All citizens deserve access to basic human rights. People of color – specifically Black citizens – have not been granted equitable municipal access to these rights in the form of equal investment in clean water, education, healthcare, or public infrastructure.

Majority-minority municipalities have not been invested in, historically and in present times, at the same rate as white cities (Foster). These cities and their citizens have largely been forgotten, and their state governments are left to carry the economic burden of inadequate and crumbling municipal infrastructure (Mallamud).

Municipal bonds are the original and most direct form of impact investing. They are attractive investment opportunities for those seeking both a financial return and a viable vehicle for decreasing economic disparity across Black communities. They also present the most scalable path to supporting the imperative to not only repair municipal infrastructures nationwide (Puentes), but to embed environmental resilience, adaptation, and social justice.