Equity Challenge Day 12:
The Racial Wealth Gap

Something to Consider:

The first episode of Netflix’s Explained series from Vox dives into the Racial Wealth Gap. If you are looking to learn more about this topic, we recommend watching. It just 18 minutes, it is able to break down an incredibly complex topic. 
What is the Racial Wealth Gap?

Since the late 1970s and early 1980s, the earnings of Black workers have fallen relative to the earnings of white workers in much of the United States, according to a new study from Michigan State University. There significant disparities between the top and bottom quintiles of incomes. Median income for black households is $41K compared to $46K for Hispanic and $56K for White households. As the income gap continues to grow in America, working households are struggling to meet their daily needs and find it difficult to build wealth through savings, investments, or home ownership.

Share your reflections on today’s topic on social media using the hashtag #unitedforequity and tag @AlleganCountyUnitedWay.
Today’s Challenge

Option 1:  Did you know that Michigan payday lenders disproportionately place their businesses in communities of color, rural areas, and low-income areas? A 2018 report from the Center for Responsible Lending looks into how these businesses are targeting vulnerable customers.

Option 2: Explore the Debt in America map to visualize differences in the weight of debt across geographies and between white and non-white residents. Take a dive into how past racial injustices are carried forward as wealth handed down across generations and reinforced by “color-blind” practices and policies by reading through The Asset Value of Whiteness: Understanding the Racial Wealth Gap.

Option 3: Hear from Ruth, an immigrant from Honduras, on how the ‘toxic stress’ of poverty and financial insecurity is impacting her and her children in this 10-minute PBS News Hour special.

Option 4: Listen to this 30-minute interview with Dr. Donna Beegle on how she broke the cycle of generational poverty in her family and is now working to help others do the same through the consulting firm she founded.

Option 5: Journal on your and your families experiences of work and money. What career do you have? What did your parents have? Do you or they work in a historically segregated industry? If so, how was that segregation maintained? How does that affect your families earning power?