Can We Finally Close Racial Homeownership Gaps? Insights from Three New Initiatives

Several promising new efforts attempt to address the underlying issues of the racial homeownership gap through comprehensive, race-conscious, place-based initiatives that have been collaboratively developed and implemented. This conversation will feature leaders of three efforts to close the homeownership gap. Nikitra Bailey of the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) will discuss Keys Unlock Dreams, an NFHA/Urban Institute initiative to close racial wealth and homeownership gaps in 10 US cities. Doreen Graves will share information about Convergence Memphis, an initiative led by the Mortgage Bankers Association and Tennessee Housing Development Agency to increase African American homeownership in Memphis. And Chrystal Kornegay will provide an overview of MassHousing’s CommonWealth Builder Program, which seeks to create homeownership opportunities and build generational wealth in communities of color, particularly in the state’s Gateway Cities. Chris Herbert, managing director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies, will moderate.