By Charlene Crowell
NNPA Financial Writer

Despite the civil rights legislation of the 1960s and the affirmative action programs that began in the 1970s, in 2010 race and equality remain a hot-button issues in America. From President Obama’s ‘beer summit last year, to the U.S. Justice Department’s challenge to Arizona’s immigration law, and the more recent Shirley Sherrod incident -- race is still a stain on the promises made in this

country’s founding documents.  
The newly-created Office of Minority and Women Inclusion, Section 342 of the historic Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform bill, will ensure equal employment opportunity and racial, ethnic and gender diversity. It will also work to increase the participation of minority-owned and women-owned businesses in the programs and contracts of each agency; and develop standards within each agency to assess diversity policies and practices in each federal financial agency, the 12 regional banks of the Federal Reserve, and the Fed Board of Governors. 
The new office has also begun to attract coverage by main stream news outlets and conservative pundits alike. Over the past week, MSNBC host Ed Schulz and Politico.com have covered the creation of the new office. There are also voices who contend that the office will trigger a new trend of discrimination. Ironically, that position is held by a majority of the U.S. Civil Rights Commissioners.  
Thankfully, organizations that joined California Congresswoman Maxine Waters in the push to provide access and economic parity to people of color are now speaking to why the office is not only good for minorities and women, but the country as well. 
In a July 28 Politio.com  report, Gary Acosta, co-founder of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, and Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League shared their hopes for the new office. 
“It is arguably the best part of the bill,” said Acosta. “Inclusion is a good thing, always. And sometimes we have to be compelled to make changes.” 
Speaking to the expected benefits, Morial told Politico.com, “This statute means business – you can no longer pay lip service and [play] pretend games.” 
Morial is absolutely correct. 
Earlier this year, this column shared the nation’s growing racial wealth gap that Brandeis University found to be four-fold between blacks and whites. Even among African-Americans who have worked in well-paying jobs, a wealth gap still exists when compared to their peers in the workforce. 
Earlier in 2006, I developed an investigative report on the State of Michigan’s affirmative action programs spanning two gubernatorial administrations. My detailed review of data from the Michigan Department of Management and Budget found that even with affirmative action, the state’s $7.9 billion contracting opportunities only offered two percent or $143.8 million to women and minorities. Moreover, among Michigan’s minority groups, the only minority that fared worse than African-Americans in state contracting were disabled businesspeople. Businesses owned by women, Asian-Americans and Latinos all fared better.  
Today, Wall Street and high finance are perhaps one of the last bastions where minorities have yet to gain widespread participation.      
Congresswoman Waters had the vision and the political fortitude to ensure that the future of Wall Street will be different than its past.  Progressive forces must remain watchful and vigilant to ensure that intent is met with actual practice. Without economic parity we will never be truly free.