We don’t need martyrs; we need victories

By Janelle Williams, Ph.D.

This year has been marked by relentless attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion, adding severe strain to an already disinvested racial and economic justice ecosystem, particularly, in the South. Abrupt federal program closures, selective funding retrenchment , and the absence of a coordinated legal defense have left critical work vulnerable. Partners across the sector have been forced to cut essential programs, reduce staff, and temper their messaging to avoid fall out. Meanwhile, the economic exclusion of Black communities persists, underscored by the malicious removal of 300,000 Black women from the labor force and intensifying threats to democracy itself. 

We find ourselves at a critical crossroads … One that we’ve arrived at because we have historically avoided some hard, necessary conversations. America’s persistent commitment to racial hierarchy is not an accident of history; it was intentionally built into the fabric of our economy, our policies and our institutions. Anti-Blackness, sexism, classism and colorism are not mere relics; they continue to thrive, actively nurtured within our politics, businesses and civic structures.  

My heart is heavy with reflection. Our collective journey toward freedom has been neither linear nor solitary. Shackles of oppression have not vanished; they’ve simply evolved — from plantations to prisons, from burning crosses to coded language attacking justice-oriented movements as “woke!”  

These contemporary manifestations reinforce economic chains, maintaining stark inequalities. Black households today possess a median wealth of only $44,890. According to recent Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis data, although Black wealth has grown by 66 percent since 2019, the Black-White median wealth gap has ballooned to $242,000, the largest since records began.   

Yet amid deliberate oppression, the undeniable magic of Black communities shines brightly — our resilience, ingenuity and innovation undiminished. Black-owned businesses generate more than $200 billion annually, sustaining more than 3.5 million jobs. Imagine what we could achieve if equitable access to capital were a reality — an estimated additional $13 trillion in GDP by 2050. We are living in a civil rights moment, fighting for our democracy and safeguarding hope and justice for future generations.  

But we cannot meet this moment with cautious incrementalism, respectability politics or outdated strategies. We don’t need martyrs; we need victories. This moment calls for bold dreams, expansive thinking, swift action and strategic investment. It demands action from every sector committed to justice. We must anchor ourselves unapologetically in the full dignity of our humanity, refusing to compromise it and instead demanding returns on investments that translate into tangible, transformative progress.  

Supremacy thrives in chaos and scarcity; our response must be rooted in abundance, solidarity and collective leadership. Our power lies in unity, strategic partnerships and mutual support. No single organization can dismantle systemic racism alone. 

This is our moment to trade abstract ideals for the concrete tools of liberation. We cannot afford further delays or incremental gains. There are actionable opportunities to invest to win:   

Invest in Impact, Not Just Missions  

Fund collaborative, cohort-based initiatives designed to produce measurable, scalable outcomes. Prioritize partnerships that advance shared, results-oriented agendas.  

Build Bold Infrastructure  

Strengthen organizations that serve as ecosystem builders, resource brokers and visionary innovators, which will mobilize resources for greater community impact. 

Rethink Capacity Building  

Critically evaluate traditional notions of “capacity” — often aligned with oppressive frameworks — and commit to equitable, transformative approaches that authentically enhance organizational effectiveness and sustainability.  

Amplify Advocacy and Narrative Power 

Increase investments in policy advocacy, strategic narrative campaigns, and ecosystem resilience initiatives to shape public discourse, influence policy outcomes and bolster community strength.  

Collaborate for Strategic Impact  

Forge strategic partnerships with complementary organizations to maximize impact and resource efficiency.  

Embrace Agility and Adaptability  

Replace traditional, rigid strategic planning methods with agile, emergent learning tools, adaptive strategies and decision-tree modeling to respond dynamically to community needs and opportunities.   

Today’s sobering realities underscore that we are not living in “business as usual” times. They demand that we remain grounded in our mission and strategic in execution, advancing economic justice with both courage and clarity. At Kindred Futures, we have chosen not to succumb to narratives of retreat. Instead, we have sharpened our value proposition and stood firm in our race-explicit and unapologetic commitments that are not exclusive. We need each other!  

This clarity has positioned us as a trusted and resilient partner. Our work is both soulful and strategic. And as a “think and do” tank embedded in the Southern economic justice movement, we are determined to challenge entrenched barriers while building new pathways for community wealth. 

Interactive Tool: Mapping Pathways to Building Collective Black Wealth

Mapping Pathways to Building Collective Black Wealth

By:  Miriam Van Dyke, PhD & Alex Camardelle, PhD  

At Kindred Futures, we are focused on creating innovative community wealth-building solutions to uplift the Talented 90th, a broad base of Black households, including the nearly 2 million Black households in the American South with zero or negative net worth. This means advocating for the scalability of innovative and reparative initiatives for Black families. To understand which solutions are the most impactful, it is important to first understand the underlying historical and present-day determinants and drivers impacting the ability of Black communities to create, protect, and sustain wealth.  

To do this, Kindred Futures worked with PolicyMap to build the Mapping Black Wealth Pathways tool, showing how economic policies (e.g., state minimum wage laws) and opportunities (e.g., jobs and wages), and environmental (e.g., climate burden), health (e.g., healthcare access), and living (e.g., housing affordability) conditions are spread across communities and providing or extracting opportunities to build wealth. While many of these data points describe negative conditions, we see them as an opportunity to identify and tailor solutions to support Black communities on their pathway to building collective wealth. 

Click on INDICATORS and get started exploring your community today.  

To get the scoop on how Kindred Futures selected these data points, read on! 

Pro tip: zoom in and out to view data indicators across various geographic levels (e.g., state, county, zip code tabulation area, and census tract).  

 

Data mapped by PolicyMap, an online GIS mapping tool.

Kindred Futures R3 Framework: Revenue, Resilience, and Repair

Data points for the Mapping Black Wealth Pathways Tool were selected to reflect the Kindred Futures R3 Framework: Revenue, Resilience, and Repair. 

At Kindred Futures, the R3 framework—Revenue, Resilience, and Repair—grew out of both rigorous research and intentional community listening. In conversations with Black families across the South, we consistently heard that wealth is not simply about assets, but about freedom: the freedom to choose, to secure a future for one’s children, and to thrive without fear of exploitation or loss. Sitting with this wisdom alongside the data, we came to understand that achieving Black prosperity requires a framework broad enough to confront the structural determinants of wealth. R3 reflects that understanding: we must generate new income and assets through Revenue, safeguard those gains through Resilience, and pursue systemic Repair for the harms of dispossession and exclusion. Together, these pillars embody both the urgency of redress and the promise of building lasting, liberatory wealth for Black communities. 

The Revenue Pillar focuses on Creating Pathways for Growth and Income to Build Black Economic Power. 

  • The Revenue pillar of the R3 strategy is about creating robust pathways for economic growth, asset-building, and income generation in Black communities. This means investing in Black-owned businesses, entrepreneurship, homeownership, and good jobs as engines of wealth creation. Kindred Futures advances research and policies that expand access to capital for Black entrepreneurs, support Black business development, and reduce barriers that have historically stifled Black enterprise. For example, it backs initiatives like Black business incubators, equitable entrepreneurship training, and special-purpose credit programs that provide financing to Black start-ups. By promoting worker justice (supporting good wages, benefits, and collective bargaining), ensures that Black workers share in economic growth. All these efforts align with Kindred Futures’ priority of expanding Black incomes and assets, measured by indicators like rising Black business ownership rates, higher earnings from work, etc.  

The Resilience Pillar focuses on protecting and preserving Black wealth, including safeguarding homes, communities, and assets.  

  • The Resilience pillar of the R3 strategy is about research and policies that center on protecting existing Black wealth from systemic threats, displacement, and financial exploitation. LEAD’s strategy here is about fortifying the defenses around Black-owned homes, land, businesses, and savings so that hard-won gains are not eroded. This involves advocating for strong anti-displacement policies – for instance, tenant protections and anti-eviction measures to keep Black renters from unjust removal, rent control policies to prevent profiteering in gentrifying neighborhoods, and heirs’ property reforms to help Black families secure clear title to ancestral land and homes. The resilience work also tackles predatory financial practices: pushing for consumer financial protections and regulation of payday lenders, mortgage fraud, and other exploitative schemes that often target Black households. Additionally, this pillar embraces climate resilience strategies – recognizing that environmental threats (floods, hurricanes, extreme heat) disproportionately impact Black families and can literally wash away Black wealth. By promoting equitable climate adaptation (like infrastructure investments and insurance support in Black communities) alongside social safety nets and healthcare access.  

The Repair Pillar focuses on addressing historical injustices and closing the wealth divide, allowing for a reckoning with the past to invest in the future.  

  • The Repair pillar of Kindred Futures’ R3 strategy directly confronts the legacy of racial injustice that has stripped wealth from Black Americans for generations and pursues reparative investments to rectify those disparities. This means pushing beyond incremental progress and seeking transformative change that returns wealth and resources to Black communities. The R3 strategy promotes formal reparations programs at the national, state, and local levels – policies that would provide compensation or restitution for the enormous economic harms of slavery, segregation, redlining, and other racist policies. Such reparations could take the form of direct payments, housing grants, educational scholarships, or community investments targeted to descendants of those who suffered economic losses. In addition, this includes the impact of land and property reclamation initiatives: efforts to restore land ownership or property rights to Black families who were dispossessed. This includes everything from securing the return of stolen land (for example, recent cases where cities have returned property taken from Black owners generations ago) to reforming laws so Black landowners (like heirs’ property holders in the South) can reclaim and keep their land. Another key area of Repair is debt forgiveness – advocating for canceling or alleviating debts that disproportionately burden Black households. Lastly, Repair represents Kindred Futures’ leading research and advocacy on baby bonds and children trust accounts in the South, which we promote as universal investment vehicles that are reparative.  

Mapping Black Wealth Pathways Tool in Action

The Mapping Black Wealth Pathways Tool opens with the percent of households with a Black householder that are unbanked using data from 2019-2023 across 9 American South states. However, we know that it is not that straightforward. Historical exclusionary policies, practices, and legislation have placed Black communities at an economic disadvantage and have created barriers to banking and accessing credit with favorable terms. For example, majority Black neighborhoods (census tracts) are less likely to have a bank branch than non-majority Black neighborhoods. Conversely, Kindred Futures has found a higher density of predatory financial institutions (e.g., payday lenders and title pawn retailers) in Atlanta’s predominantly Black neighborhoods which offer alternative financial services, including high-interest loans and substandard products that trap Black families in cycles of debt and extract wealth. 

Zooming in, you are able to explore the complex dynamics influencing the ability of communities at different levels (e.g., census tract, county, zip code) to build wealth and economically prosper. For example, in Atlanta, GA, the story of historical exclusion and its present-day impacts are evident when exploring grades assigned to neighborhoods by the Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) between 1935-1940 (see Repair tab) (more info on HOLC grades indicator). These grades reflected “mortgage security” and influenced the likelihood of banks and other mortgage lenders to provide loans and determined investment safety. To say the least, these grades were racially discriminatory as they used the racial composition of neighborhoods in grade calculations, giving lower grades to areas with greater concentrations of Black and immigrant residents. While the City of Atlanta is facing gentrification pressures, disproportionately displacing Black residents, it is evident that Black residents still largely reside in historically redlined areas and may continue to face limited access to credit (see Demographics tab).  

Historical redlining has helped to reinforce the deep racial wealth divide, creating a present-day paradoxical situation in some redlined communities where the historical building of wealth from homeownership has been limited, and yet these communities also hold relatively more affordable housing and provide an opportunity for entry to homeownership. The map below shows the median value of owner-occupied homes in areas (see the Repair tab). Explore the Resilience tab to also see the spatial distribution of homes that are likely affordable for a 4-person family earning 50% of the area median income. 

However, communities with relatively more affordable housing need proactive protections and supports for residents with lower incomes and business owners at risk of displacement. Communities also need more than just affordable housing to thrive. They need access to good jobs and other economic opportunities and supports. For example, the lower job opportunity and greater average travel time to jobs (mapped below, see Revenue tab) are yet another symptom of chronic economic disinvestment in some of Atlanta’s majority Black neighborhoods.  

In sum, Revenue, Resilience, and Repair are three strands of one cohesive strategy to achieve economic justice for Black communities. The Mapping Black Wealth Pathways Tool can help community residents and advocates, government officials, and policy makers understand the landscape of their communities and understand the underlying historical and present-day determinants and drivers impacting the ability of Black communities to create, protect, and sustain wealth. This wealth of information can be used to identify and tailor solutions to support Black communities on their path to building collective wealth.  Initiatives at Kindred Futures integrate the R3 pillars recognizing that they are mutually reinforcing: the wealth generated through Revenue initiatives can only thrive if protected by Resilience measures, and both of those efforts must be complemented by intentional Repair of historical wrongs to truly break the cycle of inequality. Most importantly, solutions produced under this R3 approach shifts the focus from individual effort to systemic intervention: it makes the case that only by changing policies, redirecting capital, and repairing past harm can we create the conditions for Black wealth to flourish.  Join Kindred Futures as we uncover and implement innovative community wealth-building solutions to build collective wealth in Black communities. 
Technical Notes:   The following table includes 41 data indicators included in the Mapping Black Wealth Pathways Tool. Kindred Futures selected these data indicators based on availability in alignment with Kindred Futures R3 Framework. Please note that many of the data indicators could not be disaggregated by race due to data source limitations or insufficient data. Kindred Futures invites feedback on our mapping tool and will continue to consider updates as new data sources and indicators become available for mapping. Please send any feedback to: belovedresearch@kinfutures.org 

Revenue Data Indicators

Domain: Income

Data Label: State minimum wage as of January 1, 2022 

Data Definition: State minimum wage as of January 1, 2022. The federal minimum wage is $7.25. Some states have legislated higher minimum wages, and some have lower minimum wages. Where the state minimum wage is lower than the federal minimum wage, the state’s is superseded by the federal, which is shown here. Where the state minimum wage is higher than the federal, the state’s minimum wage supersedes the federal. Some municipalities and counties have a minimum wage higher than the state’s; these are not seen here. Minimum wages seen here apply to nonsupervisory, nonfarm, private sector employment. (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Retirement 

Data Label: Average amount of IRAs, pensions, or annuities on income tax returns in 2021 

Data Definition: Average amount of IRAs, pensions, or annuities on income tax returns in 2021. Average amount of IRAs, pensions, or annuities reported on 1040, 1040A, and 1040EZ forms filed with the IRS for the tax year 2021. Average includes only returns with IRAs, pensions, or annuities. The average is suppressed where fewer than 10 returns are filed with IRAs, pensions, or annuities. (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Employment 

Data Label: Estimated percent of people aged 16 years or older who were unemployed, between 2019-2023 

Data Definition: Estimated percent of civilian people age 16 years or older in the labor force who were unemployed, between 2019-2023. Civilians are defined as those not serving in the armed forces. Percentage calculations are suppressed in cases where the denominator of the calculation was less than 10 of the unit that is being described (e.g., households, people, householders, etc.). (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Employment 

Data Label: Number of non-federal jobs in all industries in 2022 

Data Definition: Number of non-federal jobs in all industries in 2022. Data that includes federal employees is available stating in 2010. Available data for years prior to 2010 includes only employees of private firms and state and local governments. Data are not available for all states in all years. (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Access 

Data Label: Estimated average travel time to work in minutes in 2019-2023 

Data Definition: Estimated average travel time to work in 2019-2023. The average travel time to work is the number of minutes required to reach place of employment for workers age 16 years or older. Averages are suppressed in cases where the sample of the average was less than 10 of the unit that is being described (e.g., households, people, householders, etc.). (see data dictionary)

Domain: Business 

Data Label: Average amount of small business loans in 2023 

Data Definition: Average amount of small business loans in 2023. These figures were reported under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). CRA data captures the lending activity of financial institutions with one billion dollars or more in holdings. Therefore, it may understate total lending, especially in rural areas in which top lenders may be smaller in asset size and, thus, not required to report. Census tract values may not sum to county values. (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Business 

Data Label: Small business development centers 

Data Definition: Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) help small business and entrepreneurs with free business consulting and low-cost training services including business plan development, manufacturing assistance, financial packaging and lending assistance, exporting and importing support, disaster recovery assistance, procurement and contracting aid, market research help, 8(a) program support, and healthcare guidance. SBDCs are hosted by universities and state economic development agencies, and funded through a partnership with SBA.  (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Business 

Data Label: Business Incubators 

Data Definition: The International Business Innovation Association is a trade group serving over 2,100 business incubators and related organizations worldwide. Business incubators are programs that provide support services and resources for entrepreneurial companies during their “start-up” phase. InBIA provided PolicyMap with a list of business incubators in the United States. (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Banking 

Data Label: Certified CDFIs (2025) 

Data Definition: The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, a division of the US Department of the Treasury, supports and invests in Community Development Financial Institutions through the CDFI Program and Native American CDFI Assistance Program. CDFIs are financial institutions that provide products and services in economically distressed target markets. The CDFI Fund certifies CDFIs through an application process on a rolling basis, depending on the type of institution. Not all CDFIs are certified, but certification is a requirement for some federal program funding. PolicyMap was able to locate 83% of CDFI addresses on a map. Data on certified CDFI locations are updated twice annually. (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Employment 

Data Label: Average annual wage across all goods-producing industries in 2023 

Data Definition: Average annual wage across all goods-producing industries in 2023. Wage and employment totals are from quarterly tax reports submitted to State workforce agencies by employers under State Unemployment Insurance (UI) laws. This is total wages reported for all employees divided by the average monthly employment reported throughout the year. Data do not include public-sector government employees. Any location for which the number of jobs is not available is displayed on the map as having Insufficient Data. (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Employment 

Data Label: Average annual wage across all service-providing industries in 2023 

Data Definition: Average annual wage across all service-providing industries in 2023. Wage and employment totals are from quarterly tax reports submitted to State workforce agencies by employers under State Unemployment Insurance (UI) laws. This is total wages reported for all employees divided by the average monthly employment reported throughout the year. Data do not include public-sector government employees. Any location for which the number of jobs is not available is displayed on the map as having Insufficient Data. (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Homeownership 

Data Label: Homeownership gap between Non-Hispanic White homeowners and Black or African American homeowners, between 2019-2023. 

Data Definition: Homeownership gap between Non-Hispanic White homeowners and Black or African American homeowners, between 2019-2023. The US Census Bureau identifies the householder as the person in whose name the home is owned, being bought, or rented. If there is no such person present, any household member 15 years and older can serve as the householder for the purposes of the Census. Percentage calculations are suppressed in cases where the denominator of the calculation was less than 10 of the unit that is being described (e.g., households, people, householders, etc.). PolicyMap calculated the gap using percent of owner households by race subtracted from percent of Non-Hispanic White owner households. (see data dictionary) 

Resilience Data Indicators

Domain: Housing affordability 

Data Label: Percent of all homes that are likely affordable for a 4-person family earning 50% of AMI between 2019-2023 

Data Definition: Percent of all homes that are likely affordable for a 4-person family earning 50% of AMI between 2019-2023. Likely affordable owner-occupied housing units are considered those valued at or less than roughly three times the 4-person family income. For example, a family with an income of $30,000 could afford to purchase a home valued at less than $90,000. These estimates provide information on relative availability of home ownership opportunities in different areas of the country, and can highlight any needs or shortcomings in the locally available housing stock of a given area. PolicyMap created these affordability estimates using publicly available data on incomes and housing costs. Area Median Income is the median income for a family of a specified size within the county, metropolitan area, or state, as published by HUD in 2023. Housing cost data is comprised of the estimated number of homes under specific dollar value thresholds from the Census’ 2019-2023 American Community Survey. For more information please see the data directory. Areas for which data was not reported or for which data could not be assigned are displayed as having ‘Insufficient Data’ in the map. (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Housing affordability 

Data Label: Percent of all two-bedroom rental units that are likely affordable for a 4-person family earning 30% of AMI between 2019-2023. 

Data Definition: Percent of all two-bedroom rental units that are likely affordable for a 4-person family earning 30% of AMI between 2019-2023. These estimates provide information on the relative affordability of rental housing in different areas of the country, and can highlight any needs or shortcomings in the locally available rental housing stock of a given area. PolicyMap created these affordability estimates using publicly available data on incomes and rental prices. Area Median Income is the median income for a family of a specified size within the county, metropolitan area, or state, as published by HUD in 2023. An estimated count of homes under specific dollar thresholds is taken from the Census’ 2019-2023 American Community Survey. Apartment size (number of bedrooms) needed by a family was assigned based on two people per bedroom. For more information please see the data directory. Areas for which data was not reported or for which data could not be assigned are displayed as having ‘Insufficient Data’ in the map. (see data dictionary)

Domain: Housing affordability 

Data Label: Estimated percent of all renter-occupied housing units with a householder who is Black or African American, where housing costs exceed 30 percent of household income, between 2019-2023  

Data Definition: Estimated percent of all renter-occupied housing units with a householder who is Black or African American, where housing costs exceed 30 percent of household income, between 2019-2023. Percentage calculations are suppressed in cases where fewer than 10 of the unit that is being described (e.g., households, people, householders, etc.) are present. (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Housing Affordability 

Data Label: Crude percent of utility services threat in the past 12 months among adults in 2022 

Data Definition: A multi-level regression and post-stratification approach was applied to BRFSS and ACS data to compute a detailed probability among adults who reported that an electric, gas, oil, or water company threatened to shut off services at any time during the prior 12 months. 
 
The probability was then applied to the detailed population estimates at the appropriate geographic level to generate the prevalence. (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Credit 

Data Label: Tiers of Relative Credit Security

Data Definition: Tiers of Relative Security. Credit Insecurity Index scores are assigned to tiers of relative severity: Credit Assured, Credit Likely, Mid-Tier, Credit At Risk, and Credit Insecure. These ranges are determined by using the quintiles of county-level Credit Insecurity Index scores. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 2018 is used as the base year of calculation, meaning the tiers are based on the county-level Index scores from that year. This allows the number of counties in each tier to change in subsequent years. The Tiers and the Index Score Ranges are defined as follows: 

  • Credit Assured: 0 – 16.6 
  • Credit Likely: 16.7 – 21.7 
  • Mid-Tier: 21.8 – 26.4 
  • Credit At Risk: 26.5 – 32.5 
  • Credit Insecure: 32.6 or above. 

 
These tiers offer another dimension of categorical information to demonstrate how credit constrained a community is relative to other communities in the United States. (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Tax Credit  

Data Label: Percent of income tax returns with earned income credit (EITC) in 2021 

Data Definition: Percent of income tax returns with earned income credit (EITC) in 2021. Percent of all 1040, 1040A, and 1040EZ forms filed with the IRS with earned income credit (EITC) reported for the tax year 2021. The EITC is a refundable federal income tax credit for low-income working individuals and families. Total and average amounts include both refundable and non-refundable portions of the credit. More information is available from the IRS. The percent is suppressed where fewer than 10 total returns are filed. (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Environment 

Data Label: Brownfields (2023) 

Data Definition: The EPA regularly updates its Brownfields Sites Report List. The points in PolicyMap are as of April 2024. The coordinates used in PolicyMap are provided by the EPA. PolicyMap removes points that do not appear in the site’s listed state. The points shown on PolicyMap include brownfield sites that have received assessment, cleanup, and/or redevelopment funding from the EPA. Brownfields designated by states or local entities, sites that may qualify for but have not received EPA assessment funding, and underground storage tanks are not included on the map. Each point represents a transfer of funds related to a known brownfield site. Multiple points for the same brownfield location indicate multiple actions over a period of time; the entity receiving funds may differ. (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Environment  

Data Label: Environmental Justice Index (EJI) Environmental Burden Module

Data Definition: The Environmental Burden Module (EBM) contains environmental indicators that either cause pollution or otherwise negatively affect human health. The EBM contains indicators relating to air pollution, potentially hazardous and toxic sites, the built environment, pollution related to transportation, and water pollution. The Environmental Justice Index (EJI) scores census tracts using a percentile ranking which represents the proportion of tracts that experience cumulative impacts of environmental burden and injustice equal to or lower than a tract of interest. A higher percentile rank means the tract faces more severe impacts relative to other tracts nationwide. (see data dictionary)

Domain: Environment 

Data Label: Environmental Justice Index (EJI) Climate Burden Module 

Data Definition: The Climate Burden Module (CBM) contains environmental indicators that are or have been influenced by climate change, such as extreme heat and wildfires. The CBM contains indicators relating to heat, wildfires, and extreme events. The Environmental Justice Index (EJI) scores census tracts using a percentile ranking which represents the proportion of tracts that experience cumulative impacts of environmental burden and injustice equal to or lower than a tract of interest. A higher percentile rank means the tract faces more severe impacts relative to other tracts nationwide. (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Health 

Data Label: Total count of high prevalence sensitivity module indicators (out of six) in 2024 

Data Definition: Total count of high prevalence sensitivity module indicators (out of six) in 2024. This variable was calculated as the sum of flagged indicators for sensitivity module. The Sensitivity module is comprised of pre-existing health conditions that may increase risk of negative health outcomes when the individual with the condition is exposed to extreme heat. The pre-existing health conditions in this module are: 

  • Asthma 
  • Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) 
  • Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) 
  • Diabetes 
  • Obesity 
  • Poor Mental Health. 

While most indicators can have a range of values, the Sensitivity module indicators represent only whether a given ZCTA has a high estimated prevalence of the disease or not. High prevalence was determined when a ZCTA had a greater than 66th percentile rank of the pre-existing disease. The total count of these disease indictors ranges from 0-6, with a total of 6 indicating a higher risk of biological conditions that may increase negative health outcomes when exposed to extreme heat. 
 
The HHI uses ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) to aggregate data and show index ranks across the United States. Click a ZCTA on the map to see the indicators associated with this module. (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Health 

Data Label: Life expectancy at birth, as of 2010-2015 

Data Definition: The average number of years a person born in this tract would be expected to live, as of 2010 to 2015. (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Access 

Data Label: Estimated percent of Black or African American people without health insurance, between 2019-2023  

Data Definition: Estimated percent of the Black or African American population without health insurance coverage, between 2019-2023. (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Access 

Data Label: Medically Underserved Areas (MUA), as of 2024 

Data Definition: Medically Underserved Areas (MUA), as of 2024. Medically Underserved Areas are designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration as having too few primary care providers, high infant mortality, high poverty, and/or a high elderly population. Medically Underserved Populations (MUP) are areas where a specific population group is underserved, including groups with economic, cultural, or linguistic barriers to primary medical care. If a population group does not meet the criteria for an MUP, but exceptional conditions exist which are a barrier to health services, they can be designated with a recommendation from the state’s Governor. (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Access  

Data Label: Percent of Black inhabitants (all ethnicities) who are food insecure in 2023  

Data Definition: According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), food insecurity is defined as the limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods, or the limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways. Feeding America first analyzes the relationship between food insecurity and key indicators such as poverty, unemployment, homeownership, and disability prevalence at the state level. The resulting coefficients are then applied to the same variables at the county and congressional district levels to produce modeled local estimates of food insecurity for both individuals and children. These estimates are part of Feeding America’s annual Map the Meal Gap analysis. See the Data Directory for a link to the full methodology. 

(see data dictionary) 

Domain: Access  

Data Label: Estimated percent of households with no internet access, between 2019-2023  

Data Definition: Estimated percent of households with no internet access, between 2019-2023. Internet access can include a subscription for dial-up, cellular, cable, fiber optic, DSL, satellite, or other service, or internet access without a subscription. Percentage calculations are suppressed in cases where the denominator of the calculation was less than 10 of the unit that is being described (e.g., households, people, householders, etc.). (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Access  

Data Label: Estimated percent of housing units for which no vehicles are available in 2019-2023 

Data Definition: Estimated percent of occupied housing units for which no vehicles are available in 2019-2023. Percentage calculations are suppressed in cases where the denominator of the calculation was less than 10 of the unit that is being described (e.g., households, people, householders, etc.). (see data dictionary) 

Repair Data Indicators

Domain: Housing segregation 

Data Label: Estimated median value of an owner-occupied home, between 2019-2023  

Data Definition: Estimated median value of an owner-occupied housing unit, between 2019-2023. The value is based on survey respondents’ estimates of how much their properties and lots would sell for if they were for sale. Medians were suppressed in cases where the sample of the average was less than 10 of the unit that is being described (e.g., households, people, householders, etc.). ACS employs values to indicate top and bottom ranges of values. A value of 1,000,001 indicates a value of 1,000,000 or greater, whereas a value of 9,999 indicates a value of 10,000 or less. (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Housing discrimination  

Data Label: Grade assigned by the Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) between 1935-1940  

Data Definition: Grade assigned by the Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) between 1935-1940. Area grades range from A to D, with A denoting ‘Excellent’, B denoting ‘Still Desirable’, C denoting ‘Definitely Declining’, D denoting ‘Hazardous’. Grades were assigned based on input from mortgage lenders, developers, and real estate appraisers, and were used to measure creditworthiness and risk on neighborhood and metropolitan levels. Mapping Inequality: Redlining in New Deal America, published by the Digital Scholarship Lab at University of Richmond in collaboration with University of Maryland, Virginia Tech, and Johns Hopkins University, includes a collection of digital maps on area security and descriptions for major urban centers developed by the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) from 1935 to 1940. (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Housing discrimination  

Data Label: Percent of all home loans applied for by Black applicants that were denied in 2024   

Data Definition: Percent of all home loans applied for by Black applicants that were denied in 2024.These denied loan applications were for the purchase or refinance of an owner-occupied, one-to-four family dwelling. Percents are not computed where the denominator of the calculation was less than five. (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Banking  

Data Label: Percent of households with a Black householder that are unbanked as of 2019-2023 

Data Definition: Percent of households with a Black householder that are unbanked as of 2019-2023. These households lack any kind of deposit account at an insured depository institution such as a bank or credit union. Data are not available where the sample size was too small to make an accurate estimate. These areas are labeled as “Insufficient Data” on the map. (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Voter Turnout  

Data Label: Turnout rate among voting eligible population in the 2020 presidential general election. 

Data Definition: Turnout rate among voting eligible population in the 2020 presidential general election. Percent of voting eligible population who participated in the 2020 presidential general election. The turnout rate was calculated by dividing the number of votes for the highest office in the election (often president, governor, or congress) by the voting age population minus non-citizens and those in prison, on probation, or on parole, for states where such people are ineligible to vote. Some states permanently disenfranchise felons and people who have been judged mentally incompetent; these exclusions are not included in the data. Votes from people living overseas are counted in the vote total, but such people are not counted in the denominator, except at the national level. More information can be found at http://www.electproject.org/home/voter-turnout/faq. (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Justice System   

Data Label: Incarceration rate for Black people raised in very low income families as of 2018 

Data Definition: Incarceration rate for Black people raised in very low income families as of 2018. This represents the percentage of people born between 1978 and 1983 who were raised in this area in households with incomes at or below the 25th percentile nationally who were incarcerated, according to the 2010 Census. The Opportunity Atlas was created by Opportunity Insights, a Harvard University-based research group, and researchers at the Census Bureau. The researchers linked responses from the U.S. Census with federal income tax data and American Community Survey responses to trace a person’s outcomes back to the place they were raised. (see data dictionary) 

Demographic Data Indicators

Domain: Race/Ethnicity  

Data Label: Predominant racial or ethnic group, between 2019-2023  

Data Definition: Predominant racial or ethnic group, by percentage of the population in the group. Data were obtained from the Census’ American Community Survey 2019-2023 estimates. This was calculated with non-overlapping racial and ethnic categories provided by the US Census Bureau, including the ethnic category Hispanic and the following 7 Non-Hispanic racial categories: White, African American, American Indian or Alaska native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, some other race, and two or more races. Geographies for which no data were provided or for which the population was less than 10 are represented as having “Insufficient Data.” (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Race/Ethnicity   

Data Label: Estimated percent of all people who were Black or African American, between 2019-2023  

Data Definition: Estimated percent of the population that is Black or African American, by single classification of Census race, between 2019-2023. Percentage calculations are suppressed in cases where the denominator of the calculation was less than 10 of the unit that is being described (e.g., households, people, householders, etc.). (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Income   

Data Label: Estimated median income of a Black or African American householder, between 2019-2023    

Data Definition: Estimated median income of a Black or African American householder, between 2019-2023. (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Educational attainment by race/ethnicity  

Data Label: Estimated percent of Black or African American people with some high school, but no diploma, between 2019-2023 

Data Definition: Estimated percent of the Black or African American population that is 25 years and older whose educational attainment is some high school but no diploma, between 2019-2023. Percentage calculations were suppressed in cases where the denominator of the calculation was less than 10 of the unit that is being described (e.g., households, people, householders, etc.). (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Educational attainment by race/ethnicity   

Data Label: Estimated percent of Black or African American people with at least a high school diploma, between 2019-2023 

Data Definition: Estimated percent of the Black or African American population that is 25 years and older with a high school diploma or greater level of education, between 2019-2023. Percentage calculations were suppressed in cases where the denominator of the calculation was less than 10 of the unit that is being described (e.g., households, people, householders, etc.). (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Educational attainment by race/ethnicity    

Data Label: Estimated percent of Black or African American people with at least a Bachelor’s degree, between 2019-2023  

Data Definition: Estimated percent of the Black or African American population that is 25 years and older with a Bachelor’s degree, graduate, or professional degree, between 2019-2023. Percentage calculations were suppressed in cases where the denominator of the calculation was less than 10 of the unit that is being described (e.g., households, people, householders, etc.). (see data dictionary) 

Domain: Poverty    

Data Label: Estimated percent of all Black or African American people who lived in poverty, between 2019-2023 

Data Definition: Estimated percent of all Black or African American people who lived in poverty, between 2019-2023. (see data dictionary)

One on One with E. Mackey of Blvck Spades

In 2023, Kindred Futures partnered with Village Micro Fund for the fall cohort of its Flourish Fellowship, in which entrepreneurs like Blvck Spades and Dope Heart Media Company founder E. Mackey gained practical skills while connecting to a legacy of Black economic thought and innovation. At the conclusion of the program, Kindred Futures awarded three entrepreneurs with $25,000 in grant capital.

Kindred collaborates with a diverse and growing network of grassroots, civic, academic, philanthropic, and private sector partners that help us deliver on our mission to build Black wealth and power including Business Support Organizations like Village Micro Fund.

For Mackey, a serial entrepreneur who believes in putting relationships over revenue, involvement in the cohort was a valuable steppingstone in continuing to build out his brand. “None of us has gotten to where we are alone,” he says. “And, in the context of the Black community, there is an understanding that if we don’t do it for ourselves, who else will? We also owe it to those who will follow to leave a legacy that they can build upon as well.” 

Kindred: You’ve been a content creator, videographer/photographer and now founder – what’s next?
EM: In addition to Blvck Spades, I own a creative agency called Dope Heart Media that provides photography, video production, graphic design, and more. Right now, my primary focus is on building a spades app, Blvcker, through Blvck Spades’ sister company, Blvck Haven Studio. We are currently in beta and hope to have the app officially launched by early to mid-October.  

Kindred: What inspires you to keep pressing as you share your brand?
EM: My favorite word is posterity. So, I’m always thinking of what I can do to ensure that my life has a positive impact on future generations. I think that’s what motivates me most. I just want my existence to have made life better for people and to continue to do so long after I’m gone. 

Kindred: You were a part of the Village Micro Fund cohort, which we have been a partner on. What are your thoughts on organizations like this supporting entrepreneurs?
EM: I think that organizations like Village Micro Fund, with the support of Kindred Futures, play a critical role in preparing small businesses for future growth. Speaking for myself, I was very confident in what I was building with Blvck Spades, and I had the core components in place. However, Village Micro Fund was vital in teaching me many of the things that I didn’t know that I didn’t know. I was in that cohort about 2 years ago, and what I learned there is at the core of many of the opportunities that I have had since. I can’t even communicate how beneficial that program was for me and my business(es).

 

A Call to Deepen Investment in Co-ops, Care, and Community-rooted Wealth

In August, Kindred Futures hosted Cooperative Development in the Care Economy – a convening focused on the care economy to delve into what it means to build shared ownership models grounded in care and community.

The session featured a panel including  Esteban Kelly U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives Allison Curtis, with The ICA Group, and Teresa Mansell with Childspace Centers, who offered deep dives into the realities and promise of childcare cooperatives – not just theory, her origin story, strategy, and the work she has led for close to 40 years.

Also, during the half-day event, Kindred’s Research Manager Miriam Van Dyke, PhD, MPH, grounded attendees in the data landscape of early childhood in Georgia – showing clearly how consolidation, affordability crises, and workforce instability demand structural solutions.

Roots of Wealth Forum | Aug. 27, 2025

Kindred Futures released its highly anticipated new report — Roots of Wealth: Unearthing Prosperity in the South — on August 27th at a forum featuring a blend of data, creativity, and action. Attendees rolled up their sleeves in an interactive co-creation session where southern residents and movement leaders, funders, and policymakers can co-design a bolder Southern Black-wealth policy agenda.

[Click to see the full image.]

Kindred Futures Launches Roots of Wealth Coalition Network to Build Black Wealth Across the U.S. South

ATLANTA, Aug. 28, 2025 – Kindred Futures today announced the launch of the Roots of Wealth Coalition Network, coalition-building initiative designed to help Black communities across the American South build generational wealth. The Roots of Wealth Network will unite coalitions working on economic and racial justice across the region to advance innovative practices and policies that grow, protect and repair Black wealth in the American South. 

The network’s purpose is to dismantle structural barriers to Black wealth and build a future of shared prosperity across the South. Coalition partners will develop strategies rooted in Kindred Futures’ R3 framework—Revenue, Resilience and Repair—which calls for generating new wealth, safeguarding assets from systemic threats and redressing historical injustices. The initiative recognizes that wealth includes tangible assets like land, homes and businesses as well as the time and freedom for families to thrive.  

“When we reframe wealth as freedom, we can then understand that wealth is not just a goal; it is a birthright that has been denied for too long,” said Dr. Alex Camardelle, vice president of Policy and Research at Kindred Futures. “Through the Roots ofWealth Coalition Network we will connect local coalitions, strengthen grassroots leadership and cocreate policies that ensure the 2 million Black families across the South with zero or negative net worth can build, protect and pass on wealth for generations. 

First Coalition Partners  

The Roots of Wealth Coalition Network’s inaugural cohort features two partner coalitions whose missions align with the network’s vision:  

ProGeorgia 

Pro Georgia is a bold and diverse collaborative that champions an equitable and inclusive democracy and economic justice for traditionally underrepresented communities. The organization supports and coordinates the civic engagement programs of its partner organizations, develops infrastructure and joint strategies, and employs new tools and technology to ensure that government is responsive to the needs of its constituents. ProGeorgia has also focused on expanding opportunities for young people and college students to raise their voices and participate in elections. 

Eric Paulk, Interim Executive Director and Chief of Staff at ProGeorgia, said: 

“At ProGeorgia, we know civic power and economic power go hand in hand. For more than a decade, we’ve strengthened democracy in Georgia by organizing communities and building infrastructure for civic engagement. Now, alongside Kindred Futures and the Roots of Wealth Coalition Network, we’re leveraging that same power to advance wealth-building policies and ensure prosperity belongs to all of us for generations to come.” 

Mississippi Black Women’s Roundtable 

The Mississippi Black Women’s Roundtable (MSBWR) is a statewide intergenerational network committed to advancing economic security for Black women through policy advocacy, civic engagement and leadership development. In 2021, the organization implemented four program areas: economic security initiatives, civic engagement, transformational leadership development and community outreach/rapid response. MSBWR’s initiatives raise awareness about wage inequities, mobilize infrequent voters, train women leaders and more. Its mission is to ensure that Black women’s voices and stories are elevated in the public sphere and to build and sustain their power to improve quality of life for themselves, their families and their communities. 

Cassandra Welchlin, Executive Director and Principal Officer of MSBWR, said: 

 “The Roots of Wealth Coalition Network gives us an unprecedented opportunity to link our fight for gender and racial economic justice with kindred movements across the South. In Mississippi, we have shown that when Black women lead—whether it’spassing the state’s paid leave law or mobilizing communities during crises—we can change policies and shift narratives. We look forward to bringing our expertise in economic security, civic engagement and transformational leadership to the network, and to learning from our partners as we collectively close the wealth gap.”  

Looking Ahead 

The Roots of Wealth Coalition Network is beginning with its inaugural partners in Georgia and Mississippi and will grow over time to include other coalitions across the South. Kindred Futures plans to expand the network into additional states whereeconomic justice coalitions are advancing bold strategies to build, protect, and repair Black wealth. 

Updates on opportunities to join the network will be shared as the initiative progresses. For more information about the Roots ofWealth Coalition Network, contact Kindred Futures at info@kinfutures.org. 

About Kindred Futures  

Kindred Futures invests in partnerships with Black wealth solution providers in the South, redefining wealth so that Black people have the opportunity to contribute to and accelerate a just and inclusive economy. That is our promise. We are connected and committed to new models of abundance because we know that investing in people pushed to the economic fringes, results in a thriving economy.  

Understanding Black Philanthropy Month as an opportunity to right historic wrongs

By Janelle Williams, Ph.D.

A few weeks ago, my teenage daughter approached me with quiet seriousness and asked: “Mommy, are we safe here?”

Her words struck me like lightning, revealing the heartbreaking reality faced by every parent who has had to teach their child what to do in the event of a school shooting or an encounter with a trigger-happy officer. Her innocent question compelled an honest but painful conversation, one rooted in fear and precaution. One that echoed the urgent need for change. 

We find ourselves at this critical crossroads precisely because we have historically avoided these hard, necessary conversations. America’s persistent commitment to racial hierarchy is not an accident of history; it was intentionally built into the fabric of our economy, our policies and our institutions. Anti-Blackness, sexism, classism and colorism are not mere relics; they continue to thrive, actively nurtured within our politics, businesses and civic structures.

Read the full piece.

One Big Beautiful Opportunity

By Joseph-Emery Kouaho, Ph.D.

As chants of “USA, USA” rang through the hollowed chambers of our nation’s Capital following the Senate’s passage of the I was instantly transported to a pew in the Riverside Baptist Church in April of 1967, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made his disavowing the United States’ increased financial and military involvement in South Vietnam. At a time when social unrest claimed hundreds of lives throughout the nation, and dominated the streets in most major cities, Congress voted to shift from the financial commitments promised through Johnson’s Great Society to finance atrocities in an independent nation thousands of miles away. With that shift in priority, the Black community’s hope of a “Negro Marshall Plan” evaporated like dandelions in an autumn wind. While circumstances differ slightly in the tenor of the United States’ current involvement in foreign military affairs, the decisions that legislators made this past month to divert funds from social programs are eerily akin to those made six decades ago.

OBBBA purports to render government more efficient by extending generous tax breaks to people in higher income brackets, with the notion that their increased savings would trickle down and reinvigorate the economy. One caveat — the legislation will account for these tax cuts by divesting from much needed government assistance programs related to nutrition, healthcare, and student debt relief amongst other cuts which are strategically shielded through the Act.

Here is an abridged rundown of the proposed, and now ratified legislation:

The Bill:

  • Expanded work requirements for SNAP, and Medicaid recipients, while simultaneously shifting more of the cost of Medicaid and Medicare provision to states.
    • Specifically, the expanded work provisions require that all able-bodied adults (aged 19-64) who are SNAP and Medicaid-eligible work at to maintain eligibility. Eligible adults must report employment to a reporting agency, and those unable to work can maintain eligibility by performing community service, enrolling in school, or engaging in a work program.
  • Slashed $1 trillion in Medicaid funding, which combined with the new work reporting guidelines, could affect nearly 12 million eligible adults and their dependents. This could have increased negative ramifications for adults residing in the 10 states that have not expanded Medicaid since the passage of the Affordable Care Act.

The nearly 1000-page bill has provisions that impact all sectors, with other notable changes occurring in collegegoers’ capacity to access student loans and repayment plans. Anticipated changes to the federal government’s college-borrowing structure are:  

  • The elimination of GRAD Plus Loans.
  • Stafford Loans capped at $100,000 for graduate students, and $200,000 for professional students.
  • The introduction of a new lifetime cap for Parent Plus Loans of $65,000.

Additionally, student loan repayment options will be limited to two standard options, both of which experts say would increase yearly student loan payments by nearly $3000 for the average borrower.

Where the bill taketh away in assistance programs, it giveth — to the tune of billions of dollars — to bolster the federal government’s capacity to restrict the civil and human rights of foreign-born or naturalized U.S. inhabitants. Indeed, the bill allocates funding to increase border security infrastructures in the excess of $45.6 billion to complete Trump’s wall, a further $45 billion earmarked to increase ICE’s defenses, and another $25 billion for a Golden Dome Missile Defense system akin to the fixture floating above Israel. In addition, tax cuts to the wealthiest, and a sharp turn away from upgrading the clean energy infrastructure is expected to lead to increased energy costs for all, with the brunt of it impacting communities who reside in areas impacted by extreme weather patterns.

How will this impact Kindred Futures’ mission of creating wealth solutions for the 2 million Black households in the South with zero to negative net worth? It means that the charge has grown increasingly more difficult, and that potentially more families, business owners, entrepreneurs, who, before this act, were holding on desperately to their lifeboats, will most certainly drown in this titanic flood. Yet, there is another path. In several renditions of  “Ballot or the Bullet,” Malcolm X, invited the Black community to coalesce on a unified vision centered on achieving political, economic, and social gains through a revolution of the mind. He noted,

“We have to change our own minds about each other. We have to see each other with new eyes. We have to see each other as brothers and sisters. We have to come together with warmth so we can develop unity and harmony that’s necessary to get this problem solved ourselves […]”

Thus, this is our charge then — for all affected parties. We need a revolution of change, values, and character as a nation. This one big, beautiful bill creates one big, beautiful opportunity to do just that — unify. Are you ready to lock arms in unity?