Progress Starts With Understanding
Emmaus House is dedicated to improving the economic and social well-being of the communities we serve, but it’s hard to even talk about economic and social well-being without talking about wealth.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Atlanta has the highest income inequality of any city in the country, despite record economic growth and the fact that it’s considered by many to be “a Black mecca.” But inequality of income is only part of the problem.
The Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative (AWBI) is a community of investors, advocates, and activists working to build Black wealth in Atlanta. Recently, they released a report titled “Building a Beloved Economy: A Baseline and Framework for Building Black Wealth in Atlanta.” The report presents a comprehensive way of understanding and confronting our city’s massive racial wealth divide and its impact on Black Atlantans.
Wealth and opportunity
Most people define wealth as a person or household’s assets minus their debts. A person can have relatively high income and still have little to no wealth, leaving them vulnerable to unexpected changes.
The median income for white families in Atlanta is $83,722 compared to $28,105 for Black families.
However, the median wealth of white households is $238,355: 46 times higher than the wealth of Black households, which is $5,180.
For Black residents of Atlanta, building wealth isn’t just about acquiring assets; it’s about security, mobility, and leverage… It’s about having the ability to say no to opportunities that aren’t right, and to invest in opportunities for growth.
Ultimately, Black wealth is about Black freedom, and—to paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther King—none of us are free until we all are.
Rooted in love
The report presents what AWBI calls “the structural determinants of Black wealth framework,” interrogating the data, narratives, and policies that drive Black wealth outcomes, from disparities in income and credit access to the disproportionate impacts of climate change and mass incarceration.
The goal isn’t just to highlight the problems, but rather to advance race-conscious solutions that build Black wealth and justice in the world.
“[N]ow more than ever, we need to embrace race-explicit strategies that demand we invest in people and places that have systematically denied access to opportunities,” says Dr. Janelle Williams, Co-Founder and CEO of The Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative.
Race-explicit work doesn’t mean race-exclusive work, however.
“The data, stories, and analyses we provide in this publication are rooted in love,” says Dr. Williams. “True love demands accountability, it looks to justice as its north star. This report is designed to realize the very real potential of our beloved home, Atlanta.”
Click below to read the full report and to learn more about how we can advocate for more equitable outcomes in our city.