Page 12
January 23, 2019
O PINION
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A Dream Deferred: Economic Justice
Racial wealth
divide actually
grows worse
J essiCah p ierre
Jan. 15th marked what
would’ve been Dr. Martin
Luther King’s 90th birth-
day.
Most known for his fa-
mous “I Have Dream Speech,” King
envisioned a future in which deep
racial inequalities — including deep
economic inequality — was eradicat-
ed. He worked tirelessly towards that
mission.
Over 50 years after his assassination,
sensational media stories have focused
heavily on the black unemployment
rate, which has reached historic lows.
President Trump was quick to claim
credit for this improvement last year,
tweeting: “Somebody please inform
Jay-Z that because of my policies,
Black Unemployment has just been
reported to be at the LOWEST RATE
by
EVER RECORDED!” (The rapper
had recently criticized the president
for a racist statement about African
countries.)
These headlines (and boasts)
don’t tell the whole story,
though. Most importantly, they
exclude data on overall wealth
— a critical measure of financial
security. Wealth buffers families
from the ups and downs of in-
come changes and economic
cycles, and allows households to take
advantage of opportunities.
A new report by the Institute for
Policy Studies takes a more holistic
look at where the country is in terms
of racial economic parity. It reveals
deep, pervasive, and ongoing racial
economic division.
The study shows that wealth is con-
centrating into fewer and fewer hands
over time. And though working white
people also struggle, the hands at the
very top are overwhelmingly white.
Far from closing, America’s polariz-
ing racial wealth divide is continuing
to grow between white households
and households of color.
Over the past three decades, the re-
port notes, “the median black family
saw their wealth drop by a whopping
50 percent, compared to a 33 percent
increase for the median white house-
hold.”
King foreshadowed that if we main-
tain our exploitive economic and po-
litical systems, then we’d get not only
racial apartheid, but economic apart-
heid as well.
And unfortunately, that is exactly
where we’re heading without system-
ic change. While one in five Amer-
icans of any race have zero or even
negative wealth, in the last 30 years
we’ve seen the number of households
with $10 million or more skyrocket by
856 percent.
The widening of the racial wealth
divide has coincided with the extreme
concentration of U.S. wealth. We’re
currently living in an economy where
the Forbes 400 own more wealth than
all black households, plus a quarter of
Latino households, combined.
As much as we cite the vision that
MLK laid out for America, decades
later we’ve not moved in the right di-
rection.
This dynamic is the result of public
policies that favor the wealthy, not the
“invisible hand” of the market. This
has implications for the racial wealth
divide, as well as the entire economy.
As the U.S. diversifies, these inequal-
ities are actually driving down Ameri-
ca’s total median wealth — and giving
the already rich that much more of a
leg up over everyone else.
As the mid-20th century civil rights
movement recognized, a major shift in
economic policy is needed to end the
racial inequality of the past and cre-
ate a new nation with opportunity for
all. Inaction — or worse, repeating the
same mistakes that led to this situation
— will simply widen the divide and
create greater economic instability for
the country at large. And I’ll be writ-
ing this same piece again next year.
Jessicah Pierre is the inequality
media specialist at the Institute for
Policy Studies. Distributed by Other-
Words.org.
Disruptions Create Chilling Effect on People
A few white men
think everything is
about them
J o a nn h arDesty
As I start my
third week on
the Portland City
Council, I am con-
cerned about how
privilege and, spe-
cifically white male
privilege, is lim-
iting the public’s access to City Hall.
These disruptions create a chilling ef-
fect on people who are unaccustomed
to coming to our City Hall to have their
voices heard. People are afraid to bring
their children to our important civic
meetings.
These disruptions seem to be caused
largely by a small group of white men
who use their privilege to act disrup-
tive, act disrespectful and act self-cen-
tered.
This behavior limits access to those
entering this building for the very first
time or for those who are new to the
political process. This is not the spirit
of speaking up for civic change that is
by
the heart of activism.
I ran my campaign on a platform
of creating One Portland. I promised
a Portland where regardless of race,
income, sexual orientation, or coun-
try of origin you will have a respect-
ful interaction and reception when you
on today.
Many of the disruptors are people that
I know personally and I respect their de-
sire to be heard. I share their concerns
and I, too, am passionate about many of
the issues that they care about. Howev-
er, their issues and concerns shouldn’t
Many of the disruptors are people
that I know personally and I respect their
desire to be heard. I share their concerns
and I, too, am passionate about many of
the issues that they care about. However,
their issues and concerns shouldn’t drown-
out the voices of others who come to this
building seeking the same access and
opportunity.
enter City Hall and from city officials.
We fail in our job when we don’t make
access equal, accessible, and fair to all
who seek a voice in our processes. We
live in a state built on white supremacy
and the legacies of that history linger
drown-out the voices of others who
come to this building seeking the same
access and opportunity.
As someone who has spent time a lot
of time on the other side of this podi-
um demanding accountability, I find it
chilling and disrespectful that there are
a few white men who think that every-
thing this council does is about them.
It isn’t.
I want to engage people from all
walks of life in their local government,
but I am very concerned about how
they will experience their local gov-
ernment if their first, second or third
experience at City Council consists of
constant disruption.
My open message to those who seek
to disrupt this process is this:
If you have a proposal to improve
the outcomes for people in the city of
Portland, you will find a welcoming
ear and my office is ready to assist you.
However, if this is simply about having
footage for your YouTube channel or
Facebook page, you should be aware
that using your privilege in this way
cannot continue. You have a right to
have your voice heard, but not at the
expense of other people.
I am encouraging other white men
and women to check the behavior of
those who seek to drown out the voices
of others. Civic discourse cannot thrive
if it is not coupled with civility and re-
spect for all others.
Jo Ann Hardesty is a Portland City
Commissioner.