In Focus: How housing can shrink the racial wealth gap

Income inequality is deepening in America. Economic gains in recent decades have been unevenly dispersed, with the vast majority of the wealth going to those already on top. Part of that discrepancy is rooted in the inability to buy property.

Owning your own home is a key part of building wealth in the U.S., thanks to federal tax policy. But for many people of color, the door to home ownership has long been closed. In fact, Minnesota has one of the largest racial homeownership gaps in the country. Why is this, and what can be done to narrow the gap and set families of color on the road to solid housing and wealth creation?

Listen to this recorded In Focus event as MPR News host Angela Davis leads a discussion about the racial wealth gap in Minnesota with panelists from across the state. 

Guests:

• Kim Smith-Moore is the senior director of homeownership programs at MN Homeownership Center.

• LeAnn Littlewolf is the co-executive director of the American Indian Community Housing Organization (AICHO), based in Duluth.

• Karla Benson Rutten, executive director of the St. Paul campus of the Jeremiah Program, which works with single moms and their children to break the cycle of generational poverty.