We have about 70 Stories this week we a large number of economic stories
Top Stories
- Evictions are likely to skyrocket this summer as jobs remain scarce. Black renters will be hard hit (Washington Post)
- Senate Democrats Propose $350 Billion Plan To Invest In Communities Of Color (Forbes)
- 10 Myths about the racial wealth gap (Center for Social Equity – Duke)
- Employment and Earnings of African Americans Fifty Years After: Progress? (Institute for New Economic Thinking)
- Black artists feel used by big businesses in Blackwashing campaign (NY Times)
- These Black Women In Wine Are Redefining The Industry (Zoe Report)
Protest
- Strike for Black Lives – On July 20th, In many cities across the US, essential workers protested working conditions. (Philadelphia Inquirer) (NPR) (USA Today) (NBC New York) – The video and descriptions do not show a very large crowds.
- Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Dwayne Wade Launch Fund to Support Black Community (Hollywood Reporter) (Social Change Fund)
- African-American businesses need more than “buy black” campaigns (Economist) – One man finds his niche in guitar pedals
Coronavirus / PPP
- Evictions are likely to skyrocket this summer as jobs remain scarce. Black renters will be hard hit (Washington Post)
- Faulty data collection raises questions about Trump’s claims on PPP program (Washington Post)
- How will minority-owned businesses fare in CARES 4.0? (MarketPlace)
- Capital Access for Minority Small Businesses: COVID-19 Resources for an Equitable and Sustainable Recovery (US Senate)
- Extra unemployment aid expires as virus threatens new states (Philadelphia Tribune)
Systemic Racism
- New initiative hopes to fix systemic racism in Central PA (News 21 Harrisburg)
- Senate Democrats Propose $350 Billion Plan To Invest In Communities Of Color (Forbes)
Jobs / Workers / Labor / Unemployment
- Coronavirus Unemployment Calculator (Propublica)
- Why unions are crucial to empowering Black workers (Fortune)
Inequality
- 10 Myths about the racial wealth gap (Center for Social Equity – Duke)
- 10 myths about the racial wealth gap (Axios) – The problems are much deeper and more complex than we understand
- For the past 50 years, hard work has brought the poor nothing (Aljazerra)
- If You Want Justice for Black Americans, You Have to Fix This (Institute for New Economic Thinking) — The wealth gap
- Why Black Families Struggle to Build Wealth (The Atlantic) – Interview with Thomas Shapiro
Straight Up Econ
- Employment and Earnings of African Americans Fifty Years After: Progress? (Institute for New Economic Thinking)
- Black Economist’s Research Finds A Blindspot On A Theory Of Innovation (NPR) – Dr. Lisa Cook’s story about trying to publish a paper on racial violence stifling Black innovation.
- Top 100 online Economists (2020) (Richtopia) – Large number of Black US economist are listed: Darrick Hamilton (62), William Darity(83), Lisa Cook(84), Trevor Logan (92) and William Spriggs (95), Arnan Walker (99). The list is based on online followers and press mentions. You can check the ranking methodology here.
- What are Top Economists worried about now? (World Economic Forum)
- Chicago Booth School of Business has a similar survey (IGM Forum) – July 20th 2020. Unemployment will remain at 10% or higher for the rest of the year and the economy won’t return to normal until the first half of 2022.
- Americans Are Drowning in a Sea of Monopolies (Medium)
- America’s Monopolies Are Holding Back the Economy (The Atlantic)
Old Econ
- Three Decades of Consolidation in U.S. Agriculture (USDA Economic Research Services)
Black Business
- In Baltimore, a struggling, black-owned nursing home keeps covid-19 at bay (Washington Post)
- Behind the Fall of Ebony: Accusations of Fraud and a Fight Over Control of a Black Media Dynasty (Wall Street Journal)
- Magic Johnson’s EquiTrust insurance and MBE Capital Partners (MBECP), an asset-based lender, are funding over $100 million in PPP loans to Minority and Women Owned businesses. (BlackPressUSA)
- Hippin Hops Brewery, Atlanta’s First Black-owned Brick-and-mortar Brewery unloading tanks in East Atlanta Village Today (Reddit)
- Fred McKinney (opinion): Why white consumers should buy from Black-owned firms (CT Post)
- Study: Black entrepreneurship in the United States (University of Nevada, Las Vegas) (Phys)
- This entrepreneur wants to bring the 21st century economy to 52nd Street (WHYY Philadelphia)
- These Black Women In Wine Are Redefining The Industry (Zoe Report)
- Yelp report 18 times more searches for Black Businesses (Yelp Economic Average)
- BizSense Assembly recap: Black Entrepreneurship in Richmond (Richmond BizSense)
Minority Business
- First Ever Minority Owned Stock Exchange — Dream Exchange (Business Wire)
- Black Economic Alliance endorses minority business resiliency act (BEA Press Release)
Agriculture / Farming
- Why a new generation of Black farmers is getting into the business (CNN) – Soul Fire Farms
People
- Ahmad Thomas is the New CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group (SF Gate) – First African American. (The Almanac)
- Princell Hair named President & CEO of the Black News Channel (North Dallas Gazette)
Big Business
- Target raises minimum wage to $15 an hour months before its deadline (CNBC)
- Black artists feel used by big businesses in Blackwashing campaign (NY Times)
Banking / Finance / Fin Tech
- MoCaFi To Launch Revolutionary Banking Platform Targeting Communities Impacted By Economic Shifts (AIthority) — Also a Black business
- Sammons Financial Group Pledges $100,000 to The Directors Council. Contribution provides seed money to grow Black-owned small businesses (Global News Wire)
Discrimination
- Black Business Owners Had a Harder Time Getting Federal Aid, a Study Finds (NY Times) – White customers got better treatment when asking for PPP loans.
Reparations
- Reparations to Black Americans for Slavery Gain New Attention (Wall Street Journal)
- It’s Time for U.S. Business Leaders to Talk About Reparations (Harvard Business Review) – Good high-level summary of reparations discussion.
- Why we need reparations for Black Americans (Brookings) – Older reparations discussion with detailed proposals. All of the proposal are for descendants of the enslaved. The reparations include direct payments, free college tuition, student loan forgivness, housing down payments, and business startup grants.
- Money won’t fix US racial problems. We must first change the belief that White people matter more than others (Marketwatch)
- Los Angeles activists drill down who deserves reparations for slavery and why (Onmenews)
Affirmative Action
Editors Note: We are keeping a close eye on ACA5, a California constitutional amendment to overturn the ban on Affirmative Action. The measure will overturn proposition 209 passed in 1996. Californians will vote on November 3rd.
- Ballot Measure To Overturn State Ban On Affirmative Action Moves Forward (LAist)
- UC Board of Regents unanimously endorses ACA 5, repeal of Prop. 209 (University of California)
- California effort to restore affirmative action divides Asian Americans (San Francisco Chronicle)
- In California, A Vocal Minority of Asian Parents Helped Defeat Affirmative Action Once Before. This Time It Could Be Harder. (LAist) – While a majority of people favor affirmative action, a vocal group of Asian Americans was able to defeat proposals in the past.
Education / Teaching
- Occupational wages in Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
- N.C. A&T among 11 universities to share in Dominion Energy’s $35 million initiative (Triad Business Journal)
- Number of teachers of color disproportionate to students of color in North Carolina (News 11 Raleigh Durham)
- Black Lives Matter Protests Spawn Push for Athletes to Attend Historically Black Colleges (NYTimes)
Real Estate / Segregation
- Leading Civil Rights & Housing Groups Condemn President’s Effort To Gut Fair Housing, Use Of Incendiary Racial Rhetoric For Political Gain (National Community Reinvestment Coalition) – Trump ended the “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” AFFH rule. The rule requires localities to documents steps they are taking to end racial segregation if they receive federal funds. This site has a good collection of comments.
- Suburban Americans should reject Trump’s regressive housing offerings (TheHill)
- How zoning laws exclude Black families from areas of economic opportunity (Fortune)
- Race matters: Understanding how the Central Area was gentrified (KUOW Public Radio) – How Seattle was gentrified
- Flawed policies lead to ‘Black exodus’ from California (Orange County Registrer)
Government
- California may ban menthol cigarettes (Black Voice News)
- Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan (Joe Biden) – it’s a lot, but very detailed and well thought out. Someone’s been talking to Elizabeth Warren.
- Biden can create a ‘new’ New Deal (AlJazeera)
Conservative / Alternative View
- C.E.O.s Are Qualified to Make Profits, Not Lead Society (NY Times) – Argues that CEO have a responsibility only to shareholders not stakeholder, employees or communities. Otherwise decisions can be confused.
History Lesson
- The presidential election of 1876 was one of the most contentious and controversial presidential elections in American history, and gave rise to the Compromise of 1877 by which the Democrats conceded the election to Hayes in return for an end to Reconstruction and the withdrawal of federal troops from the South.
Not Black But Interesting
- Increased Consumer Activity in May Correlates with COVID-19 Hot Spots in June, According to the Yelp Economic Average (Yelp Economic Average)