When I was buying my house, it blew my mind when my lender asked if my family couldn’t just gift me the down payment money, saying that gifts/loans of $50k to $100k weren’t uncommon from families of first-time homebuyers. That’s the 400-year head start we don’t have.
I said what I said. And it’s true. Your reality may be different but don’t be willfully ignorant at the fact that Black people 9.9 times out of 10 don’t have the luxury to call a family member for ANY SIZE GIFT to purchase a home because of the racial wealth gap.
And for anyone spewing about financial literacy, pulling ourselves up by our boot straps, it doesn’t matter WHAT we do, we could be Black Warren Buffetts, we’ll never be able to achieve that level of wealth in a system designed to keep us pinned down and prop up white supremacy.
If you actually give two shits or have any fucks to give about making a difference and care about Black Lives other than when accompanied by violent death, you will hear and feel the truth in that statement. Anything else is just apologism and whataboutism for white privilege.
“There are no actions that black Americans can take unilaterally that will have much of an effect on reducing the racial wealth gap. For the gap to be closed, America must undergo a vast social transformation produced by the adoption of bold national policies, policies that...”
“... will forge a way forward by addressing, finally, the long-standing consequences of slavery, the Jim Crow years that followed, and ongoing racism and discrimination that exist in our society today.”
“Addressing racial wealth inequality will require a major redistributive effort or another major public policy intervention to build black American wealth.”
Read this @DukeU paper on the racial wealth inequalities in America. Read ALL of it. socialequity.duke.edu/wp-content/upl…
Read this @DukeU paper on the racial wealth inequalities in America. Read ALL of it. socialequity.duke.edu/wp-content/upl…
And then ask yourself if you’re willing to do what it takes to restructure this system. Knowing that doing so will certainly mean that the privileges you and your family enjoy will no longer be exclusive to you but accessible to all, for all and by all. Truly. Have a great day!
Bonus content: Don’t dare reduce Martin Luther King to a single dream to fit your sensibilities. The heart of his work was steeped in economic equality. #BlackLivesMatter also means we’re coming to get our check.
PPS: To white people saying they’re poor, I empathize and feel for you. But 2 things:
1) Don’t make this about you.
2) A white person’s broke is VERY different than a Black person’s. Dipping into savings versus negative account balances. pewsocialtrends.org/2016/06/27/1-d…
1) Don’t make this about you.
2) A white person’s broke is VERY different than a Black person’s. Dipping into savings versus negative account balances. pewsocialtrends.org/2016/06/27/1-d…
PPS: My lender was NOT discouraging me from getting a loan. That I’m in a home today is largely due to the fact he was WILLING to work with me after SEVERAL lenders told me there was NO way I could do it. I’m working with him right now on a refinance to get out of a HELOC. So nah
If you get nothing else, understand this: #BlackLivesMatter shouldn’t center around just violent Black deaths but actually caring about Black livelihoods and tearing down systems made to safeguard white wealth while crushing everyone else.
You’re not a true ally until you get that and are committed to it. And neither is every company with bland statements of Black Lives Matter but abysmal representation and inordinate disparities in compensation between white and BIPOC employees. They are part of the problem.
Don’t leave the “All Lives Matter” club (if you were ever a member) and join the “All White People Are Not Rich” club. Literally NO ONE said that. White privilege = The system OVERWHELMINGLY benefits you, for 400 years and counting. Denying that is just willfully ignorant.
This is still garnering attention so Bonus Content #2, “Systemic Racism” courtesy of @actdottv. Again, NO ONE is saying all white people are rich. If you want to be an ally, open your eyes and ears and do the real work. Everyone else, kindly take a hike ✌🏾
I’m not broke, I used to be. But caring about social justice and income level aren’t mutually exclusive. I’m doing EVERYTHING in my power to do this for my family moving forward while simultaneously fighting to break down racist structures so NO Black kid has to fight as hard.
