Support our non-partisan non-profit newsroom 💜 Donate now

Arlo Washington is the barber — and banker — of Little Rock

Washington's mission to bring economic justice to Arkansas is on display in the Oscar-nominated film "The Barber of Little Rock."
"If you can have a trade and a skill that's essential and needed, and you also have access to an opportunity, then you're able to create a sustainable, profitable and scalable business for yourself as an entrepreneur," Arlo Washington said.
Courtesy Story Syndicate

If reparations aren't politically viable, what's the next best thing?

Jan 5, 2024
Scholars say local action directed at improving access to housing, health care and education are more likely to pass than cash payments.
Many Black families were excluded from suburbs that were rapidly growing in the '50s and '60s.
Illustration: Dylan Miettinen/Marketplace | Photo: Courtesy USC Libraries. “Dick” Whittington Photography Collection

New federal programs aim to shrink the racial housing gap

Jun 20, 2022
The homeownership rate among Black Americans is 42%. For white Americans, it's more than 70%.
Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Inequality by design: How redlining continues to shape our economy

Apr 16, 2020
A traveling exhibit connects the racist housing policies of the past to the inequities of today.
Nathan Connolly, a professor of history at Johns Hopkins University, stands in front of the Undesign the Redline exhibit at Impact Hub Baltimore.
Amy Scott/Marketplace

In Baltimore, segregation can be felt even in your wallet

Jun 7, 2019
One journalist spent years reporting on segregation in Baltimore, Maryland. He found that segregated communities can shape our economic futures.
A mural of Freddie Gray near the location where he was arrested is pictured in Baltimore, Maryland in 2016.
Win McNamee/Getty Images

Barriers to homeownership still exist for people of color

Feb 15, 2018
A report from Reveal looks at racial discrimination in the mortgage business and the legacy of redlining.
A 1937 map of Philadelphia shows redlining of neighborhoods.
Wikimedia Commons

How federal policy from the 1930s continues to harm Philadelphia and other cities

Jan 11, 2018
Real estate appraisers would negatively evaluate areas if people of color lived there.
A man walks into a heroin encampment in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
DOMINICK REUTER/AFP/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

In Detroit, a risky alternative to mortgages

Oct 6, 2016
With lending unavailable, home buyers have turned to an option with few protections.
A house that's for sale on a land contract in Detroit. It's common for a house to need a gut rehab.
Lewis Wallace/Marketplace

Why there's almost no mortgage lending in Detroit

Oct 5, 2016
Houses are cheap. But banks won't make loans, especially in black neighborhoods
Getting a loan in Detroit, where median home values are still well below $50,000, has become rare.
Lewis Wallace/Marketplace