The National Community Stabilization Trust mourns the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and far too many others who have died as a result of racialized police brutality. As an organization committed to strengthening neighborhoods of color and promoting racial equity in homeownership, NCST stands in solidarity with the Black community and all who seek to dismantle four hundred years of personal and structural racism.

NCST’s DC office is now surrounded by a multi-block stretch of shattered glass and fire- and water-damaged storefronts and lobbies. As upsetting as it is to see, the vandalism is a vivid representation of the pain and frustration that so many people feel – and a timely reminder that it’s a privilege to live and work where residential and commercial spaces are occupied and well maintained.

Such is not the case in many neighborhoods in which NCST operates, which continue to grapple with vacancy and blight stemming from years of disinvestment. Redlining practices that prevented lenders from serving Black people and communities of color have left an ugly legacy of geographic racial inequity that affects not only housing but health and educational outcomes as well. For example, the recent Covid-19 crisis has disproportionately affected these very same communities. Ongoing discrimination – sometimes more subtle than in the past but no less damaging — continues to double down on historical injustices.

As we have since our founding in 2008, NCST will work to identify and uproot the racist policies and practices that have systemically devalued property in Black communities and blocked opportunities for Black people to achieve prosperity. We will affirmatively advance racial equity by investing in Black neighborhoods and communities of color, preventing vacancy and blight, supporting minority-led nonprofits and small businesses developing affordable housing, and empowering residents to build wealth through homeownership on fair, affordable and sustainable terms.

As an organization and as individuals committed to anti-racism, we pledge to make space for Black voices and experiences to be heard. We will increase the diversity of our staff and board, provide additional support to our partners in communities of color, and provide a seat at the table to those who have previously been locked out of critical conversations and decisions. Through these and other actions, NCST hopes to bring about a better, more equitable future.