{"id":17460,"date":"2020-06-16T09:43:48","date_gmt":"2020-06-16T13:43:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crisisassistance.org\/?p=17460"},"modified":"2020-06-22T15:12:30","modified_gmt":"2020-06-22T19:12:30","slug":"six-facts-about-racial-disparity-in-mecklenburg-county-you-should-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crisisassistance.org\/2020\/06\/16\/six-facts-about-racial-disparity-in-mecklenburg-county-you-should-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Six Facts About Racial Disparity in Mecklenburg County You Should Know"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
You know that access and opportunity open doors. And maybe you’re becoming aware of the fact that access and opportunity are not equally distributed across all racial groups. But do you know exactly what the disparities look like? And further, the actions you can take to address them head on?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1) 70% of the people served at Crisis Assistance Ministry are African American vs 32% of Mecklenburg County\u2019s population.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The reasons for this are complex. Systemic racism and discriminatory policies and practices \u2013 including in education, housing, and law enforcement \u2013 have intertwined over the centuries, creating vastly disparate economic realities for African Americans and white Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One thing you can do:\u00a0Read The 1619 Project<\/em><\/a>, an ongoing initiative by the New York Times Magazine<\/em> that offers thought-provoking essays and reflections aimed at telling our nation\u2019s contentious history truthfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2)<\/strong> There is a significant racial income gap in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n About a third of white families in Mecklenburg County have incomes in the highest quintile ($125,000+) while less than 10% of Black families do. At the other end of the scale, 29% of Black families and 14% of white families have incomes in the lowest quintile (<$29,999).2<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n One thing you can do: Support Black-owned businesses.\u00a0Check out Charlotte Agenda<\/em>\u2019s list of Charlotte area Black-owned businesses<\/a> for inspiration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3) The racial wealth gap is enormous.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n At the median, a white family\u2019s wealth is ten times greater than a black family\u2019s3<\/sup>. While much of the work around economic mobility has focused on income disparity, wealth (the value of all assets minus debt) is a better indicator of a family\u2019s stability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One thing you can do: Read <\/sup>\u201cThe Racial Wealth Gap: Charlotte-Mecklenburg<\/a>\u201d by the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute and watch Netflix\u2019s \u201cRacial Wealth Gap\u201d<\/a>, a brief but thorough explanation of how we got to this troublesome state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n