National NAACP Convention Economic Opportunity in Your Community Roger A. Clay, Jr. President Insight Center for Community Economic Development July 9, 2012

About the Insight Center Our Mission: To help people and communities become, and remain, economically secure Guiding Concepts: Economic equity and Inclusion

Income and Assets Principal areas of Our Work Income: Allows people to become economically secure Assets: Allows people to remain economically secure and Pass on the benefits to the next generation

Key to Economic Security Building Wealth

Wealth determines where you live, where you go to school, and what kind of jobs you get

Racial Wealth Gap

White Americans have 22 times more wealth than blacks a gap that nearly doubled during the recession Communities of color lost 60% of their wealth between 2005 and 2010

$95,000 $20,000 The Racial Wealth Gap was Widening Before the Recession

High-Income Whites Middle-Income Whites Middle-Income Blacks High-Income Blacks Income is only part of the picture

Education matters, but alone cannot close the gap In 1994, Black mothers with a Bachelors degree or higher had 64 cents for every similar white mothers dollar. By 2007, they had 13 cents. The wealth gap among the most educated mothers grew fivefold between 1994 and 2007 to $128,000.

Significant job loss: Declining income: Loss of homeownership: The Recession hit blacks hard From 2007 to 2009, incomes fell 7.1% for blacks, faster than any group From 2009 to 2011, black minimum wage workers grew by nearly 17%, higher than any group Nearly half of blacks who lost their jobs have been out of work for longer than 6 months By the end of 2011, 45.1% owned their homes, down from 47.7% at the beginning of the recession The State of Communities of Color in the U.S. Economy Still Feeling the Pain Three Years Into the Recovery. Center for American Progress,2012.

Before the recession, from 2005 to 2007, black households with zero wealth or debt grew from 35% to 39% For one-half of all black families with children under age 18, debt has become a the new norm, even for those with the highest levels of education Child support debt makes it impossible for low-income, noncustodial fathers to build wealth Debt has become the modern day shackle

The Importance of Closing the Racial Wealth Gap The racial wealth gap hurts the nation as a whole. Reducing inequality is the best way of improving the social environment and quality of life for all Americans. The task of responding to a demographic shift in which the majority of Americans will no longer be white becomes especially urgent. Majority of young children are already people of color Our nation cannot afford to squander its most precious resource in an increasingly competitive global economy: its people. Without wealth, individual, family, and community capacity cannot be unleashed. Economic inequality undermines an effective democracy Wealth inequality leads to power inequality

Opportunities Occupy Movement Employment Challenges Changing Demographics

Insight Center for Community Economic Development