Applied Research Center: How Racial Inquity Helped Cause the Recession
By now, its old news that the current recession has affected millions of Americans – The subprime lending crisis has caused far too many foreclosures, and we’re experiencing the highest unemployement rates in 25 years. However, for many families of color, the downturn has meant even more bruising effects, with unemployment rates among Blacks and Latinos soaring above those of whites.
Thankfully, our amazing clients at The Applied Research Center (ARC), are drawing attention to the disproportionate impact in their recent report, titled Race and Recession: How Inequity Rigged the Economy and How to Change the Rules. ARC is a leading racial justice think-tank, whose brilliant research offers solutions to ensure that our recovery will consciously address the structural racism that perpetuates inequality.
In addition to demonstrating the recession’s uneven effects, the groundbreaking report exposes how structural racism within institutional lending practices and policies are actual root causes of the crisis – affecting all Americans.
We worked with ARC to make sure policymakers had access to their information, helping ensure that our economic recovery incorporates practices that explicitly address racial inequity. In addition to appearing on Montel Across America and KPFA (Pacifica) the report was covered in The Chicago Tribune, Huffington Post, and Common Dreams.
Tags: , Applied Research Center, ARC, economy, foreclosure, race, racism, Recession, Rinku Sen, Seth Wessler, The Accidental American, unemployment, wage gap