We are facing an all-out assault on Black life – Black liberty, livelihood, history, prosperity, economic power, and opportunity to fully participate in this democracy. These attacks began before this Administration, with a well-funded, coordinated effort to erase over sixty years of racial and economic progress achieved since the civil rights movement. Now, under the false premise and scapegoating of “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” this Administration is working to dismantle the very foundation of modern multiracial American life and bullying our national institutions into abandoning the promise of equal opportunity.
Fueling this assault is one of the most destructive lies woven into the fabric of this country: that for Black people to succeed, others must lose out. It's the myth that prosperity in America is a zero-sum game — that if one group gains a larger share another group's share must inevitably shrink; that we’re all just fighting for bigger slices of a fixed pie.
We have more data than we can cite here proving the exact opposite to be true. Research from the Federal Reserve and companies like Citi and McKinsey shows that when we close racial economic disparities, we actually grow the pie – adding trillions of dollars in U.S. GDP growth. Data from Harvard’s Opportunity Insights shows that the very solutions that increase economic mobility for Black children and families do so, too, for low-income white children and families.
The data proves that expanding Black economic prosperity does not mean diminishing anyone else’s – in fact, the growth of Black economic progress and prosperity is inextricably linked to the growth, competitiveness and strength of the entire U.S. economy, benefitting all Americans.
Despite the data, the opposition advances their lie to keep us on the back foot, forcing us to defend prior gains and protect the underpinnings of daily existence, instead of building towards our future.
And in the face of this assault, we must protect, and we must defend, because we can cede no ground without a fight. We are extremely grateful for partners like the National Urban League, and Legal Defense Fund, NAACP, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, and so many more, for fighting to preserve our progress and our future.
But, in this moment, Sherrilyn Ifill reminds us to fight with one hand – and plant with the other. This is exactly what we at the Black Economic Alliance (BEA) – a coalition of business leaders and aligned advocates committed to advancing work, wages, and wealth across the Black community – are leading on, planting new pathways to Black economic opportunity, progress, and prosperity.
Two pathways BEA is focused on are expanding the ownership economy by investing in Black entrepreneurs and partnering with mayors to advance Black work, wages, and wealth at the local level. Both of these areas promise to have outsized impact.
According to Pew, nearly 40 percent of Black Americans live in urban areas and BEA’s own research found that the Black community is most likely to trust local elected leaders when it comes to economic issues. So BEA is focused on bringing an entire ecosystem of private and non-profit institutions together to support local efforts to expand Black economic opportunity – and grow local economies.
Less than five percent of Black entrepreneurs employ others, yet we know that having at least one employee increases a business’s annual revenue eightfold. So there is room for a multiplier effect to take hold, where growing Black businesses will hire more employees and reinvest in their community. BEA is investing nearly $100 million in cross-sectoral efforts to train the next generation of entrepreneurs; conducting cutting-edge research into the unique barriers they face; making direct investments in historically under-resourced founders; and providing support for the organizations that are building an ecosystem to support those founders on their journey.
To fight and plant, we must both recognize our unique ability to contribute and collaborate in the broader effort. Because together, we have what we need. We have the scalable, data-driven solutions that we know work. We have an ecosystem of influential leaders and institutions working together and deploying their expertise, networks, and resources thoughtfully and strategically for maximum impact. We have the grassroots energy and organization to compel decision-makers from Wall Street to Washington to act.
And, despite the lie our opponents would have us believe, the Black economic harvest from our planting will benefit every American for generations to come.
