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Promoting Minority Advancement through Investing

April 2019 | ESG

Income inequality in the United States is at an all-time high even as the country’s unemployment statistics get better, down to 3.2% at the end of 2018; however, the African-American unemployment rate is nearly twice that of Caucasian workers.1  

Acknowledging that jobs is only part of the equation, Felicia Wong, president of the Roosevelt Institute, told Bloomberg that she believes the racial wealth disparity is the product of accumulated disadvantage over time — which is why short-term economic gains aren’t enough to bridge divides. Ms. Wong states it has “more to do with the historical exclusions from education, the housing market, the labor market and ultimately capital acquisition that African-Americans have had relative to whites.”2

In partnership with our clients, CCM is committed to directing capital toward initiatives that can help to bridge these gaps. Many of our 18 investment themes touch upon components Ms. Wong outlines as critical to solving racial wealth disparity including minority advancement.  This theme looks to support communities with high minority population (over 50%), programs offering equal access to jobs, economic development and affordable housing.  We believe that by investing in opportunities with minority leadership, workplace equity, services beneficial to minorities and related shareholder engagement and policy work, we have the capabilities to start changing the direction of this gap.

 

1 https://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cpsee_e16.htm

2 https://www.bloombergquint.com/global-economics/black-americans-cross-jobs-milestone-though-victory-is-tenuous#gs.2zkgca

A full list of regulatory disclosures for Community Capital Management, LLC. are available by visiting: https://www.ccminvests.com/regulatory-disclosures/.