5 ways local leaders can use the Racial Wealth Equity Database
The large wealth gap between Black and White families in America has persisted for generations—and mayors are determined to find ways to finally address it. In the most recent Menino Survey of Mayors, 67 percent of mayors said they are worried about the racial wealth gap in their cities. Of those mayors, overwhelming majorities support targeted programs to help Black and Latino residents build businesses and increase homeownership. When city leaders get down to designing new policies and programs, however, they quickly discover a problem. The data they need to inform their efforts—local-level data on assets, homeownership, and more—can be difficult to find broken down by race.
FY 2023 Legislative Report: Re-Entry Workforce Development Demonstration Gains
The Re-Entry Workforce Development Demonstration Grants Program is an initiative administered by
Commonwealth Corporation, on behalf of the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development with the goal of improving workforce outcomes for individuals returning to their communities after incarceration (i.e., returning citizens). Commonwealth Corporation awarded grants spanning two fiscal years, starting in August 2022 and due to end in September 2023. These resources anticipate serving at least 13 grantees as a result of intensive outreach to smaller community-based organizations.
Mayors Face a Reckoning With Racial Wealth Gaps
A national survey of 126 mayors of cities with more than 75,000 residents found that two out of three are concerned “a great deal” or “a lot” about the racial wealth gap in their communities. This concern was shared by twice as many mayors in large cities as in smaller ones; surprisingly, more mayors (52 percent) of cities where housing costs are low had stronger concerns than those in cities with high cost of living (32 percent).
Mayors concerned about racial wealth gap, but no consensus on solutions: survey
Boston University’s Menino Survey of Mayors found that 58% of mayors of larger cities expressed significant concern, compared with just 26% of mayors of smaller cities. It found 80% of Democratic mayors were concerned about the racial wealth gap in their community versus 32% of Republican mayors. Further, 22% of Republican mayors were not worried about the issue at all, with no Democratic mayors sharing that view.
Majority of mayors worried about racial wealth gap, survey finds
Based on a survey of 126 mayors of cities with more than 75,000 residents, the 2021 Menino Survey of Mayors: Closing the Racial Wealth Gap (20 pages, PDF), found that 67 percent of mayors are concerned about the racial wealth gap, with leaders of bigger cities significantly more concerned than those of smaller cities (58 percent vs. 26 percent), and those with lower housing costs more significantly concerned than those with higher costs (52 percent vs. 32 percent). The survey revealed a large partisan divide, with 80 percent of Democratic mayors versus 30 percent of Republican mayors expressing concern.
Majority of US Mayors Worried about the Racial Wealth Gap in Their Cities
A strong majority of US mayors (67 percent) say they are worried about the racial wealth gap in their communities, with elected leaders in cities with larger populations and higher costs of living significantly more concerned about the issue.
Those mayors who identify the racial wealth gap as a problem for their cities are close to unanimous in their support for programs designed to benefit small business ownership and homeownership for people of color. But when asked about specific programs targeting these problems, most said they would not back them in their own communities.