Black Americans face enduring challenges in attaining economic equality despite policy efforts made in the post-civil rights era, according to a recently published report by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). The report underscores persistent racial wage and wealth gaps and calls for targeted legislative action.
“Many associate the March on Washington with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. What is often forgotten, however, are the marchers’ urgent calls to raise the minimum wage, build affordable housing and strengthen voters’ rights — sweeping reforms that could transform American lives. Although we have made strides in racial equity, there are miles to go before King’s dream is a reality,” Adewale A. Maye, policy and research analyst at EPI and author of the report, said in an Aug. 1 release.
The report, titled Chasing the Dream of Equity: How policy has shaped racial economic disparities, finds the measures have "largely failed to address widening racial disparities in wages, wealth, and homeownership for Black Americans."
"In the 60 years since the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, little progress has been made in removing barriers to the full equitable integration of Black Americans into the U.S. economy," Maye said in the release.
Policy demands championed by the Civil Rights Movement through the March on Washington and the Kerner Commission influenced Congress to pass legislation that reversed oppressive Jim Crow laws and confronted racial discrimination, the EPI stated in the release. Although the movement removed many barriers to equal rights under the law, many economic demands were not met.
"Failure to address these has adversely impacted the economic security of people of color and exacerbated many of the long-standing racial disparities in economic outcomes present today," EPI said in the release.
The report said the 1963 March on Washington is often associated with King's "I Have a Dream" speech but the marchers' demands for a higher minimum wage, affordable housing and strengthened voters' rights are often forgotten. Such sweeping reforms "could transform American lives," Maye said in the report.
The report's key findings, as highlighted in the EPI release, include the persistence of racial wage and wealth gaps, with a typical Black worker being paid 23.4% less per hour than a typical White worker. This gap has widened since 1972, when it was 22.3%. A typical White family has eight times more wealth than a typical Black family, the report found.
The report also highlighted. Black workers' wages have not kept pace with productivity growth over the years. Although productivity has seen a substantial increase of 61.7% from 1979 to 2020, Black workers' wages have only grown by 18.9% during the same period, the report found. This discrepancy further exacerbates the economic disparities between Black and White individuals.
Furthermore, the report points out concerning trends in Black homeownership rates. The percentage of Black homeowners was lower in 2020 (45%) than it was in 1970 (49.7%), indicating a setback in progress in this area.
In addition to wage and wealth disparities, Black workers' unionization rates have significantly declined over time. Historically, Black workers had higher rates of union coverage compared to white workers. However, as union coverage rates have decreased overall, the gap between the two groups has narrowed, further impacting the economic well-being of Black workers, the report said.
Another key finding in the report is the consistently higher unemployment rates experienced by Black workers compared to White workers. Over the past 50 years, the annual Black unemployment rate has often exceeded 10%. In contrast, White workers' annual unemployment rate has ever risen above 10%, even during economic downturns, according to the report. This disparity in unemployment rates highlights the uneven burden placed on Black communities during economic hardships, the report found.
The findings in the report paint a troubling picture of ongoing racial economic disparities. Addressing these gaps will require comprehensive efforts from policymakers, businesses and society as a whole to ensure equitable opportunities and economic prosperity for all individuals, irrespective of their race or ethnicity.
"Federal policy is essential to demolishing the structural barriers created by discriminatory laws and statutes," Maye said in the report. "Lawmakers should stop relying solely on race-neutral policies, which don’t adequately address problems rooted in racism. They must also craft race-conscious policies with equity as a clearly defined and measurable policy goal."
