CDFIs Advance Racial Equity

Nearly 60 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. shared his dream of a just America, where all people are treated equally and everyone afforded the same opportunities. To realize this dream, he said, racial and financial justice must be linked — one is not possible without the other.

Decades later, King’s dream of racial and economic equity remains unrealized. A wide economic gulf between Black and White America remains. White families have nearly eight times the median wealth of Black families, and five times more than Hispanic families. The Black and White homeownership gap — at 47% versus 76% — is higher than it was in the 1960s, when race-based housing discrimination was legal. Black business owners are rejected at much higher rates than their White counterparts.

CDFIs understand that an inclusive economy is critical for all Americans. Racial equity is necessary if we want to realize our nation’s true economic and social potential.

CDFIs Invest In People and Communities

CDFIs believe everyone deserves equal and fair access to quality jobs, affordable housing, health care, education, and the chance to build wealth for themselves and their families.

CDFIs Make a Difference

CDFIs work to close the racial wealth gap and create an inclusive economy with fair, equitable financial products and services that help hardworking individuals and families build wealth — nationwide, CDFI clients are 66% people of color.