Digital financial platform Greenwood recently announced a new platform built to help people with investing.
Known as Greenwood Invest, the platform is part of the company’s current mobile app. Available for members, it’s dedicated to helping users trace stock performances and other business stats before investing.
Through its individual GreenBook section, Greenwood will provide users with the ability to invest in private companies owned by Black and Latino entrepreneurs to increase the amount of Black and Latino-owned businesses.
Founded in 2020 by activist and politician Andrew Young alongside entrepreneur Ryan Glover and rapper Michael “Killer Mike” Render, the investment company’s goal is to decrease the racial wealth gap in the U.S.
“It’s no secret the current financial system has failed at keeping wealth in the Black and Latino community,” wrote the founders on their site. “Our communities suffer from a lack of wealth, money circulation in the Black community, and generational transfer. That is why we created a new Black owned institution.”
The app is directly inspired by the Greenwood District. Located in Oklahoma, Greenwood was a thriving community in the early 1900s, housing a variety of businesses by Black entrepreneurs. The wealth of the area, sprung by the emergence of hotels, cafes, newspapers and movie theaters, earned Greenwood the title of Black Wall Street.
In 1921, the 35-acre expanse of commercial and residential property was destroyed by a white mob over the course of two days during what’s known as the Tulsa massacre.
Per the Joint Economic Committee, over $27 million in today’s money was destroyed during the looting and destruction of property in Greenwood.
According to the department, Black Americans in Oklahoma are still recovering from the effects of the violent Tulsa massacre over 100 years after it happened. As a result of the two-day destruction of Black Wall Street, Black Americans in Tulsa are still left with lower rates of home ownership, net worth and occupational status.
Overall, the racial wealth gap in the U.S. as a whole continues to perpetuate similar inequities nationwide.
Per the American Civil Liberties Union, the gap in homeownership between Black families and white families grew to more than 30% in 2022, as only 45% of Black families reported that they own a home compared to the 75% of white families who reported the same.
The gap in income has also increased; whereas the median income for a white family consisting of three individuals was $84,600, the median income for a Black family with the same number of people was significantly less at $51,600.
The contributors to the racial wealth gap in the U.S. include racial bias in mortgage loans, income inequality and housing discrimination.
