Unlocking The Gates: How wrongs might be righted

Summary

Marketplace Morning Report – Episode Summary: "Unlocking The Gates: How Wrongs Might Be Righted"
Release Date: February 14, 2025

In this insightful episode of Marketplace Morning Report, host David Brancaccio delves into pressing issues affecting the American workforce and housing market. The episode is structured into two main segments: the Trump Administration's recent actions targeting federal employees and the ongoing efforts to address structural discrimination in the housing sector through the special report series, "Unlocking The Gates."

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1. Trump Administration Targets Probationary Federal Workers

Overview: David Brancaccio opens the episode by highlighting significant developments under the Trump Administration concerning federal employment. The administration has intensified efforts to reduce the number of federal workers by specifically targeting those with probationary status.

Key Points:

• Expansion of Termination Campaign: The Trump Administration has broadened its campaign to eliminate federal positions, focusing on probationary employees—those who have been in their roles for one year or less and lack congressionally enacted civil service protections.

• Administrative Actions:

  • Administrative Leave: Prior to the latest layoffs, the White House placed federal rank-and-file workers on administrative leave.
  • Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Directive: The OPM advised that underperforming recent hires should be dismissed, leading to widespread layoffs.

• Impact on Various Agencies: Multiple agencies have been affected, including:

  • Department of Veterans Affairs: Laid off approximately 1,000 probationary employees, notably researchers in critical fields like burn pit exposure and prosthetics.
  • Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB): Additional layoffs reported.
  • Agriculture Department: Food safety inspectors are among those at risk of losing their jobs.

Notable Quotes:

• [01:21] David Brancaccio: “The Trump Admin has expanded its campaign to terminate the jobs of federal workers with a new focus on people who have what's called probationary status.”

• [01:45] Nova Safo: “The office expanded that order yesterday, sparking a new round of layoffs among so-called probationary employees, typically those on the job.”

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2. Unlocking The Gates: Addressing Structural Discrimination in Housing

Introduction: Transitioning from federal employment issues, the episode introduces "Unlocking The Gates," a special report series led by Marketplace correspondent Lee Hawkins. This segment explores the deep-rooted structural discrimination within the U.S. housing market and its long-term economic repercussions.

Key Topics:

• Historical Context of Housing Discrimination:

  • Racial Covenants: Jackie Berry, a board member of Minneapolis Area Realtors, explains that racial covenants significantly contributed to the current wealth gap. Between 1930 and 1960, less than 1% of all mortgages were granted to African Americans nationwide.
  • Impact on Migration: Families migrating from the South post-World Wars faced severe discrimination, hindering their ability to secure homeownership.

• Current Efforts to Promote Homeownership in Communities of Color:

  • Initiatives by Real Estate Professionals: Jackie Berry discusses ongoing initiatives aimed at increasing homeownership rates among people of color, striving to bridge the significant gap where approximately 76% of white families own homes compared to around 25-26% of black families.

• Personal Stories and Reflections:

  • Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan: As the highest-ranking Native American female politician, Flanagan shares her personal journey, highlighting how benefiting from a Section 8 housing voucher influenced her perspective on housing policies.

    • [05:04] Peggy Flanagan: “I never forget that I'm a kid who benefited from a Section 8 housing voucher and that my family buying a home made a dent in that number of Native homeowners in this state.”

  • Margaret Thorpe Richards: Discussing her family's real estate legacy, Richards reveals her initial lack of awareness regarding her ancestors' involvement in discriminatory housing practices.

    • [06:56] Margaret Thorpe Richards: “I was horrified. It felt shameful. I'm not going to fix anything, but I would like to show up in a way that says I think this was wrong and I'd like to help make it right.”

• Policy and Reparative Actions:

  • Apology and Future Policies: Flanagan emphasizes that while an official apology holds symbolic value, tangible policy changes and investments in underserved communities are crucial for true reparative justice.
    • [07:22] Peggy Flanagan: “If you don't have policies and investments to back them up, then they're simply words. The work that we have done during our administration is one of the ways that we correct those wrongs.”

Notable Quotes:

• [04:15] Jackie Berry: “We have currently, I think it's around 76% of white families own homes and it's somewhere around 25, 26% for black families.”

• [05:35] Peggy Flanagan: “I don't believe that Thomas Frankson ever imagined that there would be an Ojibwe woman as lieutenant governor several years after he was in this role.”

• [06:56] Margaret Thorpe Richards: “I was horrified. It felt shameful. I'm not going to fix anything, but I would like to show up in a way that says I think this was wrong and I'd like to help make it right.”

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Conclusion

David Brancaccio wraps up the episode by directing listeners to the full "Unlocking The Gates" series, now available for streaming on Marketplace's platforms. The episode underscores the enduring impact of historical policies on present-day economic disparities and highlights the ongoing efforts to rectify these systemic injustices through policy reforms and community-focused initiatives.

Additional Information:

• Streaming Availability: The complete "Unlocking The Gates" series is accessible at marketplace.org.
• Social Media and Apps: Listeners can follow Marketplace on TikTok and download the podcast from Apple and Google app stores for more content and updates.

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This episode of Marketplace Morning Report provides a comprehensive look into how historical wrongs in the housing market continue to affect economic opportunities today and explores the multifaceted approaches being undertaken to address and rectify these enduring disparities.

Transcript

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[David Brancaccio]

Of Work for so many who had Government Jobs I'm David Brancaccio. The Trump Admin has expanded its campaign to terminate the jobs of federal workers with a new focus on people who have what's called probationary status. These workers, which number in the hundreds of thousands, are mainly recent hires, usually one year or less, who don't yet have congressionally enacted civil service protections.

[Nova Safo]

Prior to yesterday's action, the White House had put federal rank and file workers on administrative leave, and earlier this week the Office of Personnel Management said underperforming recent hires should be fired. But the office expanded that order yesterday, sparking a new round of layoffs among so called probationary employees, typically those on the job. One year or less Employees have been let go at multiple agencies. The Department of Veterans affairs said it laid off 1,000 probationary employees. Democratic Senator Patty Murray identified them as researchers in areas such as burn pit exposure and prosthetics. Additional workers were reportedly let go at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Among those in danger of being laid off include food safety inspectors at the Agriculture Department. I'm Nova Safo for Marketplace.

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[David Brancaccio]

We've been exploring structural discrimination in the housing market over the years and what that does to economic opportunity. Our project, Unlocking the Gates is a reporter's personal story. Marketplace special correspondent Lee Hawkins is from Minnesota, a state where new ways to lock people out of home ownership were devised. Now what's being done to fix that?

[Lee Hawkins]

Today, homeownership is more than a marker of personal achievement. It's a cornerstone of the US Economy. Jackie Berry, board member of Minneapolis Area Realtors, is part of an initiative to increase homeownership in communities of color.

[Jackie Berry]

We have currently, I think it's around 76% of white families own homes and it's somewhere around 25, 26% for black families.

[Lee Hawkins]

And the reason for this, from Jackie's.

[Jackie Berry]

Perspective, racial covenants had a direct correlation with the wealth gap that we have here today.

[Lee Hawkins]

Families who moved from the south looking for opportunities after World War I and 2 were most severely affected by these discriminatory policies.

[Jackie Berry]

Between 1930 and 1960, less than 1% of all mortgages were granted to African Americans across the country.

[Lee Hawkins]

Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan is the highest ranking Native American female politician in the country. I asked her about her experience and how it informs her leadership.

[Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan]

I can tell you that I never forget that I'm a kid who benefited from a Section 8 housing voucher and that my family buying a home made a dent in that number of Native homeowners in this state.

[Lee Hawkins]

Earlier in the series, we spoke about some influential men in the state who were involved in creating the housing disparity gap that we have today.

[Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan]

I don't believe that Thomas Frankson ever imagined that there would be an Ojibwe woman as lieutenant governor several years after he was in this role.

[Margaret Thorpe Richards]

Thorpe Brothers was very much a part of my childhood and upbringing.

[Lee Hawkins]

This is Margaret Thorpe Richards. Her grandfather is Samuel Thorpe, head of Thorpe Brothers, the real estate firm which he helped establish in 1885. I asked her to share her memories of him.

[Margaret Thorpe Richards]

Both my grandfather and grandmother, they were very much, I don't know, white, upper class. I never really had a relationship with them, even though they lived two or three doors down.

[Lee Hawkins]

Okay. And so at that time, there was no indication that there was any racism in their hearts or anything like that.

[Margaret Thorpe Richards]

Oh, I don't know if I want to say that.

[Lee Hawkins]

The nature of her family's role in the origins of discriminatory housing policy is a recent discovery for Margaret and her two.

[Margaret Thorpe Richards]

I really didn't know about these covenants until it was 2019, when I was actually on the board of the Minneapolis Area association of Realtors.

[Lee Hawkins]

I asked her how she felt when she found out.

[Margaret Thorpe Richards]

I was horrified. It felt shameful. I'm not going to fix anything, but I would like to show up in a way that says I think this was wrong and I'd like to help make it right.

[Lee Hawkins]

I asked Lieutenant Governor Flanagan why the state has not issued an official apology and whether she sees any value in doing so.

[Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan]

An apology is powerful, but in the same way that I think things like land acknowledgments are powerful. If you don't have policies and investments to back them up, then they're simply words. The work that we have done during our administration is one of the ways that we correct those wrongs.

[Lee Hawkins]

So not necessarily going back and doing reparatory justice, but looking out into the future.

[Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan]

But I think that is reparatory justice, making those investments in communities that have been historically underserved, partnering with nonprofits that are led by and for communities of color that are trusted.

[David Brancaccio]

The full versions of Unlocking the Gates with our special correspondent Lee Hawkins are Now streamable from marketplace.org TikTok is back and downloadable in the US Apple and Google app stores. First the Biden, then the Trump administrations are trying to delay a U.S. law banning the app if its U.S. operation isn't sold by its China based owner. The issue is the potential for China to target misinformation and propaganda at US users and concern about China weaponizing user personal data. Now the company says there are no examples of this happening in practice. I'm David Brancaccio with the special Heart Shaped Valentine's Crimson edition of the Marketplace Morning Report. From APM American Public Media.

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