[ad_1]
Robert Smith, chairman and CEO at Vista Equity Partners, called on political leaders to support affirmative-action policies and to invest in programs that provide access to broadband internet during an event Thursday staged by the Congressional Black Caucus.
The billionaire investor, who ranks as the wealthiest Black American, according to Forbes, argued that diversity, equity and inclusion policies are necessary to close the wealth gap between Black and White Americans.
“We need to make sure we fight back against this assault on affirmative action, to stop this current assault on DEI, because it’s been enabling — not just wealth-enabling, but educationally enabling,” Smith said during a panel on the subject of the racial wealth gap, moderated by Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California.
The comments come in the wake of a June Supreme Court decision that barred colleges from considering race in the their admissions processes. Republican governors like Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas have also recently signed legislation and enacted policies that limit DEI policies at public universities, government agencies and some private corporations.
Smith proposed leveraging the power of public pension funds to direct more business to Black money managers, so that the wealth of Black workers goes to support “asset managers who look like the people contributing to the fund.”
He also emphasized the importance of internships as a means to providing opportunities for young Americans from disadvantaged backgrounds to gain the skills and experience necessary to thrive in the modern economy.
He told the story of his efforts as a high school student to get an internship at Bell Labs, saying that he called the company every Monday for five months before it changed its policy of giving out internships only to college students. Smith said it was the technical skills he learned there and in college than gave him an edge as a private-equity investor.
Given his background, Smith said he is particularly concerned over the digital divide, or the gap in access to high-speed internet, between Black and white Americans. He called on Congress to pass legislation that would invest in expanding broadband access to poorer communities.
He also spoke of the importance of community and solidarity in the face of long odds, noting that before he was born in Denver, his family was forced to flee from Oklahoma after the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921.
“Black capitalism isn’t a myth,” Smith said. “It was always under assault.”
[ad_2]
Source link
