NAACP President & CEO Derrick Johnson stated the racial wealth hole is the “single best barrier” to realizing the civil rights dream of the late Martin Luther King Jr.
“From voting rights and police reform to the continued combat for financial justice, there’s a lot work left to be accomplished to completely notice Dr. King’s dream. At present, the racial wealth hole in America continues to be the one best barrier to realizing Dr. King’s dream,” Derrick Johnson stated in a press release on Sunday forward of the federal vacation honoring the slain civil rights chief.
“We have now the instruments required to start to handle the racial wealth hole by means of complete scholar debt reduction and now hundreds of thousands of People are relying on our elected leaders to have the braveness to behave,” Johnson stated.
Analysis signifies that the racial wealth hole between white and Black People has been widening lately: The web price of a median white family within the U.S. was about 10 occasions that of a median Black family earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although the U.S. has made strides in racial equality in lots of arenas, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has stated the nation and the administration have far more to do to fight racial inequities within the economic system.
“As we glance to the brand new yr, the NAACP will proceed to push ahead within the combat to cancel scholar debt, champion efforts to dismantle white supremacy, and guarantee justice for all,” Johnson stated.
President Biden spoke Sunday on the Atlanta, Ga., church the place King preached to pay tribute to the late civil rights activist, underscoring the nation is at an “inflection level” in its combat for democracy and its battle towards racism, inequality and different ills.
“The battle for the soul of this nation is perennial. It’s a relentless wrestle. It’s a relentless wrestle between hope and concern, kindness and cruelty, justice and injustice. Towards those that site visitors in racism, extremism and rebel,” Biden stated.
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