Author: Christopher Pitts

Opportunity Zones (OZ) represent our country’s newest strategy to improve struggling communities. There are about 8,700 designated areas, which are required to have a poverty rate of at least 20%. Minorities should benefit as the program is designed as a tax benefit, that specifically encourages investors to place funds into low-income neighborhoods. Ultimately, the goal of these OZ tracts is to use the investment to create new housing developments, businesses and jobs for those most in need.

By Christopher Pitts The homeownership rate among Black people stands at 41.1% Black homeownership is as low as it was when housing discrimination was legal in 1960s For Black America the pursuit of the American Dream has never wavered, yet they still lag significantly behind other ethnic groups in terms of homeownership. The reasoning starts

By Christopher Pitts The homeownership rate among Black people stands at 41.1% Black homeownership is as low as it was when housing discrimination was legal in 1960s For Black America the pursuit of the American Dream has never wavered, yet they still lag significantly behind other ethnic groups in terms of homeownership. The reasoning starts

‍ By Christopher Pitts The homeownership rate among black people stands at 41.1% Black homeownership is as low as it was when housing discrimination was legal in 1960s For Black America the pursuit of the American Dream has never wavered, yet they still lag significantly behind other ethnic groups in terms of homeownership. The reasoning

By Christopher Pitts 6 of the 10 fastest-growing economies are in Africa Amadou Gallo Fall will now serve as president of Basketball Africa League (BAL) With the uprising of Africa as an emerging market, it seems only fitting that the NBA would capitalize on years of grassroots basketball initiatives. Recently hired Amadou Gallo Fall, the

By Christopher Pitts Renaissance Equity Partners creates HBCU Opportunity Zone Fund 56% of Opportunity Zones residents are minorities Forever underfunded, always appreciated, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HCBUs) boast adequate educational environments, however the areas surrounding them are often devoid of investment. Renaissance Equity Partners, a black owned investment banking firm, along with the HBCU

By Christopher Pitts Amazon launched Belei a private skin care product line African Americans spent $465M on skin care preparations product E-commerce giant Amazon (AMZN +0.54%) charted new territory by entering into the billion dollar beauty industry with the launch of Belei, a new skin care product line. This move can give them a bigger

By Christopher Pitts In 2018 HR Block and Intuit spent $6.6M lobbying for tax legislation 70% of Americans are already eligible to file taxes for free Let’s face it, preparing your taxes can be difficult if not an arduous process, and for several years now the IRS has advocated for a filing system to make

By Christopher Pitts Uber’s market cap is $70B Approximately 22% of U.S. Uber drivers are Black Ride hailing giant Uber’s (UBER 2.53%) failed IPO and driver discourse has caused many investors to worry. In the decade that Uber has existed they have yet to turn a profit, and in 2018 lost more than $3 billion,

By Christopher Pitts U.S. adults who earned at least $75K a year are twice as likely as lower-income Americans to participate in the sharing economy Since 2010, venture capitalists have poured $23B into the sharing economy The sharing economy has become one of the fastest growing trends in the past couple of years. Since 2010,

By Christopher Pitts Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin predicts $100B in capital investment will come from Opportunity Zones Black Americans are particularly over-represented in the 8700 designated Opportunity Zones Opportunity Zones (OZ) represent our country’s newest strategy to improve struggling communities. There are about 8,700 designated areas, which are required to have a poverty rate of

By Christopher Pitts U.S. college sports programs took in $14B in 2018 Black men make up 55% of the football players and 56% of basketball players in the Power Five athletic conferences California Governor Gavin Newsom changed the game, when he signed a bill that would allow college athletes to earn money from endorsement deals.

By Christopher Pitts Dollar stores customers earn around $40K a year Since 2011, the number of dollar stores has grown from 20K to nearly 30K As we look across the U.S. Dollar stores have never been more popular, especially in communities of color, ultimately taking full advantage of the black dollar. Originally, these stores had

By Christopher Pitts Nationwide, charter schools are funded at 61% of their district counterparts Unlike traditional district schools, charter schools do not receive funding to cover the cost of securing a facility Over the past few decades, minority parents are seeing school choice as a strategy to improve educational outcomes for their children. However, school

By Christopher Pitts Incarceration can cost an average of $60K per inmate in some states In 2017, there were 1,549 black prisoners for every 100K black adults On any given day, U.S. jails now hold more than 730,000 people. While most of the urban poor are susceptible to harsher treatment from law enforcement which has

By Christopher Pitts Investors are shelling out $25M to support business growth in historically underinvested Baltimore neighborhoods Bank loans to Baltimore businesses fell from a total of $457M in 2007 to $307M in 2016 In Baltimore, Impact Investors are launching a $25 million investment fund designed to meet the needs of business owners. The new

By Christopher Pitts Restaurants have begun to issue “dining bonds” which work like discounted gift cards The number of African-American-owned restaurants surged to 49% between 2007-2012 The coronavirus outbreak has derailed the restaurant industry at an alarming rate, with an increasing number of states and regions enforcing population lockdowns and closing “non-essential” businesses. Before the

By Christopher Pitts Approximately 12% of Black and brown business owners who applied for PPP received the amount of money originally requested Black business ownership is down almost 40% since the coronavirus pandemic ensued The disappearance of Black businesses is becoming more severe by the day, as economic conditions deteriorate due to the COVID-19 crisis