Thursday, March 28, 2024

NCLR President Testifies Before House Committee on Need for Attention to Communities of Color in Economic Recovery Efforts

On Wednesday, representatives from national civil rights organizations testified before the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform about the experiences and unique challenges that communities of color face in this time of economic struggle.Testimony was delivered by a number of leaders including Janet Murguía, President and CEO of NCLR (National Council of La Raza), Dr. Christian E. Weller, Senior Fellow at CAPAF (Center for American Progress Actions Fund), Marc Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League (NUL), and Lisa Hasegawa, Executive Director for the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD).

Panelists testified about the recession’s devastating impacts on communities of colors which face unemployment, loss of income, foreclosures and wage disparities. Murguia said, “Since the beginning of the recession, more than one million Latinos have lost their jobs. More than 400,000 Latino families are predicted to lose their homes to foreclosure this year alone. These are staggering figures that demand a bold response.”

According to Murguia, Latinos have about a 30 percent greater chance than non-Hispanic whites of receiving a mortgage with high costs and interest.

She added, “We won’t be able to get our economy back on track until we get the hardest-hit families in a position to secure sustainable jobs and mortgages. It’s that simple.”

Lisa Hasegawa, Executive Director for National CAPACD said, “We need to work together to ensure that communities of color do not disproportionately bear the burden of the economic downturn. We need to mobilize the strengths of community-based organizations to deploy federal employment, small business, education, and housing resources and programs in underserved communities of color.”

The national unemployment rate currently stands at 9.7 percent, while African American unemployment exceeds 14 percent, and the rate for Hispanics rose to 13 percent in August.

Latin American Herald  Tribune

National Council of La Raza

Bureau of Labor Statistics