“Historical patterns of racist practices are at the core, including redlining, racial covenants on deeds, predatory lending practices targeted to the Black community during the Great Recession, and mass purchase of foreclosed homes by owner/investors.”

The Star Tribune recently featured the Center and Network partner PRG, Inc. in a look at why Minnesota’s Black homeownership gap is so high. “People think it’s due to a failure to pull themselves up by their bootstraps,” said Kathy Wetzel-Mastel, executive director of PRG. “There have been decades and decades of policy that have stacked the deck against Black households,” creating a wealth gap that puts homeownership out of reach…

Confronting the Black Homeownership Gap in Minnesota