On Our Radar

What she’s saying: “Renters who have lost their job or had their income reduced shouldn’t have to fear losing their homes in the middle of a pandemic. Housing is a human right and an absolute necessity to keep families safe during this crisis, and Congress must step in now to help keep people in their homes,” Warren told Vox.

For this issue, a look at Nikole Hannah-Jones’s argument that if black lives are to truly matter in America, the nation must finally pay its debts.

– FDIC changes to CRA on hold during Covid, economic volatility
– FDIC reviewing other rules for racial, economic impact

“There is a difference between saying that we believe in the inherent dignity, equality, and value of our black brothers and sisters and actually committing to it.”

“What we have to do is be creative about the way that we measure the benefit created by our charter, and what is the rational, intelligent, but not overly burdensome concomitant benefit we’d expect them to plow back into their communities,” Brooks said. “Rest assured, these charters will have some kind of financial inclusion expectation.”

The group alleges lenders in Chicago have invested more in a single white neighborhood than all the black neighborhoods combined

The incentive program promised to help underserved communities. Instead, its tax breaks have disproportionately benefited wealthy investors, a new study finds.

In our society, in other words, the fight for equal personhood can’t help but also be a struggle for economic justice. And what we see, past and present, is how that fight against the privileges and distinctions of race can also lay the foundations for a broader assault on the privileges and distinctions of class.

Wage garnishments ordered before the pandemic started have continued for many workers during the recession. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown have demanded an end to the practice.

Amid the most profound social upheaval since the 1960s, these novelists, historians, poets, comedians and activists take a moment to look back to the literature.

The coronavirus pandemic prompted an unprecedented decline in economic activity, with millions of job losses hitting low-income households particularly hard. But during those challenging times, over 6 million Americans have been lifted out of poverty, thanks to increased government support.

The deaths of Layleen Polanco and Tony McDade highlight how Black trans Americans are treated and criminalized.

“Obviously the African American community has suffered from racism for a very, very long period of time. And I cannot imagine that that has not contributed to the conditions that they find themselves in economically and otherwise. So the answer, congressman, is yes.”

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow says he believes the wealth gap between black and white people has narrowed, and questioned statistics that show the gap now is as wide as it was in the 1960s.

Smith Jones says there is no moving forward in Minneapolis without addressing its systemic inequity, which is part of the city’s makeup. Still, she’s hopeful and plans to make sure that the voices of disadvantaged communities are centered in the city’s rebuilding effort.