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Today, we celebrate #Juneteenth 
and the end of legalized slavery. As we celebrate, we remain steadfast in our commitment to ending the racial inequities that persist in our society, tax code, and economy that act as a barrier to full-fledged freedom for Black Americans.
and the end of legalized slavery. As we celebrate, we remain steadfast in our commitment to ending the racial inequities that persist in our society, tax code, and economy that act as a barrier to full-fledged freedom for Black Americans.
Enslaved people were freed 155 years ago, but from the 13th Amendment's allowance for slavery to continue in prisons to the bombing of Black Wall Street in Tulsa, racism in our economy persists. https://twitter.com/murshedz/status/1270861297899286532?s=20
Our tax code is written to reward wealth and throughout the history of this country, Black people have been systemically shut out of opportunities to build wealth.
Things aren't improving. In the first year following the 2017 GOP Tax Scam, nearly 80% of the tax cuts went to white households while Black households received just 5%.
Our system is not broken. It is functioning exactly as it was meant to. https://prosperitynow.org/sites/default/files/resources/ITEP-Prosperity_Now-Race_Wealth_and_Taxes-FULL%20REPORT-FINAL_6.pdf
Our system is not broken. It is functioning exactly as it was meant to. https://prosperitynow.org/sites/default/files/resources/ITEP-Prosperity_Now-Race_Wealth_and_Taxes-FULL%20REPORT-FINAL_6.pdf
BTW, the GOP Tax Scam also offered a tax incentive to develop “Opportunity Zones." They're touted as an investment in Black communities, but are really just a capital gains tax break accessible only to the rich that incentivizes gentrification.
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/poverty/reports/2020/02/20/480640/promise-opportunity-deferred/
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/poverty/reports/2020/02/20/480640/promise-opportunity-deferred/
What's more, due to generations of occupational segregation and discrimination, Black workers are less likely to have employer-provided health or pension plans than their white counterparts.
This system is intentionally built this way. https://www.epi.org/data/#?subject=healthcov&r=*
This system is intentionally built this way. https://www.epi.org/data/#?subject=healthcov&r=*
Even Black small business owners face greater obstacles in accumulating wealth, with up to 95% of Black-owned businesses unable to access PPP relief loans. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/women-minority-business-owners-paycheck-protection-program-loans/
Systemic racism produces racial disparities in income, mobility, and wealth, including in job opportunities and wages, housing, and education. This is what Black Americans have been subjected to since building this country. It's time for this to change.
