BLACK ECONOMIC ALLIANCE FOUNDATION INTRODUCES

Re-Envisioning America

A New Architecture
for Black Work,
Wages, and Wealth

Sources: U.S. Department of Commerce, "Historical Statistics of the United States, 1789-1945: A Supplement to the Statistical Abstract of the United States," 1949; Mehrsa Baradaran as cited in The Boston Review, 2017, "A Bad Check for Black America;" U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, “Gross Domestic Product, Fourth Quarter and Year 2022 (Third Estimate), GDP by Industry, and Corporate Profits."

Note: 3.75% is the average of the current Federal Reserve estimates for Black national share of wealth - 2.9% and 4.6%.

In the century and a half since the Emancipation of Black slaves in 1863, the share of national wealth that Black Americans own has grown by less than five percentage points.

Throughout American history, the systems and markets of our economy have been designed to hold Black people back.

The result: Vast economic disparities that limit Black families’ access to economic prosperity and wealth-building.

And these disparities hurt the entire American economy, costing us $16 trillion in untapped potential over just the past 20 years.

To solve this, we must reshape our economic infrastructure — its policies, investments, and programs — to center Black work, wages, and wealth.

Source: 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances

The wealth gap is just one symptom of the ongoing racial inequities that operate across the interrelated systems and markets of our economic infrastructure.

To solve these challenges, we must re-envision all of these systems and markets — specifically the policies, investments, and programs within them — to center Black work, wages, and wealth.

Investing in effective solutions that drive Black Prosperity would generate $1T per year

Sources: McKinsey & Company, "The Economic Impact of Closing the Racial Wealth Gap;" McKinsey & Company, "The Economic State of Black America."

But solve these challenges we must in order to unlock critical economic gains in the years to come.

The Black Economic Alliance Foundation (BEA Foundation) develops action-oriented resources and solutions to help leaders come together and make a measurable impact on Black work, wages, and wealth. The goal is to help leaders in every sector invest in more meaningful, sustainable, and wide-reaching solutions for the Black community. In turn, this growth of the Black economy will propel transformational prosperity for the entire American economy.

All of these action-oriented resources and solutions will be grounded in the perspective of what we call the Four Lenses, which move us away from one-size-fits-all implementation approaches, toward solutions that address the unique realities of Black Americans. These Four Lenses can be applied to any program, policy, or investment.

Bringing Black Prosperity into Focus

Look through four essential lenses

The Four Lenses

View actionable interventions through four lenses

01.

Availability

Do Black households and communities have access to and use the distribution channels on which the solution relies?

02.

Participation

Are structural barriers addressed so that Black people and institutions can fully participate?

03.

Long-Term Returns

Will Black people see long-term gains similar to those of non-Black people? What else is needed to help sustain impact?

04.

Immediate Quality or Value

Will the results be of value to Black people?Are outcomes for Black people of the same quality and magnitude as those for non-Black people?

The complexity of our economic infrastructure can be an advantage: It means there is no shortage of opportunities to impact those markets and systems in positive ways.

Our first resource that seeks to capitalize on those many opportunities is our suite of interventions that have the greatest potential to improve Black work, wages, and wealth. This data-driven suite of interventions is a first-of-its-kind document we call the Architecture for Action.

Architecture for Action

See the vision and take action

BEA Foundation has curated a suite of interventions most likely to move us toward a future where financial opportunity and prosperity are within reach for all Black Americans.  

The recommended interventions are practical yet transformative, chosen both for their proven success in the past as well as their potential for impact in the future.

SEE HOW WE CENTERED BLACK PROSPERITY IN SELECTING THESE INTERVENTIONS →

01.

Leaders can effect change across multiple markets and systems. Choose one to explore now:

Housing & Real Estate

Healthcare

Education

Criminal Justice

Business & Entrepreneurship

Financial

Interpersonal

Work & Wages

Physical & Digital Infrastructure

02.

Ready to create impact?

Fill out the short form below to download the complete Architecture for Action and make a bigger impact.

The Black Economic Alliance Foundation is a coalition of business leaders and aligned advocates who are committed to advancing Black work, wages, and wealth.

Contact info@blackeconomicalliance.org to tell us about your experience using the Architecture for Action and to learn more about how leaders can help create economic empowerment in Black communities.