The United States' wealth gap is a persistent and complex issue. Financial institutions could help chip away at it.

The top 10% of income earners own 69% of the wealth, while the lowest 50% have less than 3%.

President and CEO of Verity Credit Union in Seattle Tonita Webb said the issue is even greater between Black and white Americans.

Black people have a long history of being denied loans from banks and other financial institutions. Webb said the first step is for these institutions to understand what communities need.

"Listening to communities to figure out where their roadblocks are, where they have run into challenges," said Webb, "and be able to work at changing the system based off the feedback and co-create solutions together."

Webb said financially underserved communities have lacked the ability to grow generational wealth, which increases the country's wealth gap over time.

She said institutions could also change the way credit scores are calculated.

Credit scores like FICO are used to determine someone's eligibility for a loan. But Webb said Verity Credit Union has been using an Artificial Intelligence program for the last year to calculate it in a different way.

"It takes into consideration reputation," said Webb, "how long you've been at a job, how you pay your rent on time, and other things that FICO doesn't necessarily capture."

Webb said using this new system, her credit union has seen an increase in lending to people who were previously denied.

She said financial institutions can also shrink the wealth gap by increasing homeownership. Programs that require little or no down payment and assist with interest rates can get more families into homes.

Webb said all of this is personal for her because she came from an underserved community.

"I want to change that for underserved communities," said Webb, "and be able to put families in the position to leave something for their kids to build upon, and that is what we're missing."




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A schoolhouse in far West Texas has been designated as a unit of the U.S. National Park System.

The Blackwell School is a former de facto segregated school, built in 1909 and used until 1965 to educate Mexican and Mexican American children in Marfa. In 2006, the Marfa Independent School District planned to demolish the building but alumni of the school started a group to save the site and its memories.

Daniel Hernandez, president of the Blackwell School Alliance, said they fought to preserve history.

"It's just such a thrilling moment for the alliance and for the Marfa community," Hernandez explained. "I think also for so many of our alumni, this really is, I think, a moment that is really, really validating and tells a more complete history of American history, and ensure that these experiences are told in the way that they deserve to be."

The site consists of the original 1909 adobe schoolhouse and a smaller classroom built in 1927. The designation permanently protects the site and helps tell the story of Texas school districts creating segregated elementary schools for Mexican American children.

The school is open for tours on Saturdays and Sundays from noon until 4 p.m., and from 9 a.m. until noon on Mondays. Hernandez noted the hours will be extended thanks to financial support from the National Parks Board. His grandparents attended the Blackwell School and he stressed the project brought the community together.

"The museum that exists there, and all the artifacts and the repository of historical significance that exists there, is because of our alumni who donated their school records and their band twirler uniforms and their letterman jackets and photographs," Hernandez outlined.

The park was authorized by the Blackwell School National Historic Site Act, signed by President Joe Biden in 2022.

Hernandez noted the building contains photographs, memorabilia and interpretive panels featuring quotes and stories from students and teachers.

"The breadth and depth of the American experience is so wide and so vast and sometimes the history books don't always reflect those experiences," Hernandez contended. "The Blackwell School, for so many Mexican Americans, they finally have this place that now stands as a manifestation of grassroots work where history is going to be examined and interpreted."


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Columbia County, New York, is implementing new facial recognition and privacy policies, following new upgrades to the county's surveillance cameras, which include facial and license plate recognition software.

Michael Chameides, Hudson 3rd Ward representative on the Columbia County Board of Supervisors, said residents told him they want privacy, arguing the technology is overused elsewhere. He pointed out the new protections can guarantee privacy rights and more.

"We want people to have reasonable expectations of privacy," Chameides explained. "That means we would limit how people are tracked and how that information is archived. We also want to reduce the number of people who have access to that database, so it's really just a need-to-know basis as it pertains to the biggest public safety issues."

He added they will also need protections on how data is used, such as only for urgent public safety matters. Using this kind of technology resulted in Detroit's Police Department arresting a few people based on bad facial recognition matches. Now, the department uses standards endorsed by the American Civil Liberties Union. Columbia County's policies have already gone into effect.

Another concern with implementing cameras was whether the data they collect could be monitored by someone who could abuse their power. Chameides noted it is unlikely. The cameras were not turned on until the policy was completed. He added part of the policy calls for the facial recognition system to be turned on during urgent moments.

"There's a very small group of people who would have the power to both turn it on and use that data," Chameides emphasized. "And then, at the end, we also have a reporting mechanism, where every year, the people in charge of sort of turning the systems on would then report back to the board about how it's being used."

Taking such steps limits the scope of who can access the data and focuses on the moments facial recognition would need to be used.

A program in the Columbia River Gorge helps migrant farmworkers' families during harvest season.

The Resources Available for Migrant Access to Services group is led by the Oregon Child Development Coalition in Hood River and Wasco Counties. It provides support during a four-week period of peak harvest time, including food boxes to families.

Leah Hall, community philanthropy manager for the Columbia Gorge Food Bank in The Dalles, said migrant workers follow the harvest and often bring their families with them.

"We provide culturally appropriate and shelf-stable food boxes to distribute to families when they arrive during this transitional time," Hall explained. "These direct distributions just allow for an efficient use of time and resources for families while also reducing some of the pressure on our public pantry partners throughout the region."

Harvest season in the Columbia River Gorge typically happens between June and October, with cherries in season during July.

Hall pointed out the group provides more than food boxes.

"Through the coordination of all these partners that work in this RAMAS collaborative, the communities of migrant farmworkers and families receives education, nutrition, health, social services, mental health and disabilities, and family engagement education services," Hall outlined.

Coordination from the group is key for another reason. Hall noted they work with orchardists and farm owners in the region to determine when workers are expected to arrive.

"We're able to pack our boxes on our end as close to the harvest date as possible and get it in the hand of those who need it as they're arriving," Hall emphasized. "The timing is really quite amazing and efficient just based on the communication of everyone working in this program."