“A national celebration of Black freedom is only meaningful if we address the deep economic inequity created through systemic racism and oppression. For centuries, spanning from slavery to Jim Crow to the Civil Rights movement to present day, Black people have been categorigally precluded from obtaining and maintaining wealth due to inherently racist economic policies. That’s clear in the racial wealth gap: even before the pandemic, the median Black family owned $24,100 in wealth, while the median white family owned $142,500.

“If we want to build a truly inclusive society and economy, we need to prioritize Black communities, especially women and femmes, through the ‘Black women best’ framework. Black women had one of the highest rates of job loss over the past year’s pandemic-induced recession, and our only path to truly “build back better” is to dually address the racism and misogyny that plagues our society.

“The Biden administration has made promising steps by passing the American Rescue Plan and proposing the American Jobs and Families Plans. But our economy is still deeply rigged. It’s time to tax the rich, invest in Black communities, and recreate the American economy.”