Income Inequality Archives - Institute of the Black World 21st Century

A “redlining” map of Richmond, Virginia, from 1937

Racial Inequities Will Grow Unless We Consciously Work to Eliminate Them

By IBW21Editors' Choice

To lessen and reverse the pandemic’s effects on Black families’ income and wealth, consciously consider the persistent effects of the country’s legacy of human trafficking, bondage, and disadvantage. By Kilolo Kijakazi, Jonathan Schwabish and Margaret Simms — The economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic promises to affect families across the United States and future generations for years to come. The downturn will likely hit African Americans hardest, exacerbating large, long-standing racial wealth gaps. Because these…

August 21, 2020

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Black Americans are bearing the brunt of coronavirus recession – this should come as no surprise

By IBW21Commentaries/Opinions, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

When the shuttered economy reopens, how many black Americans will be left out in the cold? By William M. Rodgers III — As the COVID-19 pandemic worsened in April, many Americans were shocked by the extent that black Americans were being disproportionately impacted: higher infection rates, more deaths and greater job loss. But many black Americans were not surprised. This is not new. The same dynamic has been going on at times of…

May 6, 2020

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Inequality and the Coronavirus, Or How to Destroy American Society From the Top Down

By IBW21Commentaries/Opinions, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

By Liz Theoharis — My mom contracted polio when she was 14. She survived and learned to walk again, but my life was deeply affected by that virus. Today, as our larger society attempts to self-distance and self-isolate, my family has texted about the polio quarantine my mom was put under: how my grandma fearfully checked my aunt’s temperature every night because she shared a bedroom with my mom; how they…

April 30, 2020

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AOC wants coronavirus ‘reparations’ for minority communities

By IBW21COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Reparations

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has called for coronavirus reparations for minorities, claiming higher numbers of COVID-19 fatalities in low-income communities stems from underlying inequality. By Ebony Bowden, New York Post — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has called for coronavirus reparations for minorities, claiming higher numbers of COVID-19 fatalities in low-income communities stems from underlying inequality. “COVID deaths are disproportionately spiking in Black + Brown communities,” Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) tweeted to her 6 million…

April 6, 2020

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Whither the United States of America? The “American Dream” has become a “Nightmare”

By IBW21Editors' Choice

Image: Unemployment By Ernest Neuschul 1931. By Massoud Nayeri, Global Research — The least expectations of all hardworking families are simple and noble. They want to raise their children to be educated, content and prosperous in a safe environment. This is a universal aspiration. From Baghdad to Boston, working families share the same hopes and expectations; only the degree of suffering separates them. When one part of a body is in strain,…

April 6, 2020

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The Shame, it took a Virus for America to Finally Bail out Its Workers and the Poor

By Earl HutchinsonCommentaries/Opinions, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

By Earl Ofari Hutchinson — Moments before the House took a final vote on the COVID stimulus package, a handful of progressive House Democrats railed that the bill gave the heavy cash to the major corporations. While workers and the poor, they said, got crumbs. This was also pretty much the attack line from Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and other progressive Democrats in the days before the final vote on…

April 4, 2020

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Commentary, Articles and Essays by Dr. Julianne Malveaux

Will the Coronavirus Hit Black Folks Harder?

By Dr. Julianne MalveauxCOVID-19 (Coronavirus), Dr. Julianne Malveaux

Dr. Julianne Malveaux — Restaurants, museums, libraries, gyms, and bars are closed. So are schools, from K-12 to higher education. Classes will be conducted online or not at all. A local vendor told me her receipts were down by 85 percent, and she hopes not to close before the “national emergency” is over. Our streets are deserted, with some cities asking people to “self-quarantine”, or in the words of several…

March 23, 2020

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Will Trump and Mitch Really Show Workers and the Poor the COVID Money?

By Earl HutchinsonCommentaries/Opinions, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

By Earl Ofari Hutchinson — At a news conference, Trump went on record saying, “that would be OK with me.” What is “OK” with him is that the one to two trillion dollars in COVID-19 combat stimulus dollars won’t simply fatten the pockets of the banks and big business. He made the promise for a reason. The moment Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said they’d fast track the…

March 23, 2020

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COVID-19 Will Strike Poor People More Harshly and Further Widen Wealth Gap

By IBW21COVID-19 (Coronavirus), News & Current Affairs

By Martin Levine, NPQ — The threat of COVID-19 is not evenly distributed. The poorer you are, the more likely you will fall victim to the virus and its most serious outcomes. If that were not unfair enough, the virus’s spread will set off a self-reinforcing process that will leave behind a wider gap between rich and poor after the disease is brought under control. Bodies may heal, but should…

March 20, 2020

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Fast food workers and union members carry signs as they stage a protest outside of a McDonald's restaurant in Oakland, Calif., on Feb. 12, 2018, the 50th anniversary of the historic Memphis Sanitation Strike that was led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

What Happened to Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream of Economic Justice?

By IBW21Commentaries/Opinions

Economic justice was always central to Martin Luther King Jr.’s agenda. But society has moved backward on that issue since his death. By Michael K. Honey, Time — When Memphis sanitation workers went on strike in 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. knew they had a lesson to teach America. “You are reminding the nation,” he told attendees at a March 1968 rally there, “that it is a crime for people to live…

March 3, 2020

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The 1619 Project Debate with History of Slavery in New York City

By IBW21Commentaries/Opinions, Reparations

By Alan Singer, HNN — Author’s note: “Represent NYC” is a weekly program produced by Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN). The show’s guests usually discuss topics like affordable housing, education policy and domestic violence. I was invited to discuss the New York Times’ 1619 Project and the long-term impact of slavery on New York and American society for a Black History Month broadcast. This post includes the questions I prepared to answer and notes…

February 19, 2020

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The student debt crisis is fueling the poverty draft

By IBW21Commentaries/Opinions

With the cost of higher education skyrocketing, many young Americans from economically struggling communities across the South and elsewhere have turned to the military as a solution for student debt. By Benjamin Barber, Facing South — Earlier this month, after a United States drone strike in Iraq killed 10 Iranian military leaders including the country’s top security and intelligence commander, elevated tensions between the U.S. and Iran raised alarms about…

January 22, 2020

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