At the Essence Festival in New Orleans on Saturday, Sen. Kamala Harris proposed a $100 billion plan to encourage black homeownership.
The plan calls for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to make $25,000 available to black buyers to help with down payments and closing costs. Harris also proposes to require credit rating agencies to change the way they rate borrowers, and to pass tougher anti-discrimination laws.
“By taking these steps we can shrink the wealth gap between Black and White households by at least one third,” Harris said. In a statement on her website, Harris blamed the racial gap in home ownership on purported discrimination in redlining and the G.I. Bill, and on the Great Recession.