Race and the Recession

News of the economic recession in the U.S. has been front-page news since the foreclosure crisis started in 2007. In a new report entitled Race and the Recession, the Applied Research Center (ARC) details that people of color have been in a recession for decades, not just in the past two years. The ARC is a think tank that focuses on racial justice, activism, and innovative technology. The report argues that a root cause of today's economic crisis is racial inequality, greatly contributing to our unstable economy.

ARC makes the case that a variety of troubling factors led to a disproportionate impact on communities of color. A combination of long-term housing and job discrimination keeps people of color in a constant state of recession. Unfair housing practices such as redlining makes it difficult for people of color to move out of these neighborhoods, and puts them at risk for predatory subprime loans. A total of one third of people who received subprime loans were eligible for prime loans, but were subjected to deceptive loan practices.

Job discrimination has kept people of color out of better paying jobs, despite often being qualified. People of color are also losing their jobs at a rapid pace because they are largely employed in sectors hit hard by the economy such as construction and auto making. This discrimination compounded with general economic crisis over the past few years resulted in small safety nets being depleted.

The report makes a wide variety of progressive yet realistic recommendations to turn our deeply damaged economy around. In the long term, further racial inequality needs to be prevented. Universal healthcare, legalized immigration, and a higher minimum wage should be implemented soon. Foreclosures and immigration raids should be halted immediately, and welfare time limits abolished.

Although the recession is real and has affected most Americans, it is important to understand its historical roots in order to reverse racial and economic inequality. Browse the full report for a series of informative graphs and a flow chart that shows the history of housing discrimination in the U.S. and check out their video below for a preview of the report.