One-hundred years ago, an unfathomable hate crime occurred in Tulsa, Oklahoma, leading to the deaths of an estimated 300 Black Americans, while about 10K were left to fend for themselves on the streets.
On the centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre—a violent attack by a white supremacist mob against the Black community of Greenwood—the Biden-Harris Administration announced plans to “narrow the racial wealth gap and reinvest in communities that have been left behind by failed policies.”
“The horrific acts of violence and property destruction that occurred in Tulsa 100 years ago and the subsequent public and private policies that frustrated the recovery of ‘Black Wall Street’ help illustrate why racial wealth gaps persist in America today,” said National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) President Charlie Oppler in a statement.
“We commend the Biden Administration for its commitment to closing the gap, specifically by focusing on the intergenerational wealth building opportunities offered by property and homeownership,” he added.
The aftermath of “Black Wall Street” magnified deep-rooted racism through laws and policies that intensified racial inequality, locking Black Tulsans out of homeownership and access to credit.
Now, focusing on homeownership and business ownership in communities of color and disadvantaged communities, the Administration said they will address racial discrimination impacting black households.
The Administration will be launching an inter-agency effort to address inequity in home appraisals, to start, as well as introducing several financial incentives and programs that tackle wealth inequality in communities of color.
Among them will be a $10 billion Community Revitalization Fund that will support community-led infrastructure projects, as well as $15 billion in grants and assistance to remove and replace transportation infrastructure that currently creates a barrier for community connectivity.
“NAR is particularly encouraged by the administration’s most recent efforts to address inequities in the home appraisal process, and we support a thorough review of the current appraisal system alongside both public and private stakeholders,” said Oppler.
“We look forward to working with the White House and HUD on other upcoming rule-makings that seek to more effectively combat housing discrimination and redress the legacy of residential racial segregation,” he added.
Additionally, the Biden-Harris Administration announced a Neighborhood Homes Tax Credit that will aid in the development and rehab of affordable homes for low- and moderate-income homebuyers and homeowners.
Another grant—Unlocking Possibilities Program—will push $5 billion in funding for jurisdictions that are helping eliminate or reduce barriers to producing affordable housing, and who are expanding housing choices for individuals with low or moderate incomes.
These steps align with Biden’s memorandum, released in January 2021, which directed the Department of Housing Urban Development (HUD) to perform an examination of recent regulatory actions to determine if they are effective in rooting out systemic racism.
“We can’t just choose to learn what we want to know and not what we should know. We should know the good, the bad, the everything. That’s what great nations do,” Biden said, adding that the federal government needs to “”acknowledge the role that it has played in stripping wealth and opportunity from Black communities.”
This is a developing story. Stay tuned to RISMedia for more information.
Liz Dominguez is RISMedia’s senior online editor. Email her your real estate news ideas to lizd@rismedia.com.
