Equity and injustice are global issues that surface in the lives of all chief executives. YPO members from around the globe have been working to create learning opportunities to help guide their fellow YPO peers and other leaders to be agents of change.
While the current protests that began in the United States were kindled by the death of George Floyd, it is about so much more. It’s about the many eyes that are now wide open after witnessing a Black man’s murder under the knee of systems that have been failing so many for so long. It’s about a demand to those of us who are privileged to commit to equitable dispensation of power, justice and economics.
I find myself these days recounting historical pains and working to democratize common sense because we are so polarized as a people that common sense isn’t so common.
Here is what I mean in the form of an equitable life outcomes litmus test. If there is an “event” like a police officer with a knee on the neck of an unarmed alleged bad guy and you exchange out the actors based on race, meaning the one who is being knelt on is now white and it “becomes” criminal, it was criminal from the beginning.
Stated differently and less graphically but nonetheless as insidious, if two people of equal merit, accomplishment and credit score apply for a loan, and you give the one with lighter skin the loan, most of the time at the expense of the darker-skinned person, it is likely not only illegal, but amoral.
Many colleagues within my network have reached out to ask my opinion on a way forward and to memorialize how they might affect significant change. I could devote considerable time to many topics around power, justice and equity. However, I want to provide my business peers some personal insights into our current moment and what we, as corporate leaders, can do to ensure that we don’t waste this crisis. My hope is that we leverage these action steps to facilitate a sustainable path forward.
Here is a glimpse into my organization’s — Midwest BankCentre — journey over the past decade in becoming more diverse and inclusive and striving to create economic opportunity for more people. I don’t claim that we have everything right; we fall short of the victory lap, but through a sustained effort, we’ve made great progress.
A wholesale change of heart
While today we are committed to inclusion and providing access to capital for all within our span of care at Midwest BankCentre (MBC), our commitment to traditionally marginalized communities is a relatively new development in our venerable history.
MBC is St. Louis’s second largest local privately owned bank with assets exceeding USD2 billion. A mainstay of St. Louis community banking since 1906, the bank employs a staff of more than 250 at locations throughout the St. Louis region. Today, we are a nationally recognized leader in community and economic development. In addition to our digital bank that is in 48 states, we have 17 physical branches, some of which are in St. Louis’s most economically challenged communities, while others are in the most affluent. In banking, proximity matters, but accessibility is about more than location. MBC is committed to providing access to opportunity to all people. We are committed to making meaningful, long-term investments in communities that lift more people up.
But, as I have intimated up to this point, less than 10 years ago, the bank’s narrative was very different.
Blessings in disguise
In 2009, SLEHCRA (St. Louis Equal Housing & Community Reinvestment Alliance) accused MBC of “redlining,” or withholding home loans from neighborhoods often considered poor, economic risks. Redlining is generally defined as the unethical practice that puts financial and other services out of reach for residents of certain areas based on race or ethnicity. It can be seen in the systematic denial of mortgages, insurance, loans, and other financial services based on location, and that area’s default history, rather than an individual’s qualifications and creditworthiness. Notably, the policy of redlining is felt the most by residents of minority and Black neighborhoods.
The lawsuit alleged that the bank served the credit needs of the residents of predominantly white neighborhoods to a significantly greater extent than they have served the credit needs of majority African American neighborhoods.
In June 2011, the bank settled the case. And, while not seen that way at the start, the bank’s leaders and majority ownership now consider these events as blessings in disguise and defining moments. It helped open their eyes, minds and hearts to broader challenges that they were in a position to influence and change. Rather than approach the project as a “series of boxes to check,” which is typical in the business and financial realm when it comes to race, they treated it as any business venture that they wanted to succeed.
What we as corporate leaders can do
When there is a crisis or potential watershed moment, in an effort to do something, and to do it quickly, charity often becomes the first step — but the last one, too. Charity alone, while valuable, will not achieve equitable outcomes for more people. Let’s do the right “something.” That means thinking about and engaging in a range of high-impact activities that are tied to shared prosperity.
It’s about more than writing checks
In addition, because there is no correlation between the magnitude of charitable investments and the outcomes of citizens, my plea is that we not be satisfied to simply write checks — and that those on the receiving end not take money without a sustainable path forward. Minorities need to demand tools like access to education and capital. Those of us in power need to personally commit to help more people succeed.
We need to demand that charitable organizations that do receive our funding be held accountable to verifiable outcomes.
