We have over 80 stories and links including three conservative stories. The big story is the Robert F. Smith tax avoidance story. Last year, Smith agreed to pay off the debts for one class at Morehouse College.
Top Stories
- Billionaire Robert Smith Fighting U.S. Criminal Tax Inquiry (Bloomberg)
- Jay-Z and Pharrell Highlight Importance of Black Ownership In Song ‘Entrepreneur’: ‘For Every One Gucci, Support Two FUBU’s’ (Atlanta Black Star)
- Pharrell Williams – Entrepreneur (Official Video) ft. JAY-Z (You Tube)
- Black millennials less likely to own a home than their grandparents were at same age (MarketWatch)
- Race and Money: The wage gap between Black families and white families in Tampa Bay (WTSP TV) – Pretty good analysis of income from American Community Survey around Tampa.
- ‘A history of broken promises’: Miami remains separate and unequal for Black residents (Miami Herald) – Another good long piece. Quote: “Cubans jumped the line.”
- What it would take to end child poverty in America (Vox) – Ezra Klein interviews Rep. Barbara Lee
- NFL’s first Black team president, Jason Wright, of the Washington Football Team (CBS News)
- How Burrell Advertising got started (NPR) – The story of the famous advertising agency in Chicago
- How Do We Save African American Businesses in our country? Part 3 (Post News Group) – By Albert White
- Meet the Two Sisters Making Wine More Accessible for Black Wine Drinkers (Thrillist)
Coronavirus / PPP / Pandemic
- Rise in jobless claims reflects still-struggling US economy (Philadelphia Tribune)
- ‘A pandemic in a pandemic’: Coronavirus deepens racial gaps in America (Reuters)
- Here are four policies that can help small business as their PPP money runs out (MarketWatch) – We may have an issue with small business owners who are looking to retire and their businesses are worthless.
- ‘Black businesses are hurting now.’ Racism, inequality, COVID-19 shatter Fresno business dreams (Fresno Bee)
Jobs / Workers / Unemployment
- American initial jobless claims rocket above 1 million again (Philadelphia Tribune)
- Weekly initials claims jumped back to 1.1 million (Department of Labor)
Black Business General
- How Do We Save African American Businesses in our country? Part 3 (Post News Group) – By Albert White
Black Business Stories
- Philly’s Black-owned business crisis: Walloped by the pandemic and closing at faster rates (Philadelphia Tribune)
- EBONY and Jet magazines forced into bankruptcy (Chicago Crusader)
- Facebook page gives boost to Sarasota-Manatee Black businesses (Sarasota Herald-Tribune)
Big Business
- Detroit Banks Offer Mentoring, Funds to Minority Communities (Detroit Business)
Inequality / Systemic Racism / Economic Justice
- Race and Money: The wage gap between Black families and white families in Tampa Bay (WTSP TV) – Pretty good analysis of income from American Community Survey around Tampa.
- ‘A history of broken promises’: Miami remains separate and unequal for Black residents (Miami Herald) – Another good long piece. Quote: “Cubans jumped the line.”
- What it would take to end child poverty in America (Vox) – Ezra Klein interviews Rep. Barbara Lee
- Here is the report referenced in the interview: Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty.
- Here is a summary of the recommendations: How to reduce child poverty. – Really good concrete proposals.
- How does systemic racism affect Black Americans’ access to capital? (Michigan Public Radio)
- To narrow racial and economic disparities, Atlanta Fed chief Raphael Bostic is rethinking what the Fed’s mandate means (Washington Post) – No answers yet, he’s just thinking.
- Op-ed: The Fed has a ‘responsibility’ to help reduce high unemployment in the Black community (CNBC) – We might just have to accept a little inflation in exchange for full employment
- What the story of Soul City, N.C., can teach us about fixing systemic economic racism (MarketPlace.org)
- Cory Booker: Racial wealth gap is the “American wealth gap” (Axios) – Super short
- Black millennials less likely to own a home than their grandparents were at same age (MarketWatch)
Discrimination
- Why are there still so few Black executives in America? (USA Today) – Long read
Affirmative Action
- California Proposition 16 will overturn the ban on Affirmative Action
- Prop. 16 on November Ballot Would Reinstate Affirmative Action in CA (Spectrum Local News) – Best quote: “Because of Prop. 209, Assembly Woman Shirley Weber said California can’t develop special programs for girls in STEM. “
- The Bay Area’s pro teams are all endorsing Prop 16. What is it? (San Jose Mercury News)
- Ending California’s ban on affirmative action could show how far it’s come (Washington Post)
Reparations
- Black pastors announce support for Asheville racial justice efforts (Ashville Mountain Express)
- County Commissioners approve resolution to create Economic Reparations Committee (WKZO Kalamazoo)
- Column: Reparations are about economic stability, not a looted pair of $120 Nikes (Chicago Tribune) – Is looting a form of reparations.
- Repaying the debt owed to Black people requires a democratic and reparative economy (Institute of the Black World)
Universal Basic Income
- Here’s one way to fight poverty. Give poor people $500 a month, says NC councilman (Charlotte Observer)
Diversity / Inclusion (if you can’t get Affirmative Action or Reparations)
- Square Diversity and Inclusion Report (Square)
- Arizona Central Diversity Scorecard (AZ Central)
Rehab / Re-entry
- American Rehab (Reveal) – Detailed account of work practices in rehabilitation industry. Interesting, but a little bit sensationalized.
- City Startup Labs gives returning citizens tools for entrepreneurship (QCity Metro – Charlotte) – Teaching ex-prisoners about computers.
Black Economics
The impact of an uneven economic playing field (Milwaukee Independent)
Straight up Econ
- Monopoly Power Lies Behind Worst Trends in U.S., Fed Study Says (Bloomberg)
- Larry Summers: Who’s Afraid of Budget Deficits? (Larry Summers) – Old but you have to keep an eye on Larry even with his past, anti-woman behavior.
- It’s time to be up front about the 3 neoliberal arguments that help keep racist economic systems in place in the US (Business Insider)
- To narrow racial and economic disparities, Atlanta Fed chief Raphael Bostic is rethinking what the Fed’s mandate means (Washington Post)
Education
- California ballot proposition 16 could boost racial equity among university faculty (CAL Matters)
Other / Interesting
- The Harlem Week panel: Hon. Charles B. Rangel Systemic Racism & Economic Justice Summit (Harlem Week) had no expert nor discussion on Economic Justice. What’s up with that? Looks like we don’t even have the capacity to discuss economic justice in any detail. Yikes.
Sport / Media / Entertainment
- NFL’s first Black team president, Jason Wright, of the Washington Football Team (CBS News)
- Allen Media Group Buys Hawaii TV Station for $30M (Multi-Channel News)
- Thunder Underscores Its Commitment to Tulsa’s Historic Greenwood District (NBA)
- Jay-Z and Pharrell Highlight Importance of Black Ownership In Song ‘Entrepreneur’: ‘For Every One Gucci, Support Two FUBU’s’ (Atlanta Black Star)
- Pharrell Williams – Entrepreneur (Official Video) ft. JAY-Z (You Tube)
- NBA strikes sponsorship deal with DoorDash, will help black businesses (SportsNaut) – Gotta watch this one. Doordash is notorious for paying low wages and stealing tips. Probably not someone I would partner with.
- Sixers parent company commits $20 million to fighting systemic racism and championing equality (Philadelphia Inquirer) – Quick peek into how team owners got their money.
Industry Watch: Beer / Wine / Liquor / Alcohol
- Meet the Two Sisters Making Wine More Accessible for Black Wine Drinkers (Thrillist)
- South Africa opens as virus cases fall, allows liquor sales (Philadelphia Tribune)
- Six ways the drinks industry can support racial diversity (The Spirits Business) – Short, click bait.
Real Estate / Housing / Segregation
- Rent control is a disincentive to build affordable housing (CAL Matters)
- How systemic racism flares up in housing and neighborhoods (Michigan Public Radio)
- ‘You Know God Didn’t Forget about You.’ What Tiny Homes Offer the Homeless (The Tyee Canada)
- Housing will test white support for Black lives (Boston Globe)
- Cincinnati passes taxes to support transit (Cincinnati Enquirer)
- How the U.S. Government Promoted Housing Segregation in America’s Cities (US News & World Report)
- New York City may take a decade to recover from coronavirus pandemic, says developer Don Peebles (CNBC)
Finance / Investing
- Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index. Invest in a more equal future. (Bloomberg)
- Commentary: Diversity and inclusion – the role of business in what happens next (Pensions & Investments)
- Fintechs Were Supposed Improve Equality – What Happened? (Forbes)
People / Motivation
- Billionaire Robert Smith Fighting U.S. Criminal Tax Inquiry (Bloomberg)
- GROUPM NAMES KIRK MCDONALD NORTH AMERICA CEO (GroupM PR). WPP Taps AT&T’s Kirk McDonald to Run GroupM in North America (WSJ) – Paywall. Kirk McDonald Will Become North American CEO of GroupM (Variety) – GroupM buys $17.6 billion in ads. He will lead the North America division which has 6500 employees. Advertising is probably the single “Whitest” industry in the US.
- How Burrell Advertising got started (NPR) – The story of the famous advertising agency in Chicago
- Ivey names Port Authority picks, including 1st African-American woman (AL.com)
- Black Voices Matter: Tiffany Spencer, President of Black Orlando Tech (Orlando Magazine) – Black Orlando Tech
- Johnny Bailey Explains Why The Key To Black Liberation Is Economic Power (Forbes)
Politics / Government
- Racial Diversity Among Top Staff in Senate Personal Offices (Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies)
- New report finds top Senate staffers are more diverse than in 2015 but still predominantly white (The Hill)
- Democratic convention: $4 trillion infrastructure bank would create 25 million jobs (Peoples World)
- Financial Regulators Address Financial Inclusion, Expansion of Credit, and Protection from Discrimination (JD Supra) – Good, long description of steps financial regulators are taking to address financial discrimination.
- To close the racial wealth gap, we need more Black regulators (MarketWatch) – Important but boring
Career / Industry News / Businesses You Can Start
- Energy Secretary Brouillette’s Remarks to the American Association of Blacks in Energy National Conference (Energy.gov)
- Buffalo Black Achievers CEO talks access and opportunity (Buffalo Business First)
- Profile of Capital Good Fund (a CDFI) (CNBC)
- Pittsburgh development chief Marty LaMar on fostering change for a more inclusive city (Pittsburgh Business Times)
- Black babies are more likely to survive when cared for by Black doctors, study finds (USA Today)
Taxes / Tax Policy
- Column: Task force adviser says consolidation would create property tax relief. Will anyone listen? (Chicago Tribune) – Black suburb is over taxed and consolidation would reduce the burden. Neighboring towns could care less.
- St. Louis set to vote on raising taxes to expand child care (St. Louis American)
Technology / Apps / Innovation
- Redesigning Federal Funding of Research and Development (Center for American Progress) – Comprehensive and Lisa D. Cook was involved
Travel
- Black Historian Jefferson Talks Bruce’s Beach, Manhattan Beach (Patch)
Conservative / Alternative
- The American Dream is not dead (St. Joseph, MO News-Press)
- The messy truth about income inequality (Washington Post) – Robert J. Samuelson. Gotta respect his opinion.
- Oprah’s Extraordinary Life Shows America Is No ‘Caste System’ (Foundation for Economic Education)
International
- Africa Remains Untapped Market for Booming Black Businesses in America (Council on Foreign Relations) – Interesting idea.
Old, but good
- The Resegregation of Jefferson County (NY Times)