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‘Closing the Racial Equity Gap: A Call to Action’

The report, “Closing the Racial Equity Gap: A Call to Action,” is a result of a series of Homeownership Solutions Summits held in Arizona, California, and Nevada in 2022 and 2023. More than 150 housing advocates, member institutions, and other stakeholders gathered to develop evidence-based ways to boost access to mortgage financing and sustainable homeownership for people of color.

Published

6 months ago

November 4, 2023

Oakland Post

Teresa Bryce Bazemore is the CEO for FHLBank San Francisco.

Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco Recommends Ways to Close Racial Homeownership and Wealth Gaps in US

By Mary Long, Special to The Post

The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco (FHLBank San Francisco) released a package of recommendations to close the racial wealth gap in the United States.

The report, “Closing the Racial Equity Gap: A Call to Action,” is a result of a series of Homeownership Solutions Summits held in Arizona, California, and Nevada in 2022 and 2023.

More than 150 housing advocates, member institutions, and other stakeholders gathered to develop evidence-based ways to boost access to mortgage financing and sustainable homeownership for people of color.

Among the recommendations:

Expand mandatory financial education and begin teaching the basics in grade school.
Broaden the reach of down-payment assistance programs to include buyers who earn more than 80% of area median income.
Encourage the widespread adoption of novel or modern building practices that can bring down costs without sacrificing safety or comfort.
Provide support to elected officials in favor of higher-density zoning and less-restrictive land-use ordinances.
Modernize credit scoring to bring more creditworthy borrowers into the housing finance system.

According to the Urban Institute, in 1960, the gap between Black and white homeowners was less than 27 percentage points.

By 2019, it was nearly 30 points, the widest spread ever. Today, only 45.3% of Black households own a home, compared to 72.2% of whites and nearly 66% of the U.S. population.

The Federal Reserve acknowledges that the average Black family owned about 24 cents for every $1 of white family wealth as of the first quarter of 2023, while the average Hispanic family owned about 23 cents for every $1.

“The inequities entrenched in the homebuying process cannot be eradicated by a single entity or a single solution. To make meaningful change in the industry, we must bring all stakeholders together to consider the options and formulate approaches that make the most of the expertise at hand,” said FHLBank San Francisco CEO Teresa Bryce Bazemore.

“Our Homeownership Solutions Summits provided an opportunity for discussion and collaboration, and we now have pages of practical and sustainable action items that, together, can help people of color gain equal access to homeownership and wealth-building,” Bazemore said.

The Homeownership Solutions Summit series, the first of its kind among Federal Home Loan Banks, is a continuation of FHLBank San Francisco’s equity approach, which includes a two-year, $1.5 million partnership between the FHLBank of San Francisco and the Urban Institute.

Their Racial Equity Accelerator for Homeownership collaboration has produced groundbreaking research on the effectiveness of alternative underwriting methods, the impact of student debt on Black homeownership, the use of mortgage reserve products to help sustain homeownership, and coming soon, how best to harness the power of artificial intelligence for equity in mortgage financing.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

1 day ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

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Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

Published

1 week ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

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Oakland Schools Honor Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice. His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.

Published

1 week ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

Fred Korematsu. Courtesy of OUSD.

By Post Staff

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice.

His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.
One OUSD school is named in his honor: Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy (KDA) elementary in East Oakland.

Several years ago, founding KDA Principal Charles Wilson, in a video interview with anti-hate organization “Not In Our Town,” said, “We chose the name Fred Korematsu because we really felt like the attributes that he showed in his work are things that the children need to learn … that common people can stand up and make differences in a large number of people’s lives.”

Fred Korematsu was born in Oakland on Jan. 30, 1919. His parents ran a floral nursery business, and his upbringing in Oakland shaped his worldview. His belief in the importance of standing up for your rights and the rights of others, regardless of race or background, was the foundation for his activism against racial prejudice and for the rights of Japanese Americans during World War II.

At the start of the war, Korematsu was turned away from enlisting in the National Guard and the Coast Guard because of his race. He trained as a welder, working at the docks in Oakland, but was fired after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Fear and prejudice led to federal Executive Order 9066, which forced more than 120,000 Japanese Americans out of their homes and neighborhoods and into remote internment camps.

The 23-year-old Korematsu resisted the order. He underwent cosmetic surgery and assumed a false identity, choosing freedom over unjust imprisonment. His later arrest and conviction sparked a legal battle that would challenge the foundation of civil liberties in America.

Korematsu’s fight culminated in the Supreme Court’s initial ruling against him in 1944. He spent years in a Utah internment camp with his family, followed by time living in Salt Lake City where he was dogged by racism.

In 1976, President Gerald Ford overturned Executive Order 9066. Seven years later, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco vacated Korematsu’s conviction. He said in court, “I would like to see the government admit that they were wrong and do something about it so this will never happen again to any American citizen of any race, creed, or color.”

Korematsu’s dedication and determination established him as a national icon of civil rights and social justice. He advocated for justice with Rosa Parks. In 1998, President Bill Clinton gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom saying, “In the long history of our country’s constant search for justice, some names of ordinary citizens stand for millions of souls … To that distinguished list, today we add the name of Fred Korematsu.”

After Sept. 11, 2001, Korematsu spoke out against hatred and discrimination, saying what happened to Japanese Americans should not happen to people of Middle Eastern descent.
Korematsu’s roots in Oakland and his education in OUSD are a source of great pride for the city, according to the school district. His most famous quote, which is on the Korematsu elementary school mural, is as relevant now as ever, “If you have the feeling that something is wrong, don’t be afraid to speak up.”