Guaranteed Income in Jackson Designed By Black Moms for Black Moms, Showing Results for Black Moms (Next City)
Evanston, IL becomes the first city to pay reparations for its anti-Black housing policies (Upworthy)
Building Wealth While Black: How Atlanta Fueled a Family Fortune (Bloomberg)
NY Mayor pushes cannabis revenue as gateway to racial equity (The Grio)
Greenwood banking platform geared toward Black and Latino people raises $40 million in funding (CBS News).
Fintech Startup Greenwood Raises $40 Million in Funding to Provide Black and Latino Banking Services (PR Newswire) — Press Release. Investors include: Truist, Bank of America, PNC, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Mastercard, Visa, and SoftBank
“Hood to Hire” Addresses the Unemployed and Displaced Workforce. (Chicago Defender)
Black female contractor builds million-dollar business in Columbia (Cola Daily) – South Carolina
Apple shares new data about diversity (9 to 5 Mac)
Powell ‘not at all happy’ with Fed’s diversity (The Hill) – Only 2 out of 417 fed economists are Black. Why Are There So Few Black Economists at the Fed? (NY Times)
Stories
Coronavirus / Covid-19 / Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
Year after COVID crisis hits, some small businesses see ‘400 percent growth’ (ABC)
COVID-19 economic recovery remains slowest for communities of color in Wisconsin (WTMJ) – Milwaukee
Black-Owned Businesses Aim for Post-Pandemic Rebound (VOA)
As Black-Owned Businesses Struggle Through Pandemic, Many Find Lifeline Online (Nasdaq)
Jobs / Workers / Unemployment / Gig Economy
Black workers, hammered by pandemic, now being left behind in recovery (Politico)
Guaranteed Income in Jackson Designed By Black Moms for Black Moms, Showing Results for Black Moms (Next City)
“Hood to Hire” Addresses the Unemployed and Displaced Workforce. (Chicago Defender)
Four Ways to Support Racial Equality in the Workplace (D Magazine)
COVID pushed Black unemployment higher in Pa. than anywhere in the nation, report says (WHYY) – PA unemployment rate was almost 20% in Q3 2020.
New Analysis Reveals 20 Years of Stagnant Wage Growth for American Workers (PR Newswire)
Inequality / Systemic Racism / Economic Justice
A convergence of racial reckoning for Black and Asian Americans (Washington Post)
Killer Mike’s Black-owned bank, Greenwood, raises nearly $40 million in funding (Revolt)
Black-owned firm says new training program will help make clinical research more diverse (Cincinnati Business Journal) – This is a great business startup. The idea is brilliant.
Milligan Group and other Black-owned businesses face access-to-capital puzzle (Philadelphia Business Journal) – “We cannot get to the next level without it”
Black female contractor builds million-dollar business in Columbia (Cola Daily) – South Carolina
Big Business / Corporate
Black San Francisco man says Starbucks singled him out for removal, company Apologizes (NY Daily News)
Apple shares new data about diversity (9 to 5 Mac)
M&F Bank using funds to promote an inclusive pandemic recovery (WRAL)
Chicago suburb’s plan to pay Black residents reparations could be a national model (NBC News) — The city council, which has already committed $10 million over a decade to the effort, will vote on Monday to begin with a $400,000 round of payments.
Evanston, IL becomes the first city to pay reparations for its anti-Black housing policies (Upworthy)
Evanston’s reparations plan is more symbol than substance (Chicago Tribune)
Transcript: The Path Forward: Economic Mobility with Raphael W. Bostic, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta (Washington Post)
Inside JPMorgan’s $30 billion push for racial equity in the economy — and within its own walls (Business Insider)
Straight up Econ / The Economy
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers Cecilia Rouse, and Member of the Council of Economic Advisers Heather Boushey (Whitehouse.Gov) on March 24, 2021. The topics covered are Equal Pay Day for Women.
Reasons behind the ongoing challenge in attracting and retaining women in economics (Yahoo)
Majority Black-Led MaC Venture Capital Raises Inaugural $110 Million Fund To Invest In Emerging Tech Disruptors (Forbes). Another story from USA Today. Adrian Fenty, former mayor of DC, is a partner. The business is called MAC Venture Capital.
Asset Management:Racial Wealth Gap Between Black, White Americans Remains Wide (Chief Investment Officer) — Survey finds 71% of white Americans own stocks, compared with 55% of Black Americans.
Real Estate / Finance / Development / Housing / Segregation
Town of Orange Park, Florida, says Blacks’ homes aren’t being targeted for development (News 4 Jacksonville) – Jacksonville, FL
Economic & Community Development Committee’s request for vacant land map creates confusion Policies (Upworthy)
Data Spotlights Pernicious Savings Gaps by Race, Ethnicity (Plan Advisor) – Fifty percent of Whites have a retirement savings plan while only 35% of Blacks. In addition Whites have an account balance of about $80,000 while Blacks have a balance of $35,000.
Construction / Jobs / Discrimination
In West Baltimore, two Black women developers take novel approaches to tackle Blight (Baltimore Business Journal)
Tacoma Water unfairly picks white management applicants over Black ones, complaint says (KIRO 7) – Tacoma, WA
Cities / Urban Planning / Local Government
Panel: Diverse leadership matters as Boston deals with racist reputation (Boston Business Journal)
Alabama Jobs Act and the Growing Alabama Tax Credit Has 3% jobs credit for Majority business and a 4%credit for Minority business (Birmingham Business Journal)
Southeast Side Organizers Say Solution to Pollution Problem Includes Clean Industry Jobs (WTTW) – Chicago, IL
Politics / Government / Federal, State and Local
Here are some of the key measures in the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus’ economics package signed by Pritzker (Chicago Tribune)
Biden Administration Ramps Up Debt Relief Program to Help Black Farmers (New York Times)
Obama Foundation President Wally Adeyemo picked to be deputy Treasury secretary (Chicago Sun Times)
Law / Legal / Non-profits / Philanthropy / Non-Profit
Biden Expected to Name First Black Manhattan U.S. Attorney (Bloomberg Law)
Education / Healthcare
Non-White Students Twice As Likely To Desire Virtual Internships, Jobs Upon Graduation (Forbes)
A Novel Way to Finance School May Penalize Students From H.B.C.U.s, Study Finds (NY Times) – Discusses income sharing as a payment option
Cohort Sistas 3.1% campaign celebrates Black women with doctoral degrees (The Grio)
Farming / Agriculture / Food
Returning to his roots: Award-winning Carter brings Africulture to Orange County farm (Orange County Review) – Virginia. Long story about Black Farmers using “Africulture” – growing crops from Africa in Virginia. To learn more about Carter Farms visit www.thecarterfarms.com and to shop for seeds you can grow in your own garden visit www.carterbrothers.net.
‘Systemic’ USDA discrimination against Black farmers gets scrutiny (Missourian)
People and Careers
Career / Professions / Entrepreneurship / Businesses You Can Start
Black-owned firm says new training program will help make clinical research more diverse (Cincinnati Business Journal) – This is a great business startup. The idea is brilliant.
Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance’s Pathways to Black Franchise Ownership Initiative (PR Newswire) – Press Release. Multicultural Foodservice and Hospitality Alliance (MFHA) is kind of interesting.
Glamping: Women-led, Black-owned business opens luxury camping season (Startland News)
People / Motivation / Leadership / Success Stories / Ideas
Meet Kerin John, the Woman Putting Black-Owned Canadian Businesses On (Complex)
MESO names Umpqua Bank exec Cobi Lewis as new executive director (Portland Business Journal)
Daymond John (Shark Tank) talks evolution of FUBU, importance of small Black businesses (Yahoo)
Meet one of the few Black women in charge of an Atlantic City casino (NJ)
DC native creates chain of successful bed and breakfast inns (WTOP)
A Black Architect Is Transforming the Landscape of Golf (New York Times)
Dante Lee, This HBCU Grad Has Helped Over 1,000 Black-Owned Businesses Generate Revenue (AfroTech)
All Other
Caribbean / Africa / International
Meet Kerin John, the Woman Putting Black-Owned Canadian Businesses On (Complex) – Toronto, CA
Travel / History
Red pill or blue? Historic Charlotte neighborhoods are getting new life — in virtual reality. (Greensboro)
The Black CPA Centennial: Meet the first Black CPA (Accounting Today)
Why the Roaring Twenties Left Many Americans Poorer (History)
