Jill Rahman: Create a better Chicago by investing in Black businesses

For more than 30 years, I guided businesses and brands built for growth and profit. Now I work for an organization focused on social change — specifically, ending hunger. Along the way, I’ve participated in many well-intentioned programs aimed at creating diversity in our suppliers of goods and services through the use of minority-owned businesses. And while supplier diversity practices have been a step in the right direction, the stark inequity in our nation and our city calls us to do more. The racial wealth gap in Chicago is staggering and shameful. A 2020 study from Northwestern University found that for every $1 of wealth accumulated by white families, Black families have just 1 cent and Hispanic families have just 8 cents. In a different analysis, Northwestern University economists estimate that food insecurity affects Black and Hispanic households in the Chicago area at double the rate of white households. In recent months, traffic at local food pantries has been up 20% from the prior year, averaging more than 200,000 household visits per month across the Greater Chicago Food Depository’s network. While persistent high food prices and a shrinking federal safety net are contributors to the rising need, the roots of...