Talented 90th
More than 100 years later since the conceptualization of Black exceptionalism, Black wealth rivals Jim Crow outcomes, and Black households’ net worth is predicted to be zero or negative by 2053. This is already deeply pronounced in the American South with two million Black households with zero or negative net worth today. These conservative estimates, comparable to the entire population of Montana, Wyoming, and Vermont. This compromises pillars of democracy and a thriving economy that can work for all.
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis recently released Wealth Inequality data and the findings are quite clear, while Black wealth grew by 66% since 2019, the Black-White Median Wealth Gap has soared to $242,000, accounting for the largest dollar gaps since the data set began. Wealth is not stagnant. We need targeted and substantial investments to bolster Black wealth. We also fundamentally need to interrogate our North Star. We do not want to replicate harm. We know that centuries of systemic racism, oppression and extraction created this divide. It’s time to reimagine bold investments that allow more Black people to produce, own, and thrive in our economies and democracies.
The reality is we need to redefine what wealth means for Black people in this country. The Structural Determinants of Black Wealth framework provides an interdisciplinary analysis of understanding wealth along four core domains: finance, health, environment and democracy. We also know it is important to center our work on collectivism, it is important to move the mean, we commit to the Talented 90th to transcend Black exceptionalism.
We invite you to support our newly launched Talented 90th Campaign.
This call-to-action campaign urges us to redefine wealth for Black communities and prioritize investments in the broader 90th percentile to transcend Black Exceptionalism. It offers a renewed conceptualization—expanding the focus to uplift the many, not just the few.
It also positions the Talented 90th as the path towards shared prosperity as it redefines wealth and produces solutions that are community-centered and led. Join us this month and beyond to engage in community and conversation around this and other work that Kindred Futures is doing to build Black wealth.