The coronavirus pandemic and a wave of social unrest across the country have put a spotlight on the deep inequality between black and white America. A shift in focus at the U.S. central bank is, too.
According to William Rodgers, a former Labor Department official who is now a professor at Rutgers University, a lot of it has to do with concerted efforts to lobby for Fed appointments who would be more amenable to discussing issues involving race and equity, including Powell’s predecessor, Janet Yellen.