Affordable housing is an integral part of creating a unified, spiritually connected society within the United States. When there are more opportunities available for everyone, we are better able to create diverse communities. It has not always been easy for minorities to become homeowners, but Wells Fargo & Company has recently taken a massive step towards helping people to achieve this goal.

The bank leader announced at a press conference in Atlanta last month that they would set aside $60 billion to lend to at least 250,000 black homeowners by the year 2027. Dedicating such a sizeable sum to this purpose demonstrates that the company will remain committed to reducing the housing gap that country has faced over the years.

Issues such as gentrification, minority diasporas from expensive cities, and “UN-affordable housing” have made it difficult for African Americans to become homeowners in their own communities. With the help of Wells Fargo’s lending promise, these issues are guaranteed to decline to some degree.

The company also announced that they would spend another $15 million to provide financial education and counseling over the next 10 years. This is another vitally important piece of the puzzle, as many community members (not just minority groups) often fall into difficult housing situations due to a lack of knowledge regarding homeownership best practices.

To cultivate the best possible outcome, Wells Fargo will be working alongside the National Newspaper Publishers Association, an organization comprised of 211 African-American-owned newspapers and media companies. Together, they will utilize their collective resources to create a community of knowledge that will help to increase as well as retain levels of African-American homeownership.

Wells Fargo also pledged to increase the diversity of its home lending sales team to complement their endeavor. This will include increasing the number of Black home mortgage consultants as well as other positions. In addition to creating direct opportunities for minority groups to impact the housing gap, this effort will also support the company’s financial counseling venture.

This isn’t Wells Fargo’s first venture into addressing the minority homeownership gap in the United States. In 2015, the company set a goal to lend $125 billion to support the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals’ “Hispanic Wealth Project.” Similar to their support of Black homeowners, they also set a goal of $10 million to support a variety of projects that promote financial education and counseling for Hispanic homebuyers.

These types of initiatives are vital to fostering a sense of community, both locally and nationally. Buying a house has become a staple of American society as homeownership status has tremendous economic implications for our country. It’s especially important that minority groups maintain the same opportunities to become homeowners, in order to create a healthy
and thriving country.