The Bay State Banner, May 26, 2021, Report: Racial wealth gap, discrimination block minority businesses from financing
“The racial wealth gap plays a critical role in determining which firms get started and which ones succeed,” noted Trevor Matos, research manager at the Indicators Project, the Boston Foundation’s research arm.
Matos said that the wealth gap stems from decades of discriminatory housing policies and lending policies that prevented many Blacks from buying homes.
Matos noted that the National Community Reinvestment Coalition has for years conducted tests where it sends pairs of individuals with identical profiles — one white, one a person of color — to lending institutions. The disparate results have suggested discrimination exists across the board.
