A Blueprint for Improving Underserved Communities

By Brian K. Rice | Special to The Times (This is a guest opinion) As a native son of Birmingham, a mechanical engineer, real estate investor and economic rights advocate volunteering, living and investing in underserved communities, I have picked up an extensive understanding of government policies related to residential and commercial real estate financing practices. Brian K. Rice I’ve witnessed firsthand the persistent challenges facing our inner-city neighborhoods while investing in the Ensley neighborhood. My hometown has tragically endured countless murders in the past 45 years — nearly my entire life — while the super majority affect Black Americans. My hometown has witnessed a vast divide in resources and opportunities for the have and have-not that is compounding the challenges experienced by our most underserved. Reflecting on my experiences, I am compelled to question what we are not adequately addressing. I believe the systematic denial of economic resources for successive generations is far more harmful than most acknowledge as it is source of provision for all families and communities. Accepting the unfortunate conditions as the way they are and always will be is a challenge. The greatest challenge in my opinion is improving the mind of someone who has...