Discriminatory housing practices such as redlining and restrictive covenants have a long history in Greater Seattle — creating a staggering wealth gap that persists today. Black Home Initiative (BHI) targets the racial inequities at the core of the housing ecosystem in an effort to increase homeownership among Black households.

At Civic Commons, we know that families thrive when they have the opportunity to build assets and pass them down to future generations. For wealthier households, building intergenerational wealth typically includes owning property. 

But institutional racism has cut off many Black families from accessing this path to prosperity. Here in Greater Seattle, our region’s ugly history of redlining, restrictive covenants and lending discrimination has boosted the intergenerational wealth of white families while blocking people of color from becoming homeowners. 

Black Home Initiative is a new regional effort to address these systemic injustices. Our goal: Generate 1,500 new Black homeowners in the next five years in South Seattle, South King County and North Pierce County.