Over the last 12 years, Dallas has faced a daunting series of challenges and opportunities: the 2008-2011 Great Recession; one of the longest periods of economic expansion from 2012-2020 with historically low unemployment; and now COVID and the highest rate of unemployment since the Great Depression, along with protests and racial tensions not seen since the 1960s. These highs and lows have affected us all. Still, they have massively impacted on those at the lower end of the economic scale, creating extreme pressure points around racial relations and economic and social inequality. A recent article in The Atlantic, entitled “Inequality Matters,” illuminates the challenges we face as a nation: Although education, family structure, and race impact on poverty, the number one factor is the growth in inequality. Socioeconomic status and inequality of opportunity connect directly to inequality of outcomes. Inequality limits opportunity in three ways: increasing residential segregation, reducing access to quality education; and restricting access to economically beneficial social networks. These forces are reaching a critical juncture, where we either face the problems and craft-focused, creative solutions, or our society and our economy will be adversely affected for decades. Click to read more at www.dmagazine.com.