t driven by the energy of youth,” Grant says.
- Shared Leadership: “In the past, movements have been tied to one individual. And as soon as there is some issue, and perhaps maybe death, often times what happens on the demise of that individual is the organization goes through a down spin and it in many instances ends up being discarded,” says Dr.
Dr. Jonathan Weaver, Collective Empowerment Group; pastor, Greater Mount Nebo AME ChurchJonathan Weaver. “As a result of this, there is no mindset or mentality among any of us that we want to be the one to be glorified or recognized as the so-called leader. That there is indeed shared leadership within this body and because we are so focused and so intentional about it, we really are just very resolute and determined to make this work.”
- Unique structure: The umbrella structure of Black Wealth 2020 also lends to unity, accountability and sustainability. “This is not just one organization, but this is a series of organizations that have come under one banner and will be about empowering Black people,” Weaver says.
- The urgent need for economic growth: “It’s a fact that more than half of all African- Americans in our country rent. It’s a fact that a homeowner’s net worth is 36
Marcia Griffin, HomeFree USAtimes that of a renter. And it’s a fact that the median income for an African-American household is $35,000 compared to the national average of $53,000,” says Marcia Griffin of HomeFree USA. “This is an unacceptable situation for our people, and Black Wealth 2020 initiatives are critical in reversing these statistics and rebuilding wealth in the Black community.”