#048: Racism + Finances

Following the murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police Department in May 2020, national attention has turned to systemic racism within the United States, specifically for Black people.
Some may wonder what racism has to do with finances, but the answer is everything.
Systemic racism is still rooted in all aspects of our society today, and progress is still needed for Black Americans to have true equality.

Take employment for example:

• Studies show that companies are more likely to call back a candidate who has a name that's more commonly associated with White people.
• Black Americans are more likely to be unemployed or have low-paying jobs compared to White Americans. That's in part due to education disparities. But studies show Black workers earn less than White workers even when they have the same education.
• There's also the racial wage gap: the Economic Policy Institute says that in 2017, Black men made about 70 cents for every $1 their White counterpart made.
• The gap is especially large when it comes to Black women, who make 62 cents for every $1 a White man makes, according to the National Women's Law Center.

This is just one example. Systemic racism has impacted housing, education, wealth, health care, criminal justice, policing, and voting. There's no simple fix to reversing centuries of discrimination. But understanding how pervasive it is, is step one.

George Floyd's murder may not have ever occurred if systemic racism didn't also affect finances. As Katie mentions during the show, the Minneapolis police were originally called because a counterfeit $20 had been used, and as the owner of Cup Foods has told numerous news outlets, he was not sure George Floyd knew the money was fake and that law enforcement normally would stop by the supermarket and pick up the counterfeit currency.
Regardless of whether George Floyd knew the money was counterfeit, it should have never been a death sentence. As Mark McCoy, a 44-year-old white archaeology professor at Southern Methodist University wrote:
“George Floyd and I were both arrested for allegedly spending a counterfeit $20 bill. For George Floyd, a man my age, with two kids, it was a death sentence. For me, it is a story I sometimes tell at parties. That, my friends, is White privilege.”
Joining us on the show to delve deeper into the very-large topic of Racism + Finances is Michelle Jackson, host of the "Michelle is Money Hungry" podcast and author of a blog and website of the same name.
Income
White: $71,000
Black: $41,000
Median Net Worth
White: $171,000 (10x higher than the average Black person's net worth)
Black: $17,600
Poverty
White: 8.1%
Black: 20.8%
Unemployment
White: 14.2%
Black: 16.7%
No Access to Health Care
White: 5.4%
Black: 9.7%
COVID-19 Deaths
Black people represent 13% population
Black people represent 23% COVID-19 deaths
About Michelle Jackson
Michelle accrued more than $60,000 in unsecured debt and paid off that debt while supporting her mom financially while working as a Starbuck's barista. Michelle shares her struggles and triumphs, as well as those of other personal finance bloggers, on her podcast and blog, Michelle is Money Hungry. She also created a financial retreat for financially single women Money on the Mountain.

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