Review: The Black American Experience - Wealth, Race and the Workforce. Ntsetselelo Dlamini, ESG Intern, Skidmore College

It is clear that black unemployment is consistently higher than the national average. Wealth inequality is even more pronounced across racial categories: the median white family owns 8x more wealth than the median black family. While different strategies can be used to tackle such issues, I believe it is imperative that these statistics are viewed in a historical and political context before we move to identifying solutions that can address the problem. 

Through the webinar we got exposed to different schools of thought. One was the suggestion that the federal government settle the Black/white wealth gap difference through some form of reparations to the descendants of slaves. Logically, this could have the effect of narrowing the gap and can be justified by the fact that upon the abolition of slavery, black people were not compensated for their years of unpaid labor that helped generate wealth for those who owned them. Racial discrimination through Jim Crow and redlining also helped to keep black Americans at the margins of American wealth. But, given this country’s current political climate, it is hard to imagine Congress passing legislation concerning reparations in the foreseeable future. 

As such, attention tends to focus on what can be more readily done by the black community and perhaps the private sector to address racial inequalities. According to Mr. Cunningham, we should seek community oriented life maximization as opposed to wealth maximization. In recognition of the fact that we live in a capitalist system, it is imperative that we educate ourselves about it's basic tenets and attempt to minimize financial risk through budgeting, investing, real estate planning etc.

As a young black economist, this was a great reminder that the struggle for economic justice is on-going. I realize it will take a community effort (and society) to fully address it.