The theme of this year’s OFN Conference is “Finance Justice. Finance Change,” focusing on how CDFIs combat racial inequality, ensuring that we will have a more just economic recovery. But I wonder – what do we mean by finance justice, finance change? How can CDFIs be a vehicle to combat racial inequality? As I go through my own journey as a woman of color, I realize that I’ve learned a lot in the past year, but I have a long way to go.
When I worked for a regional CDFI, I used to think that our focus on small businesses was enough. While we certainly reached out to minority owned businesses – such as the Brazilian neighborhoods in the Boston suburbs, or Hispanic communities in Miami – I did not think about the systemic challenges our applicants faced. I was more focused on whether they met our lending criteria, and whether our organization met our overall goals.
Fast forward to 2020, and I am deeply concerned about the devastation wrought by COVID on communities of color, both from a health and from an economic perspective. I am disheartened to see the long lines in front of food banks across the country, wondering where many of these people will get their next meal. I worry about evictions as I know that the moratoriums will expire. And I fear for the safety of my fellow Asian Americans as brutal hate crimes violate innocent lives. This makes me wonder how we can fundamentally change things to avoid this kind of catastrophe in the future.
At the same time I am highly encouraged by the role CDFIs are playing in keeping the economy afloat, leveraging community ties to provide PPP loans to local, often minority owned businesses. CDFIs have also contributed to the recovery by providing additional resources, technical assistance, and flexible terms to businesses in need. The industry is finally getting significant recognition for the great work it does, and I, for one, am proud.
So as COVID made even more evident the structural challenges faced by people of color, I lacked historical context until I participated in the CDFI Women’s Network event called Race, Equity, Justice: the Fierce Urgency of Justice, held on March 4, 2021. I experienced the Racial Wealth Gap Learning Simulation created by Bread for the World, realizing how much systemic racism has over time created significant hurdles for African Americans to accumulate equity and wealth. While I had heard of discriminatory practices such as redlining, I had not considered how much these practices built upon each other to the detriment of Blacks in this country.
Ever the pragmatist, I was then excited when the CDFI Women’s Network decided to follow up this event on June 9, 2021 with a session called: How do We Operationalize Racial Justice? Participants brainstormed in groups and covered the following related areas:
- Internal Practices, People and Culture
- Underwriting Practices and Procedures
- New Justice-Centered Products and Innovation
- Equitable Promotion and Retention (including pay equity)
Through this event I have learned practical means by which CDFIs can combat racial inequality; I have compiled notes from various contributors in the attached document1. Not surprisingly, participants turned the mirror on themselves, asking how they, as individuals and as part of their organizations, can learn to view themselves and their work with greater racial awareness. I have learned that I can do better, and that putting a racial lens to my perceptions and my work helps me see more clearly what needs to be done.
Now I am looking forward to participating in the 2021 OFN Conference with greater awareness of racial inequities. But with knowledge comes understanding, and with understanding a better foundation to find solutions. I know there is only so much I, as an individual, can do to mitigate the persistence of racial inequality, but I am proud to be part of an industry, a movement that has and will make a difference.