Lawmakers in Trenton are taking action in an unusual case, where an asset manager is suing an investor.
In this case it’s Blueprint Capital, one of the few Black-owned capital management firms, and the investor is the state of New Jersey.
Blueprint charges the state discriminated against it, and even worked to take one of its financial strategies and hand it over to the giant asset manager BlackRock.
Pastor David Jefferson is chair of the New Jersey chapter of the National Action Network. He says this kind of thing has far-reaching effects.
“If we cannot get funds into the hands of African American entrepreneurs, minority entrepreneurs,” he said, “then our community will not create the jobs. If you don’t create the jobs, then you will continue to have one of the highest levels of poverty in the state of New Jersey that you have anywhere.”
Blueprint manages $175 million for the state. Jefferson said there has to be more transparency about the investment process.
“This right here is gonna be another Brown vs Board of Education,” said Jefferson, “where the exposure of the shenanigans that goes on, the lack of producing paperwork, the lack of working with people, I think all of that is gonna be exposed.”