We need to get capital into communities of color: Michael Milken
Communities in so-called financial deserts are struggling, philanthropist says
Part of the U.S. economy's coronavirus recovery will include injecting capital into communities of color, philanthropist and chairman of the Milken Foundation Michael Milken said in an interview that aired on Monday.
"The next step is we need to get capital into these communities of color," Milken told FOX Business' Maria Bartiromo. "We discussed for years food deserts where people didn't have access to quality, healthy food. We have financial deserts."
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The medical community and the government did their parts to contain the economic ripple effects of the pandemic, but small businesses, and especially black-owned small businesses, are still in danger, Milken said.
In this April 30, 2020, file photo, a store with a "Going out of Business," sign is shown n North Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)
"Out of 15 million small businesses that the government has been monitoring, three million of those have been shut down in the last three to four months," Milken said. "Unfortunately, those led by African-Americans, 41 percent of those small businesses have been shut down."
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Milken also pointed out that out of approximately 5,000 U.S. banks, approximately 20 are black-led.
"We need to get capital out to these minority banks to help support their communities," he said.