Through Project Hometown’s community engagement, we listen to diverse perspectives on the challenges of the pandemic and long-standing barriers to economic opportunity. Across a range of Project Hometown events, our region’s experts have shared:
- Even before the pandemic, life expectancy for Black Chicagoans was on average 8.8 years fewer than other Chicago residents.
- Only 2% of minority businesses nationwide gross over $1 million annually, in part because of a lack of access to credit that stems from centuries of discrimination within the financial sector.
- Over the past 40 years, the disappearance of manufacturing jobs, combined with discriminatory housing policies and disinvestment, have left many minority “middle neighborhoods” particularly vulnerable to economic shocks.
While these facts are only a few examples of unequal outcomes in our communities, they help illustrate what underlies and motivates our work.
Our knowledge—shaped by academic research alongside conversations and interactions with members of our communities—is always growing.
Since July 2020, the Chicago Fed has hosted held multiple public forums with experts and policy makers across the district to listen to and learn what is needed to help our communities recover, meet future challenges, become more resilient, and thrive.
While these facts are only a few examples of unequal outcomes in our communities, they help illustrate what underlies and motivates our work.
Our knowledge—shaped by academic research alongside conversations and interactions with members of our communities—is always growing.
Our work continues.
