WASHINGTON, D.C. – Thursday, June 19th marks Juneteenth, a federal holiday recognized in 2021 to commemorate the effective end of slavery in the United States. Economic inclusion remains essential to ensuring that communities of color have the opportunity to thrive. Better Markets has released a Fact Sheet describing how discrimination and limited access to financial services continue to imperil the American Dream for many individuals and families. The Fact Sheet also highlights how actions taken by the Trump Administration are threatening decades of progress toward building a more inclusive economy.
“The 2008 financial crisis showed that when regulators look the other way, communities of color are the first to suffer and the last to recover. Juneteenth should serve as a call to action. We must confront the ways discriminatory practices continue in our financial system and work to ensure that everyone, regardless of race or zip code, has a fair chance at economic security and opportunity,” said Cantrell Dumas, Director of Derivatives Policy at Better Markets.
“Juneteenth is a moment to reflect on the legacy of slavery and racial discrimination in the United States. We must be willing to face the ways that these injustices persist in new forms, including through housing discrimination, underinvestment in communities of color, and unequal access to financial services and economic opportunity,” said Amanda Fischer, Policy Director and Chief Operating Officer at Better Markets.
“Studies consistently show that diversity and DEI initiatives boost financial performance,” said Ben Schiffrin, Director of Securities Policy at Better Markets. “So the current backlash to those initiatives not only inhibits a more equitable society but is also economically irrational.”
“Recent Executive Orders dangerously threaten the progress that has been made toward economic inclusion in the financial system,” said Shayna Olesiuk, Director of Banking Policy at Better Markets. “Without frameworks to identify and correct instances in which people are being treated unfairly, and without data and reporting on advances toward inclusion and opportunities for further improvement, underserved communities and individuals will surely fall further behind financially, the wealth gap will increase, and household financial resilience will erode.”
The Fact Sheet is available here.
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Better Markets is a non-profit, non-partisan, and independent organization founded in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to promote the public interest in the financial markets, support the financial reform of Wall Street and make our financial system work for all Americans again. Better Markets works with allies—including many in finance—to promote pro-market, pro-business and pro-growth policies that help build a stronger, safer financial system that protects and promotes Americans’ jobs, savings, retirements and more. To learn more, visit www.bettermarkets.org.
