For generations, Black people have faced economic issues. Anything from homeownership, access to adequate funds, or simply creating generational wealth. As time continues to progress, much progress has been made; according to CNBC Black women make up less than 10% of the United States population but are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs in the U.S. However, on the opposite side of that, studies show that Black households were more likely to have student loan and medical debt than white households. The economic gap between Black & white people remains a constant issue, raising questions about opportunity, access, and financial stability.
The racial wealth gap does not just start with income, but it starts with history not allow- ing Black people to have any wealth building opportunities. Slavery, Jim Crow Laws, redlining, and discriminatory banking practices, Black people have had to continually ght economic inclusion. Home ownership is a way for Black people to close the racial wealth gap, Black homeownership is 45%, while white homeownership is 73%. A er WW2, the G.I. Bill officially titled “the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944” was signed into law by President Franklin D. Rosevelt. is program helped veterans and their families, veterans were given low interest rates, government backed home loans with no down payment requirements. This bill helped many American white veterans. Many Black veterans were denied entry into this program because of discrimination. Banks would not give out loans and redlining policies would not allow them access to buy homes in certain areas. As a result, the G.I. Bill sounded good in theory, but it prevented Black people from the economic opportunity.
Today, Black workers are facing salary and unemployment discrimination. Studies show that historically the Black unemployment rate is twice as high as the white unemployment rate. The Black unemployment rate is 8.2% and the white unemployment rate is 4.7%. In 2023, the median household income for Black’s was $51,960 and $69,070 for whites. This is not just a numbers game, but proving how daily life is affected be- cause of the wealth gap. Lower income means less money to save, invest, or start a busi- ness. This also makes it harder to afford housing, healthcare, and education, all of these things are critical for economic stability.
There is power in Black entrepreneurship. Despite the challenges, Black people have a history of economic resilience. From Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma to the 60 plus Black owned businesses that used to line Lyons Avenue in Houston’s 5th Ward. Entrepreneur- ship is a powerful tool for economic indepen- dence. Black owned businesses continue to rise in beauty, technol- ogy, and media. Access to capital (money) con- tinues to remain a major hurdle.
