- The unemployment rate for Blacks has been at least double that for Whites for the last 50 years.
- While the college completion rate for Blacks has quadrupled since 1970, the rate of employment has not improved.
- Carrying the double-burden of both racism and sexism, Black women have been especially hard hit by the latest recession and employment for them has lagged during the economic recovery.
- Low wages are at the core of the Black jobs crisis, with Black workers being impacted disproportionately.
- A partnership between Black workers and the labor movement holds potential as a vehicle for promoting economic opportunities for Blacks and for all Americans, addressing structural inequities that limit opportunities for African Americans and also revitalizing the languishing labor movement.
- Community organizing, particularly of Black workers, is an important tool, with activism flourishing under the #BlackLivesMatter banner and increasing the sense of urgency and energy around Black issues.
Published by
- Discount Foundation
- Neighborhood Funders Group