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CLOSING THE RACIAL WEALTH GAP INITIATIVE
Experts of Color Network Newsletter
"Diverse Voices Lead to Equitable Solutions"
Welcome to the Experts of Color Network July 2012 Newsletter. For more news, please see our Twitter account (you don't have to be a Twitter user for access).
You can also read our new blog here and prior network newsletters here.
IN THIS EDITION:
Save the Date
GlobalPolicy.tv
New Network Members
News
Events
Opportunities
SAVE THE DATE
 Please save the date for an exclusive Expert of Color Network Summit, featuring provocative discussions and opportunities to interact with fellow Network members.
The Summit will take place from Monday, December 3rd through Wednesday, December 5th, at the Miami Beach Resort and Spa, Miami Beach, FL.
Stay tuned for more details coming soon!
GlobalPolicyTV
We are happy to announce a partnership between the Experts of Color Network and GlobalPolicy.tv, a web-based public affairs platform which helps policymakers understand that we can best solve our problems when we recognize, leverage, and deploy the best ideas from a wide variety of sources. GlobalPolicy.tv is currently seeking submissions and contributors to showcase diverse voices with real solutions for a changing world. They will regularly feature publications from Expert of Color Network members and may reach out to you soon.
NEW NETWORK MEMBERS
  
Please join us in welcoming Colette Pichon Battle, Ricky Joseph, and Jeffrey Lowe to the Experts of Color Network. You can read more about them by clicking on their names.
The CRWG Experts of Color Network Criteria and Responsibilities is now accessible online. If you are not familiar with them, please review at your convenience.
NEWS
Black-White Wealth Gap now 22 to 1
 CNNMoney reported that the wealth gap worsened during the Great Recession. Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians experienced a 60% drop in median household net worth while whites experienced a 23% decline between 2005-2010.
2012 CRWG Thought Leader Fellows' Continued Success
 Last month, we introduced the first cohort of CRWG Thought Leader Fellows. As a result of the Fellowship, several Fellows had already been published on the front page of outlets such as CNN, the Huffington Post, and NPR. This month, we highlight more recent successes:
 Trina Shanks - Writing for CNN, Trina Shanks discussed how educational outcomes are tightly linked to parents' economic status. Even children with proven academic ability fall behind if they grow up in families that are poor. Shanks advocated for use of proven tools such as universal preschool and child savings accounts to increase opportunity for children. Trina was also featured on The Bright Side to share strategies for financial independence.
 Dave Baldridge - In The Christian Science Monitor and the Huffington Post, Dave Baldridge highlighted how Paul Ryan's proposed cuts to healthcare and social security would devastate tribal lands already under dire economic and social stress.
 Jim Carr - Carr asserted on PBS that the Federal Reserve's skewed distribution of federal economic support favors the wealthy and fuels inequality. Jim also co-authored a report entitled Analyzing Foreclosures Among Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino Borrowers in Prince Georges County, MD for the journal Housing and Society.
 Tanya Fiddler - In Changing The Face Of Poverty, Fiddler discussed Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) located on tribal lands which are experiencing more growth and lower default rates than major financial institutions. Fiddler noted that South Dakota's reservations experienced a median income growth of 40 percent and employment growth of 11 percent while the state's levels were at 27 percent and 7 percent.
 Mariko Chang - Mariko Chang's CNN article advocated for passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act. Black women currently make 69.5 cents and Hispanic women earn 60.5 cents for every dollar earned by their white male counterparts. This Act would prohibit employers from firing employees for discussing pay, prevent secrecy about pay, and close loopholes limiting legal remedies when employees have been discriminated against.
If you would like to be considered for a future CRWG Thought Leader Fellowship cohort, please email Anand at anands@insightcced.org.
For the full list of 2012 CRWG Thought Leader Fellows, please click here.
William Rodgers on Business Day Live
 William M. Rodgers, Ph.D. was featured on Business Day Live to comment on new employment figures from the ADP report.
Preeti Vissa in Rooflines
 Preeti Vissa blogged about how to save homeownership in America. Noting the disproportionate impact of the housing crisis on people of color, she suggested that we 1) stop blaming the victims, 2) provide a second chance through new credit scoring models, and 3) promote sustainable homeownership. Read more here.
Angela Glover Blackwell Interviews Lisa Hasegawa
 Alan Jenkins wrote about the growing number of states diverting settlement funds earmarked for preventing foreclosure and preserving homeownership to use for unrelated expenses, highlighting how these practices are likely to disproportionately impact homeowners of color who were targeted for predatory lending. Read more here. Alan also appeared on the "Melissa Harris-Perry Show" and wrote for the Dallas Morning News in reaction to the Trayvon Martin case.
Heather McGhee on MSNBC's "Now With Alex Wagner"
 Heather McGhee appeared on "Now With Alex Wagner" to discuss the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to uphold Citizens United by striking down the Montana law limiting campaign finance. She pointed to opinion polls indicating public disappointment with the Court for catering to Corporate interests over those of ordinary Americans. She also commented on recent developments in immigration reform.
Algernon Austin on the Economic Policy Institute Blog
 Algernon Austin wrote about institutional discrimination in response to Richard Cohen's illustration in the Washington Post of how racial bigotry has decreased. Algernon directed readers to various studies and books that evidence de facto segregation in our schools and racial inequality in the labor market and criminal justice system.
Wealth Creation in the Black Community
 Multi-millionaire Robert L. Johnson spoke about how structural racism has led to racial wealth disparities: "We must admit the harsh reality of a history of institutionalized racism and economic discrimination against African Americans is the primary cause of wealth disparity between Black and white Americans... we must be willing to talk about race recognition remedies at the highest levels of government as well as between Black and white Americans.... Something has to be done to recalibrate our economic system to address these problems. We need the political courage to propose race-based remedies based on the disparity caused by past and present race discrimination. In the next 25 to 30 years, the majority of Americans will be black and Hispanic. There is a compelling national interest in addressing racial disparity and if we are to be a successful nation and compete globally, we must ensure that all Americans are given an opportunity to fully participate in the U.S. economic system."
EVENTS
Dreams Deferred: Opportunities, Challenges, and Solutions for Building Financial Security
CRWG Initiative Director Anne Price will be speaking on a panel for "Dreams Deferred: Opportunities, Challenges, and Solutions for Building Financial Security," hosted by EARN,on Thursday, July 19th in Los Angeles. For more information and to register, please click here.
OPPORTUNITIES
Fed Call for Papers
The Community Affairs Officers of the Federal Reserve are seeking submissions for the 8th Federal Reserve Community Development Research Conference, "Resilience and Rebuilding for Low-Income Communities: Research to Inform Policy and Practice," taking place in April 2013 in Washington, DC.
Director of State and Local Initiatives, Green For All
Green For All is seeking a new Director of State and Local Initiatives.
Young Scholars, Young Scholars Program
The Foundation for Child Development is seeking new Young Scholars (four early career researchers who are tenure-track or tenured in the last four years) to support their scholarly development and research on the education and health of young children (from birth to age 10) living in low-income immigrant families.
Community Engagement Director, California Construction Academy
The California Construction Academy of the UCLA Labor Center is seeking a new Community Engagement Director
Executive Director, Praxis International
Praxis International is seeking a new Executive Director.
Executive Director, Center for Third World Organizing (CTWO)
The Center for Third World Organizing is seeking a new Executive Director.
Communications Director, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC-U)
Restaurant Opportunities Centers United is seeking a new Communications Director.
Alston Bannerman Fellowship, CSI
Please submit any news, reports, events or job opportunities you would like us to feature in the next newsletter to anands@insightcced.org.
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THE EXPERTS OF COLOR NETWORK
With a searchable database that contains over 180 of the leading minds on asset-building and the economy, expertise is just a click away. Visit www.expertsofcolor.org.
 
  
CONTACT US
Anne Price,
Director aprice@insightcced.org
Anand Subramanian, Program Manager anands@insightcced.org
The Insight Center for Community Economic Development is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to help people and communities become, and remain, economically secure through innovative employment, early childhood, business development, and asset building programs.
Learn more at: www.insightcced.org
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