The New Mexico Office of African American Affairs (OAAA) is committed to collaborative efforts that prepare business owners, potential entrepreneurs, professionals, and citizens for today’s competitive business market. Through its Economic Empowerment Series, OAAA provides workshops to target critical areas for economic empowerment. The data available on our Data Hub clearly points to several areas of concern. The most glaring inequity we see between Blacks and other New Mexico populations is in home ownership, with Blacks being 20-30% less likely to own a home than any other group, regardless of relative income and poverty levels. Comparatively low income levels, high unemployment rates, and a high percentage of families living below the poverty line also depict lack of economic well-being for Blacks in New Mexico. OAAA aims to target these concern areas by providing the data to support personal experiences, publishing reports on data interpretation, and partnering with community organizations and partners to provide resources in these areas. Some key work is being done in the following areas:  

• Home Ownership – OAAA sponsors real estate workshops and discussions every few months to discuss a variety of topics. We discuss what someone may need to qualify for a loan, where they can get help if they are not financially ready, what the market looks like, how to be a real estate investor, and how to be a real estate broker. We provide access to different resources and Black professionals in the field to answer any questions our community may have.
• Small Business Development – Workshops are presented on various business topics including how to start a business, access to capital, and business branding. We have been working with the Loan Fund to provide step-by-step assistance for loan applications, referring to other lenders in the case of incompatibility.  We are also in the beginning phase of a Black business mentorship program. We are updating our Black business directory first to pinpoint self-identified obstacles and issues Black entrepreneurs face.  Then, we would like to develop a series to address these issues to help our Black entrepreneurs overcome specific obstacles.
• Youth Development – We are working with high schools and colleges around the state to educate about financial literacy, skills building, interviewing, resume writing, and Black culture and history. We are including career exposure to Black professionals in promotion of youth entrepreneurship and professionalism as well.