07/26/2020
When Black Americans talk about systemic racism (aka White privilege), this is what they are facing.
Excerpt: In 1863, when President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, black Americans owned less than 1% of US total wealth. Nearly 160 years later, this number has barely budged.
And: "When the Federal Reserve examiners come in, and you are making loans that are deemed lower credit quality, then the amount of capital you need increases. So it's not just one lever and that's the banks. It's going to be the system."
"Repeatedly, we've used these soft and anaemic solutions to these massive problems. If you combined assets of all the black banks - and it's only 20 black banks in this country - that's a bad weekend for Citibank," she says.
Would-be investors in US black neighbourhoods say they still face significant financial barriers.