The value of contracts awarded to these same businesses jumped 40% over last year, which Wu attributes to the efforts of partners, including BECMA.
In 2021, a report commissioned by the city found that of the $2.1 billion in contracts the city of Boston signed with businesses, only 1.2 percent went to Black- and Latino-owned businesses over a five-year period. , highlighting large disparities in how cities spend their money. Businesses owned by people of color.
The second day of the annual Mass Black Expo was held at BCEC. The audience listens to a speech by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. John Turmacchi/Globe Staff
Despite the city’s progress, Wu acknowledged that many inequality gaps remain significant today.
“There’s a lot of work to be done on this,” Wu said. “But today is about getting back to work and recognizing that the entire future is before us.”
Wu made the announcement at the council’s annual Mass Black Expo. The conference focused on the racial wealth gap and the various strategies and opportunities available to Black business owners and residents in the state to succeed in the face of deeply entrenched systemic barriers. be. . Approximately 1,400 people registered to attend this year’s sixth annual conference, which featured seminars on topics such as equity in homeownership and intergenerational wealth.
In Boston, black communities have long borne the brunt of discriminatory policies that have contributed to years of underinvestment in neighborhoods like Roxbury and Dorchester. For example, redlining practices denied financial services to residents of these areas with large populations of people of color.
A 2015 Boston Fed report found that the average net worth of black households was just $8. A 2022 Urban Institute analysis then estimated the net worth of black residents at $11,000, compared to about $215,000 for white residents.
On the first day of the conference, BECMA, created after the release of the Fed’s controversial “The Color of Wealth” report, announced it would raise $25 million over the next year as part of its goal of closing the racial wealth gap. announced that it plans to do so. Researchers say that gap persists today as a result of racism and other obstacles faced by people of color in Boston.
For example, the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in 2020 brought a reckoning over racial injustice, including in Boston, where leaders declared racism a public health threat. brought about the period of Many efforts were also made to reconcile existing disparities.
The second day of the annual Mass Black Expo was held at BCEC. Carl Henry Auguste, an insurance agent from Brockton, takes a coffee break overlooking the Boston skyline. John Turmacchi/Globe Staff
But many black business owners in Boston recently told the Globe that much of that support has fallen by the wayside, citing declining sales and investment.
Massachusetts also has one of the largest racial disparities in homeownership in the country, even though homeownership assistance programs help many families purchase their first home. Last year’s report found that they exist at all income levels across the state.
“The path to economic equity will not be easy,” Harvey Duvernet, CEO of Windwalker Group, said during the conference. “The disparities we face are deeply entrenched and will not disappear overnight. But it is our perseverance and determination that will drive progress…”
Leaders who spoke at the event provided guidance and resources to Black professionals in attendance to help them build equity and grow wealth.
In a talk on creating and maintaining wealth through homeownership, speakers including state Rep. Andy Vargas and MassHousing CEO Crystal Cornegay talked about how to buy a first-time home and take advantage of available subsidies. He encouraged people to ask about programs that might be helpful.
“If you don’t ask questions, you don’t get anything,” Cornegay said.
Emilio Dorcely, CEO of Urban Edge, said the controversial MBTA would require cities and towns within the MBTA’s service area to pass new zoning to allow multifamily housing in densely populated areas. Referring to community law, he said the purpose of the bill was to have maximum impact. The number of options people of color have to become homeowners and build wealth.
He said the issue of supply is “so important that unless we can maximize the number of places we can build, we won’t be able to achieve that goal.”
Other talks will help Black residents learn about financial and social capital, and think long-term about investing in stocks, budgeting, and protecting assets to ensure the security of future generations. The focus was on how to build wealth.
Wendy Matthews, owner of her company Inside Out Creations in Dorchester, has arranged for her products to be sold from her booth in the Black-Owned Pavilion. John Turmacchi/Globe Staff
Janet Velasquez, founder of Velasquez Tax & Business Services, also recommended implementing good accounting systems and emphasized the importance of financial literacy.
The message that it is important that Black communities are represented at the table and that policies and initiatives are aimed at building wealth resonated throughout the conference.
The second day of the annual Mass Black Expo was held at BCEC. John Turmacchi/Globe Staff
“Boston will continue to set an example at a time when we desperately need an example of what it looks like to move forward, not backward,” Wu said.
Previous Globe material was used in this report.
This article was produced by the Globe’s Money, Power and Inequality team, which covers the racial wealth gap in metropolitan Boston. You can sign up for our newsletter here.
Shannon Larson can be reached at shannon.larson@globe.com. follow her @shannonlarson98.
