New Agenda for America: Did We Hit ‘Rewind’?

To mark the 80th Anniversary of the Great Crash of ‘29, we asked 15 progressive thinkers to write about lessons learned and what lies ahead. Together, their reflections constitute a New Agenda for America — a message of how the ideals of a fair society should apply to the economic and social policies of our time.

On this anniversary of the Great Crash of 1929, we continue to battle critical issues of economic and social policy that adversely impact minority and low-income communities. Policymakers must aggressively address and equate economic and civil rights matters, like the ongoing foreclosure crisis, payday lending, mortgage scams and disparities in education. The elimination of the racial wealth divide is essential in ending institutional racism that has long pierced this nation.

The current housing collapse was premised on a subprime market inundated with racially discriminatory and predatory lending, which led to economic displacement of unprecedented scale. According to the Center for Responsible Lending, black homeowners lost more than $92 billion to foreclosures since 2007 and over the next several years, are projected to lose a total of $122 billion, while Latinos are expected to lose $98 billion.

Americans cannot attain the asset growth necessary to build “wealth” if simultaneously their biggest assets — their homes — are being unceremoniously depleted. African Americans own significantly less property than they did more than 80 years ago. The typical Black family owns 10 cents to the White family’s dollar and the typical Latino family owns 12 cents.

In what has been called the “Silent Depression,” people of color continue to experience unacknowledged economic hardship.

We must act to reverse these alarming trends … it’s time to hit “fast forward”!

Roosevelt Institute Braintruster Barbara Arnwine has been the executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law since 1989.