Fed Report: White Wealth Grew 30% More Than Black Wealth During Pandemic
In 2022, the actual value of both Black and Latinx households dropped to below their pre-pandemic values and stalled there.
Once again, the metrics of the Black/white wealth gap show up as a report from the New York Federal Reserve Bank indicates that the actual wealth of white people outpaced that of Black and Latinx people by 30% and 9%, respectively, from January 2019 to April 2023.
According to a report from Fortune, even though the government offered financial assistance during that period and earnings of Black workers increased by 7.1%, another Fed study indicated that a majority of white households (65%) had stock investments, while a minority of Black (39%) and Latinx households (28%) held stock investments. This indicates that increases in income do not necessarily mean wealth is generated for Black people.
As Janelle Jones, vice president of policy and advocacy at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, told Fortune, “The study really shows the difference between making gains when it comes to income, and closing that gap, versus when it comes to wealth.”
Jones noted the prevalence of Black financial wealth tied up in pensions among Black people before briefly discussing the inequity of inheritance for Black Americans.
“Black workers are still more likely to be unionized, which may play a part in the pension story,” Jones said. “But how folks are exposed to the ability to invest in the stock market — whether or not it’s something they grow up doing — we know that’s different for white families than for people of color.” Jones also told Fortune that Black family members were less likely to be recipients of an inheritance.
In 2022, the actual value of both Black and Latinx households dropped to below their pre-pandemic values and stalled there; so far, neither group’s actual value has recovered. Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo believes that while some progress has been made, such as rising employment rates, increasing wages, and increases in Black business ownership and participation in the stock market, the government may have to step in with “policy prescriptions” because “the gap between Black and white wealth in America is still too great.”
After Sapp graduated from Texas Seminary Christian University with a Bachelor of Arts in Christian sports management, Sanders announced in December that the Hall of Famer would be a coach for the Buffaloes football team.
“That’s what Prime said. So, if Prime tells me I’m coming in March, then stamp it, right? So I’m stamping it. My bags are packed. I’m ready to go!” an excited Sapp said.
When Sapp told Sanders that he wanted to join him on staff last year, he told him he would hire him after the NFL great received his diploma. Sapp played college football at the University of Miami, but left to go pro after his junior year.
“To see him go get his diploma because I know what he wants to do, he wants to coach on this staff, and he wants to be a part of this staff,” Sanders said in December. “And he is going to be a part of this staff.”
After great success coaching at Jackson State University, Sanders was hired by the University of Colorado Boulder to replicate the achievements he accomplished at the HBCU. The Buffaloes were 1-11 in 2022 season, and although the Buffalos didn’t play in a bowl game in 2023, they finished the season 4-8. Sanders also revived interest in the long-struggling football program.
California Elementary School Principal Investigated For Actions During Mock Shooter Drill
Members of the school's staff claimed the principal made an announcement that seven children had "died" after an active shooter drill.
Nina Denson, the principal of Washington Elementary in California, has been placed on leave following what parents and students said were inappropriate actions during an active shooter drill, according to KTLA.
“She proceeded to walk around campus and pretended to shoot people she saw using finger movements and banging on windows,” parent Jessica Chavez explained to the outlet. “From what I heard, she said to one of the students, ‘Boom. You’re dead.’”
Chavez also said her 6-year-old son was upset following the mock shooting. “The one shocking, surprising thing he said as a 6-year-old was, ‘I’m just really glad none of my friends died.’”
Some of the children who witnessed Denson’s actions were as young as 4 years old. Following the drill, according to members of the school’s staff, the principal made an announcement that seven children had died.
Jim Symonds, superintendent of the San Gabriel Unified School District, told KTLA the drill was “not approved by the district nor part of our district protocol.”
Additionally, parents such as Anna Bustamente were concerned about the headspace of the children following the drill, as she told the outlet, “Can you imagine the trauma these children potentially could go through just thinking, ‘Oh my God, my friend was killed’ or ‘I was shot and told I died.”
Although the district is investigating the incident, some parents, like Chavez, are already calling for Denson to be removed from her role.
“She does not have the trust of the community,” Chavez said.
Some staff members were reportedly upset by the drill.
Officials also told KTLA that counselors were made available for any students or staff members who needed their services. Parents were sent an email on Feb. 8 explaining that a teacher with experience would take over for Denson while the investigation is conducted.
HOW THE WIG DOCTOR GROWS WEALTH AND TREATS CANCER SURVIVORS
Dr. Erica Gamble is the founder and owner of The Wig Dr. Wig Boutique Hair Loss and Mastectomy Center. Based in Georgia with locations in Marietta and Fayetteville, The Wig Dr. is a unique venture by any measure. Founded in 2014 to provide women on the go with quality, fashionable wigs for professional settings and elegant evenings, the company quickly occupied an unexpected market niche.
Data Shows Black Women More Likely to Be Killed Than White Women
A new study investigates how and why Black women are 6 times more likely to be killed than their white counterparts.
According to new data obtained from the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Black women from ages 24 to 44 are on average six times more likely to be killed than white women nationwide. The statistic was formed from data collected across more than two decades of killings from 30 states.
The deaths, classified as homicides from shootings and other fatal acts of violence, exposed the disproportionate rate of Black women who were murdered in this capacity. The Lancet Medical Journal released a paper dissecting the revelation further, noting the systemic problem behind these female homicide rates and a critical need to address the racial inequities that led to this gap. However, the staggering difference widens between certain states, as Black women in Wisconsin are 20 times more likely to be killed, as well as methods, with heightened rates by firearm. However, the study’s authors concluded that factors derived from systemic racism are still prevalent in this regional difference.
“To obtain a more nuanced understanding, we examined statewide shifts and found that U.S. states with the greatest racial inequities in homicide rates correlate with areas of the country where there are substantial structural inequities delineated along wealth markers, namely education attainment, employment type, and status, and extreme poverty,” explained the study.
A key contributor to this increased violence against Black women was identified as intimate partner violence, with over half of all homicides of Black women stemming from this, as confirmed by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. The Lancet study also mentioned the “Ferguson effect” in how Black communities’ declined trust in police makes Black women less likely to seek out authorities when they are at risk. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic led to further social isolation and a heightening of systemic inequities that led to less resources being accessible and optimal for those in domestic violence situations.
“For every one person who’s murdered, you’ve got their family members, you’ve got their friends, you’ve got their communities who are devastated,” shared Bernadine Waller, one of the lead authors of the study. “So, if you’re looking at that through that lens, what does that mean for our Black families?”
As Black women remain critically at higher risk of death by homicide than white women, policy implementation and funding to combat these issues remain at the forefront of resolutions.
SEPTA Honors Black Trailblazers In Public Transportation
Come learn about these pioneers in transportation!
SEPTA honored four Black activists who led the fight to desegregate the public transportation system in America, at a ceremony on Feb. 5.
ABC 6 reportedthat Elizabeth Jennings Graham, Octavius Catto, Rosa Parks, and John Mott Drew were honored by Philadelphia’s Transportation Authority.
Jennings Graham is notable for challenging New York City’s pre-Civil War policy of segregated street cars. Similar to Parks, she was forcibly expelled from a streetcar because she violated the social rules of the day. Like Parks, Jennings Graham was well connected and was eventually represented in court by Chester A. Arthur, the future 21st President of the United States. In 1855, Jennings Graham won her court case, and by 1860, New York City had a desegregated street car system, thanks to a New York City teacher.
Catto is notable for several reasons, but SEPTA honored him for his work in desegregating Philadelphia’s streetcars. According to the Zinn Education Project, Catto was a teacher, principal and civil rights activist whose work around voting rights and desegregation got him assassinated on Election Day in 1871. In 2017, a memorial dedicated to the memory of Catto was unveiled near Philadelphia’s City Hall. It was the first public sculpture in Philly to honor an individual Black person, and it honors both his work for free elections for Black people and his work desegregating streetcars.
As NPR reported, he also assisted Frederick Douglass in raising all-Black regiments of soldiers during the Civil War. According to Dan Biddle, one of the authors of the book Tasting Freedom: Octavius Catto and the Battle for Equality in Civil War America, Catto either pioneered or was one of the first to adopt mass disruption tactics similar to those used in Black Lives Matter protests of today. As Biddle told NPR, “While we can find very few instances of civil disobedience prior to that, somewhere Catto figured out that was the way to do it. And we believe what he did is organized pregnant women, he organized college students, to simply go on the street cars en masse.”
Rosa Parks is best known for assisting in the Montgomery Bus Boycott by allowing herself to be arrested for protesting the city’s segregated busing system. However, as History reports, Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old at the time, did it nine months before Parks did. Colvin had just learned about Sojourner Truth in school and credited her action with that knowledge.
“It felt like Sojourner Truth was on one side pushing me down, and Harriet Tubman was on the other side of me pushing me down. I couldn’t get up.”
But due to fears that Colvin’s dark skin and teenage pregnancy could hurt the chances of a civil rights case, civil rights leaders in Montgomery declined to allow Colvin to be the public face of the lawsuit, Browder v. Gayle, that would eventually desegregate the Montgomery busing system. As the Rosa Parks Biography website details, Parks would lead fundraising efforts for Colvin’s local case and eventually became fed up with asking the white folks who ran Montgomery for help desegregating city buses.
“I had decided I would not go anywhere with a piece of paper in my hand asking white folks for any favors.”
Colvin said that Parks was the only civil rights figure in Montgomery who appeared to care about her, and the civil rights icon even made the teen secretary of the NAACP Youth Council.
Mott Drew was one of the most well-known Black businessmen of his day; according to Darby History, he owned and operated a very successful icehouse. Upon discovering many Black women employed as domestic workers could not reach their homes of employment in a timely fashion, or even at all, Drew created the John M. Drew Bus line. The bus line created by Drew was a jitney service whose routes were later absorbed into the Red Arrow Lines and, eventually, SEPTA itself.
According to Darby History, it is speculated that the license issued to Drew in 1918 by the Pennsylvania Public Service Commission was the first license ever issued by the commission. Drew also later purchased the Darby Hilldales, a Negro League baseball team, in 1929. Drew was already connected with the team because his trolley service made it easier for Black baseball fans to get directly to Hilldale Park. Drew’s tenure as owner of the Hilldales was marked by financial failures, due in large part to the Great Depression and also his refusal to work with white businessmen, despite the success of the team on the field.
As SEPTA customer experience manager Faith Boose told CBS News, “This is extremely important for us not to forget not just Black history, but American history in general. We don’t ever want to take for granted the transit equity to ride on transit.”
“And then to actually, once we’re there, not to be told to move because of the color of our skin. The criteria was they need to be aligned with transportation,” Boose continued. “And we wanted to look at where did the activity of being a trailblazer start from.”
Descendants of the St. Louis University Enslaved have calculated the school’s stolen labor is worth as much as $74 billion. On Feb. 8, the group reached out to St. Louis University, formerly Jesuit University, to follow up on commitments made in 2016. The Slavery, History, Memory, and Reconciliation Project found the institution used beatings and family separation as a form of harsh punishment.
Between 1823 and 1865, universities in Missouri borrowed, rented, and owned close to 200 enslaved Black people. Three enslaved families from the White Marsh Plantation in Maryland were removed in 1823 and delivered to Florissant. Those same people helped build the St. Stanislaus seminary and plantation. More slaves arrived from Maryland in 1829 – the same year the Jesuits took over St. Louis College – later becoming St. Louis University, where some enslaved people were forced to work.
Areva Martin, attorney for the descendants, said the amount of money doesn’t include the pain and suffering of Henrietta Mills Chauvin and other enslaved Black people who assisted with building the school.
“We do know that providing this valuation gives us a starting point to start talking about reconciliation,” Martin said.
“It starts with recognizing your obligation to discord even a fraction of the value of their ancestors’ labor that was used to build this storied institution.”
Lynette Jackson found out she was the great-great-great granddaughter of Mills Chauvin in 2019. She said she often feels the wrong endured by her ancestors when she drives by SLU and wants the wrongs corrected – including removing the statues built by the enslaved people.
“It just makes me feel sad that they had to go through this and knowing that it was the church involved as well, and we helped to build the church, you wouldn’t think that a church would do this,” Jackson said.
“St. Louis University has a chance to do something positive by properly acknowledging the tragic history,” May said. “The beginning of trying to make this right is saying the names of the enslaved so that we may never forget them.”
University spokesperson Clayton Berry is still preparing a detailed response based on the information provided.
“At this point, we can affirm that we understand and share the sense of urgency expressed by several members of the descendant community,” Berry said. “We acknowledge that progress on our efforts to reconcile with this shameful history has been slow, and we regret the hurt and frustration this has caused.”
However, the statement concluded with a promise of continuing to work towards reconciliation with the descendant families.
Black-Owned Businesses See 14% Increase, Reflecting Positive Growth Amidst Challenges
Black-Owned businesses are still underrepresented according to the Black population share in America.
According to numbers from the latest available U.S. Census, Black-owned businesses have increased by 14% since 2020. While the increase in the number of Black-owned businesses is a positive sign, Black-owned businesses are still underrepresented according to the Black population share in America. And, the growth is concentrated in a few industries.
Healthcare and social services comprised the bulk of Black-owned businesses in 2021, followed by professional, scientific, and technical services. Administrative/waste management/remediation services round out the top categories. According to a January 2023 Pew Research Center survey, approximately 60% of Black adults indicate that supporting Black businesses is either an effective or a very effective strategy for gaining momentum toward equality in the United States. The same survey also showed that nearly 40% of Black adults believe that having Black-owned businesses in Black communities would be similar to supporting Black businesses and establishing a Black national political party.
In December 2023, the White House drew attention to the rise in Black businesses through a fact sheet. The sheet called attention to several initiatives that the Biden-Harris Administration spearheaded, including the Small Business Community Navigators Pilot Program, which dedicated $100 million across 51 organizations, including U.S. Black Chambers of Commerce and the National Urban League. According to an SBA analysis, the Community Navigators program provided training and counseling to over 350,000 small businesses, and 43% of those businesses were Black-owned businesses. The $100 million marked the largest ever federal investment into supporting minority small businesses. In addition to this, the Small Business Administration increased its share of the loans going to minority-owned businesses from 23% to 32%.
As the fact sheet states: “When Black businesses do well, they create jobs, generate wealth in their local communities, and make the broader economy stronger.”
That quote from the fact sheet is strongly supported by a 2020 report from the Brookings Institution that states that if Black businesses had access to the same capital and resources of white businesses, the American economy would experience an unprecedented explosion.
In an encouraging sign, Black women have steadily made gains over the last three years, rising from owning 37% of Black businesses in 2020 to approximately 42% of Black-owned businesses by 2023, approaching gender parity.
According to the Brookings Institution, male and female Black business owners were likelier to cite a desire to assist their community as a reason for starting their businesses.
Despite the difficulty in securing funding, Black businesses experienced a boon during the pandemic, which Diamonte Walker, the deputy executive director of the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh, said is a signal of the progress that could come into other markers of Black financial wealth. Walker told US News & World Report, “You see a glaring wealth gap between Black people and white people. That disparity is felt not only on an economic level but on a psychological and emotional level,” Walker said. “As these Black businesses start to thrive, it signals what’s possible.”
McKinsey Report: It Could Take More Than 3 Centuries For Black Americans To Reach Racial Parity
The main takeaway from the report is that unless progress accelerates, it will take between 110 and 320 years to eliminate the gaps between Black and White Americans.
A report, titled The State Of Black Residents: The Relevance Of Place To Racial Equity And Outcomes, shows substantial gaps between Black and white residents in nearly every county in America.
The main takeaway from the report is that unless progress accelerates, it will take between 110 and 320 years to eliminate the gaps between Black and white Americans, and because the country has worked at a snail’s pace in addressing both economic and social gaps for Black Americans. Additionally, not eliminating these gaps shortchanges the broader economy and the full potential of both Black Americans and the country as a whole.
The McKinsey report states there is virtually nowhere in the United States where outcomes for Black residents are equal to those of their white counterparts, and most places that are close to racial parity are small rural counties where the outcomes are poor for all residents, regardless of race.
In the report, McKinsey looked at more than 3,000 counties nationwide and sorted them into 13 community profiles based on economic metrics, size, and other characteristics to examine geographic variation in the economic, social, and physical well-being of residents in general and of Black residents.
The community profiles range from megacities (New York, Miami, Dallas, and Los Angeles) to trailing rural economies (Danville, VA, Coahoma, MS).
According to the report, less than 0.1% of Black Americans live in a county that is close to racial parity.
The study determined outcomes for Black Americans are generally better in suburban and high-growth areas (Austin, TX; Charlotte, NC; Minneapolis, MN.). In these areas, Black Americans lead in metrics including median household income, workers in management roles, and bachelor’s degree attainment. However, Black residents are also underrepresented in these areas.
On the other side of the spectrum, stable rural counties and trailing rural counties, which are home to about 15% of Black Americans, rank at the bottom for outcomes of Black Americans due to poverty, food insecurity, and lack of health insurance. Although they rank highly in housing due to a lower rent burden and higher homeownership rates.
Black Americans are overrepresented in megacities, where more than 30% live. These areas have strong economies, above-average Black household incomes, high college degree attainment, and workers in management roles. But the positives come with high costs of living, long commutes, and outsize rent burdens that make it hard for Black Americans to attain and pass on wealth, unlike their white counterparts.
The McKinsey report does show that outcomes for Black Americans have improved over the last decade in most counties across the country but adds that quality of life is improving for everyone and progress is taking significantly longer to reach Black Americans as the gains have not been fast or substantial enough to make up for disadvantaged starting points.
The report was authored by McKinsey & Company partners JP Julien, Duwain Pinder, and Shelley Stewart III, a senior partner who leads the McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility.
Louisiana Voting District Maps Ruled Unlawful For Diluting Black Residents’ Voting Power
A federal court ruled that Louisiana’s House and Senate voting district maps violated Section Two of the Voting Rights Act and diluted the voting power of Black residents in the state.
On Feb. 10, a federal court ruled that Louisiana’s House and Senate voting district maps violated Section Two of the Voting Rights Act and diluted the voting power of Black residents in the state. According to ThePelican Post, the plaintiffs, a group of voters along with the Louisiana State Conference of the NAACP, and the Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Louisiana ACLU, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Law Firm of Cozen O’Connor, and attorneys Ron Wilson and John Adcock.
As BLACK ENTERPRISEpreviously reported, the Supreme Court allowed a case concerning the House maps to be subject to review by a lower court in June 2023. The Supreme Court passed the case to a lower court, which ultimately decided that the practice of packing and cracking Black communities needed to be condemned. According to The Post, the court also mandated measures aimed at fixing the discrimination that the previous maps engendered.
Megan Keenan, a staff attorney with the ACLU Voting Rights Project, said in a press release, “This decision sets a powerful precedent for challenging discriminatory redistricting efforts across the nation, confirming that attempts to dilute Black communities’ votes and their power will not be tolerated.”
Keenan added, “This win would not be possible without the commitment displayed by our clients and generations of Black Louisianians who have spent years organizing and fighting to receive the Voting Rights Act’s promise of fair representation. We commend the court for bringing our clients one step closer to justice, and we will continue our work to protect the voting rights of all Americans.”
Dr. Dorothy Nairne, one of the plaintiffs, said in the press release that the ruling gives her hope. “Today, hope surges through Louisiana,” Dr. Nairne said. “Fair maps ignite a spark of empowerment in our communities, opening opportunities to elect and be represented by candidates of our choices. This is our victory, shared by every Louisianian who yearns for a brighter future. I am revitalized to build on this momentum and keep working toward transformation.”
Sarah Rohani, a redistricting fellow at the Legal Defense Fund, stated, “Today’s decision is a victory that affirms the voices and votes of Black voters in Louisiana. Voting rights and political participation are under attack across our country. This win is a testament to the strength and resilience of Black communities across the state that fought to be fairly recognized, represented, and heard. LDF will continue to work with its partners to protect the rights of Black voters across the country today, and for the foreseeable future.”
The case survived a frantic late challenge from a group of non-Black voters who argued in another lawsuit that the redrawn state maps violate the 14th and 15th Amendments. “The State has engaged in explicit, racial segregation of voters and intentional discrimination against voters based on race,” according to the lawsuit. “The State has drawn lines between neighbors and divided communities. In most cases, the lines separate African American and non-African American voters from their communities and assign them to Districts with dominating populations far away.”
