Black Folks are Making Moves Despite the Odds. Here are the Stats to Prove It!
We know the Clapback campaign has felt heavy at times, but the last thing we want to do is leave you with the feeling that it’s all “doom and gloom” and there is no hope.
Yes, economic inequality threatens the wealth and prosperity of Black people across the nation and around the world, but that doesn’t take away from all the ways that Black folks are winning!
Systemic inequality is not about personal choices or cultural deficiencies. It’s about the structural forces which maintain the status quo, placing Black people at a disadvantage despite all the ways we strive harder and fight back.
Here are 11 facts to remind you that ‘you’re not crazy’ and to inspire you to keep pushing. We’re in this together.
- According to Pew Research Center, “52% of Black U.S. households earn less than $50,000, while 48% make $50,000 or more. Three-in-ten Black households (31%) make $75,000 or more, including 20% that make $100,000 or more.” | Pew Research Center (link)
- “In the US, Nigerians are the most highly educated of all groups, with 61 percent holding at least a bachelor’s degree compared with 31 percent of the total foreign-born population and 32 per cent of the US-born population, according to 2017 data from the Migration Policy Institute.” | Financial Times (link)
- “Black women leaders are more ambitious than other women at their level: 59 percent of Black women leaders want to be top executives, compared to 49 percent of women leaders overall. But they are also more likely than women leaders of other races and ethnicities to receive signals that it will be harder for them to advance.” | Brookings (link)
- “Black women are the fastest growing demographic of entrepreneurs in the U.S., with nearly 2.7 million businesses nationwide.” | American Express (link)
- “Research has shown that minority businesses are three times as likely to hire minorities as non-minority-owned businesses,” | The Root (link)
- Black digital businesses are more likely to be profitable than other small businesses. Seventy-seven percent of our survey recipients own profitable businesses. This compares to 54% for small businesses owned by people of color and 66% for all small businesses, according to 2023 reports from Guidant Financial. | Black Innovation Alliance (link)
- Black men’s digital startups reach profitability more frequently and more quickly than other Black-led digital startups. They also are more likely to report a positive net worth, to have a spouse, and to earn higher levels of household income than their female peers. | Black Innovation Alliance (link)
- Black digital businesses are quite resilient. Forty-five percent of American startups fail in the first five years. But most of our study participants have beaten those odds, with 56% of them running businesses that are five years or older. | Black Innovation Alliance (link)
- “According to the 2022 Ariel-Schwab Black Investor Survey, last year a quarter of Black Americans owned crypto, compared to 15% of white investors.” | Marketplace (link)
- “The African American population has historically held an extremely powerful position in the retail marketplace, as they have been known to drive trends across food, beauty, media, and more. Their influence will continue to grow as their buying power does – which is projected to reach $1.8T by 2024.” | Nielsen IQ (link)
- “Notably, the African American segment has made the greatest strides towards altruistic shopping, defined by NielsenIQ as “selfless consumption that supports environmental, ethical, humanitarian or other philanthropic causes” and are looking to spend their dollars where it truly counts.” | Nielsen IQ (link)
- “African Americans are the most compelled to purchase products and shop from retailers that make efforts towards combating racial injustice (56%), promoting equality (53%), and fighting hunger and food insecurity (53%).” | Nielsen IQ (link)
It’s not about “We Shall Overcome”, but rather WE ARE OVERCOMING.
And the journey continues. If you haven’t joined the Clapback, sign up here. On December 7th @ 3P EST, we are convening the signatories of the Clapback pledge to debrief from the last several months together and imagine a bright way forward.
