President Biden on Tuesday will announce several initiatives to reduce racial disparities, including a pledge to boost federal contracts to minority-owned businesses by 50 percent and a rollback of two Trump-era actions that have hamstrung fair housing laws.
via: Revolt
According to a White House press statement, the plan focuses on increasing home and small business ownership among minority and disadvantaged commutes.
Specific initiatives will include a $10 billion Community Revitalization Fund to support community-led civic infrastructure projects; $15 billion for transportation infrastructure grants; and a Neighborhood Homes Tax Credit that will incentivize developing affordable homes.
The Biden administration will also address discrimination in the housing market by looking at inequity in home appraisals and pledged to increase federal contracts with small, minority-owned businesses by 50 percent, amounting to $100 billion over the next five years. The White House also pledged $5 billion to the Unlocking Possibilities Program, a new grant program for jurisdictions that offer affordable housing options for people with low to moderate incomes.
Biden’s American Jobs Plan will also include new proposals to “create jobs and build wealth in communities of color.” The administration will fuel $31 billion into small business programs that work to provide mentoring, networking, technical assistance and access to capital for disadvantaged business owners.
Yesterday (May 31), Biden reflected on the “deep roots of racial terror in our nation” while addressing the centennial of white rioters’ deadly attack on Tulsa’s Greenwood District, known as Black Wall Street.
“The federal government must reckon with and acknowledge the role that it has played in stripping wealth and opportunity from Black communities,” he said in a statement. “We honor the legacy of the Greenwood community and of Black Wall Street by reaffirming our commitment to advance racial justice through the whole of our government and working to root out systemic racism from our laws, our policies and our hearts.”
Let’s get it done.
