Roots of 'Black Capitalism'

This is an interesting piece and one that is a good challenge for libertarians. The juxtaposition of "markets are good for poor people" and the need for "economic justice" seems false to libertarians at first blush. However, given the ways in which the state has made it very difficult for the poor and people of color to acquire capital and participate in markets historically, the matter is more complicated. Racist federal housing policies, the war on drugs, crappy public schools. minimum wage, occupational licensing laws, and many more have denied these folks anything resembling real opportunity.

I'm not sure what this implies for current policy beyond getting rid of all of those state-created obstacles, but it does seem like a long-standing historical economic injustice has been perpetuated by the state and the wealthy, white folks who have the relevant power. Perhaps more is owed (note passive voice) to the victims of that state injustice than a simple "we've removed the barriers, go ahead and compete."

I honestly do not know what that might look like, or even if it's right and needed, but I do know that libertarians need to talk a lot more about how government policy has perpetuated racial and class injustice and think more subtly about how to fix it.

[To be clear: I'm not defending Nixon's approach. I'm seeing this piece as a launching point for the broader discussion I point to above.]