The lasting impacts of segregation and redlining continue to play a significant role in limiting access to good homes for rent and ownership in Black communities. We are constantly reminded of the historic connection between housing and race when collaborating with partners on the ground working to preserve housing affordability and build new affordable homes. In all of our work – from Section 4, Equitable Path Forward, the Rural Rental Housing Preservation Programs, and the Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challenge – Enterprise has focused on creating capital and providing education and grant opportunities to Black-led rural organizations in low-income neighborhoods where people of color are the majority. As part of our Black History Month celebration, we recognize several Black rural housing leaders.

Delta Housing Development Corporation

Delta Housing Development Corporation was recently awarded an Enterprise Recoverable Grant for predevelopment and rehabilitation of a 56-unit property in Indianola, Mississippi, an area that suffers from persistent poverty and racial inequality. David Jackson, a Black leader with 42 years of experience in nonprofit and community development work, leads Delta HDC. Jackson and his team participated in the Southeast Rural Preservation Academy, and they devoted the technical assistance they received to the recapitalization and rehabilitation of a property. The new funding will provide the organization with a key source of working capital to move forward with the project. 

BDT Housing Services Enterprise

Tracey Prince from BDT Housing Services Enterprise, another Black led organization, also received funding to build and rehabilitate affordable housing in Bastrop, Louisiana. She has also received funding through the Congressional Community Funding to turn a historic home, in one of the oldest black towns in the country, into a cultural enrichment center, with plans to preserve the history of the home and the community to provide cultural experiences to the citizens of Mound Bayou, Mississippi. 

Helping One Another

Leonard Boothe leads Helping One Another. Under Boothe’s leadership, the organization secured Section 4 funding for capacity building and technical assistance to enhance their homeownership trainings with financial literacy. The average renter household in Mississippi earns below 30% of Area Median Income.

Wealth Watchers 

The Wealth Watchers team has over 50 years combined experience in affordable housing strategies and community development. Carrie Davis leads the organization, which serves rural communities in Florida and Georgia. Davis also took part in the Southeast Rural Preservation Academy. After hearing about a funding opportunity in Georgia during an in-person Academy Session, Davis worked with the state to secure 2 million dollars in funding which will support the development of the first phase of a 20-unit new-construction development in Albany, Georgia. 

How We Work with Organizations

Enterprise’s key priorities include advancing racial equity and increasing housing, and our team has made strides in these communities by assisting nonprofits, local, state, and federal agencies and public housing authorities when developing quality homes.
“Enterprise doesn’t bring their agenda to the table; they take your agenda and help you to achieve it,” said Jackson from Delta Housing Development Corporation. “They are sharing our desire to do what we need to do for our own communities. And they are flexible enough to do whatever it takes to move these rural places to a better place.”

Watch our video to hear more from Jackson and others about how we work to make home and community places of pride, power, and belonging, and platforms for resilience and upward mobility for all.