1 00:00:02,640 --> 00:00:05,240 Speaker 1: When I was growing up, East Texas might as well 2 00:00:05,280 --> 00:00:09,000 Speaker 1: have been another planet. I grew up in Phoenix. There 3 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:12,800 Speaker 1: was me, my dad, my brother Dan, and the Catholic 4 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:16,120 Speaker 1: schools where we were often the only black kids. In 5 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:21,200 Speaker 1: my mind, Texas was big hats rodeos that showed Dallas, 6 00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:23,520 Speaker 1: and the only thing that connected me to the state 7 00:00:24,079 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 1: was a chunk of land my family owned there. My 8 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:30,560 Speaker 1: dad's land was in a tiny town called Gilmour, near 9 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:33,080 Speaker 1: Mount Pleasant, where we have a lot of distant relatives. 10 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:35,960 Speaker 1: We drove through there once, but I don't remember meeting 11 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:39,320 Speaker 1: any relatives. I do recall sleeping in the car and 12 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:44,080 Speaker 1: arguing with my brother. After Arizona, I moved to California 13 00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:47,639 Speaker 1: and then France, about as far as you get from Phoenix. 14 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:50,400 Speaker 1: Sometimes my dad would call me and talk about the 15 00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:53,480 Speaker 1: Texas property. How would buy a better life for him 16 00:00:53,479 --> 00:00:56,560 Speaker 1: and my brother, who has a disability, How there might 17 00:00:56,600 --> 00:00:59,280 Speaker 1: be oil on the land or some kind of rare timber. 18 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:03,080 Speaker 1: I was never sure how seriously I should take him, 19 00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:05,360 Speaker 1: but sometimes I'd like to fantasize that this could be 20 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:08,440 Speaker 1: my retirement. I also like to brag to my French 21 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:12,080 Speaker 1: friends about being a Texan landowner. It sounded kind of cool. 22 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:16,320 Speaker 1: Years went by. My dad talked less and less about 23 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:19,120 Speaker 1: the land, but he never gave up on it, and 24 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 1: one email I got from him, he says, I'm certain 25 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:25,480 Speaker 1: of one thing. If that property ever pays off in Texas, 26 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:29,200 Speaker 1: we are out of here to someplace other than Mexico. 27 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:33,600 Speaker 1: I have no idea what he meant by Mexico, and 28 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:36,640 Speaker 1: I never got a chance to ask. He got cancer, 29 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:39,759 Speaker 1: and while sick, a cousin reached out to see whether 30 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:41,600 Speaker 1: I could get him to sell some of the land. 31 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:45,480 Speaker 1: I tell the cousin how busy I was with kids 32 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 1: and work and living abroad, sort of code for I 33 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:53,520 Speaker 1: really can't be bothered with this right now. Dad died 34 00:01:53,560 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 1: in early twenty six and for the next four years 35 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:02,560 Speaker 1: I completely forgot about Texas. But during the pandemic and 36 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 1: after George Floyd was killed, I got to thinking about family. 37 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:11,440 Speaker 1: While digging around my closet, I came across a bright 38 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:17,560 Speaker 1: red folder called Dad's Stuff. I opened it and I 39 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:27,600 Speaker 1: was floored by what I saw. The data shows that 40 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:31,359 Speaker 1: the median white family has ten times more wealth than 41 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:34,280 Speaker 1: the average black family. One of the drivers of that 42 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:38,360 Speaker 1: wealth gap is redlining. When it comes to understanding financial 43 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:42,000 Speaker 1: inequality in this country, Economists often point to the absence 44 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:50,480 Speaker 1: of African American generational wealth see the black Page. It's 45 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:53,600 Speaker 1: a trend propelled not just by economic forces, but by 46 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:58,680 Speaker 1: white racism in local white political and economic power. It's 47 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:01,560 Speaker 1: much easier to enter rate a lunch comment than it 48 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:04,600 Speaker 1: is to guarantee an annual income, for instance, to get 49 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:11,360 Speaker 1: rid of positive Welcome back to the paycheck. I'm Rebecca 50 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:15,440 Speaker 1: Greenfield and I'm Jackie Simmons. In our last two seasons, 51 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:18,240 Speaker 1: we looked at all the reasons for and efforts to 52 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:21,760 Speaker 1: fix the gender pay gap. This time we're switching gears. 53 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:24,880 Speaker 1: We were starting to think about our third season when 54 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:28,520 Speaker 1: the pandemic hit. It quickly became clear there was another 55 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:33,600 Speaker 1: economic inequality demanding our attention, the racial wealth gap. I 56 00:03:33,639 --> 00:03:36,520 Speaker 1: got to talking about it with my colleague Jackie. I'd 57 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:39,840 Speaker 1: recently moved back to the States after two decades overseas. 58 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:43,040 Speaker 1: I came back to a country dealing with its racist 59 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:46,920 Speaker 1: past in a way it never had Black Lives Matter 60 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:52,960 Speaker 1: protest politics. All this on top of a pandemic that 61 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 1: got me thinking about how my own experience with race 62 00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: was shaped by my family's past, and it took me 63 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:04,120 Speaker 1: back to Texas in the land. I started asking questions, 64 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 1: which led to more questions, and as I went deeper, 65 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:11,840 Speaker 1: I wondered how unique our story was. How did black 66 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:15,600 Speaker 1: people build wealth in America? How did they keep or 67 00:04:15,720 --> 00:04:18,920 Speaker 1: fail to keep it? That's what Jackie and I will 68 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:27,160 Speaker 1: be exploring for the next eight weeks. The US is 69 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:29,560 Speaker 1: the richest nation in the world and has been for 70 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:34,160 Speaker 1: a long time. All told, American households have about one 71 00:04:34,839 --> 00:04:38,720 Speaker 1: sixteen trillion dollars in wealth, most of that owned by 72 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:43,880 Speaker 1: white people. Black people make up around the population, but 73 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:47,520 Speaker 1: have just three point eight percent of the wealth. The 74 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:51,120 Speaker 1: US passed civil rights laws meant to remove barriers for 75 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:56,520 Speaker 1: black Americans nearly sixty years ago. Some things have changed 76 00:04:56,560 --> 00:05:00,599 Speaker 1: a lot, but not the wealth gap and real terms. 77 00:05:00,839 --> 00:05:03,560 Speaker 1: Here's what that means. When you count up how much 78 00:05:03,640 --> 00:05:08,800 Speaker 1: the average American household is worth, including stuff like property, investments, savings, 79 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:12,280 Speaker 1: and anything else worth a dime minus any liability is 80 00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:16,359 Speaker 1: like student debt or mortgage. White households have almost seven 81 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:20,320 Speaker 1: times more than Black households. There are a lot of 82 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:25,040 Speaker 1: reasons for that, mostly America's legacy of slavery and racism, 83 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:28,520 Speaker 1: and that shows up in all kinds of ways that 84 00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:32,680 Speaker 1: contribute to economic inequality. Black people are in less pay 85 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:36,040 Speaker 1: higher taxes, have more student debt than white people, and 86 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:39,400 Speaker 1: so on. Over time, this has made it harder for 87 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:42,440 Speaker 1: black people to accumulate wealth and pass it on to 88 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:45,520 Speaker 1: their children. As much as Americans love the Racks to 89 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:49,760 Speaker 1: Richest story, the reality is most people acquire wealth from 90 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:55,359 Speaker 1: their parents or their parents parents. By one measure, Americans 91 00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:59,800 Speaker 1: wealth came from inheritance. It's hard to overstate how important 92 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:04,720 Speaker 1: that is. William Daretty, who also goes by Sandy, is 93 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:07,200 Speaker 1: a professor at Duke University, and it's one of the 94 00:06:07,279 --> 00:06:10,800 Speaker 1: nation's leading scholars on race and economics. If there are 95 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:14,920 Speaker 1: certain families that have a greater capacity to provide gifts 96 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:19,440 Speaker 1: to the next generation than others, they're also providing that 97 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:23,400 Speaker 1: next generation with a greater range of opportunity and a 98 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:29,200 Speaker 1: greater likelihood of having a more economically secure future. For 99 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:32,320 Speaker 1: all the reasons we'll talk about this season, white people 100 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:35,919 Speaker 1: have had and continue to have huge advantages when it 101 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:39,640 Speaker 1: comes to building wealth. Among the five hundred richest people 102 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:43,039 Speaker 1: in the world that Bloomberg tracks, there are one hundred 103 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:47,480 Speaker 1: fifty five American billionaires, and just one of them, Robert Smith, 104 00:06:48,080 --> 00:06:51,760 Speaker 1: is black. Yes, having money means you can buy bigger 105 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:55,480 Speaker 1: houses and nicer cars, but it's much more than that. 106 00:06:56,279 --> 00:06:59,880 Speaker 1: Here's Sandy Daretty again. Wealth can protect you from income 107 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:04,159 Speaker 1: losses in emergencies where you might lose a job, where 108 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:08,640 Speaker 1: you might be confronted with catastrophic illness. Wealth provides you 109 00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:12,120 Speaker 1: with a certain kind of personal insurance, and having that 110 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:16,360 Speaker 1: safety net it creates different kinds of opportunities and power. 111 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:21,200 Speaker 1: The possibility of moving your family into a high amenity neighborhood, 112 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:25,280 Speaker 1: the opportunity of trying to ensure that your children receive 113 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:29,080 Speaker 1: a high quality education. It gives you access to the 114 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:34,720 Speaker 1: political process. It allows you to leave resources for subsequent generations. 115 00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:37,320 Speaker 1: The racial wealth gap tells us a lot about the 116 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:41,400 Speaker 1: economy as a whole. Who has security and economic mobility, 117 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:44,960 Speaker 1: and this is really important. Whose children gets set up 118 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:49,440 Speaker 1: for success later on. So that land my family owned 119 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:52,040 Speaker 1: in Texas, my dad hoped it would set us up 120 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:56,560 Speaker 1: for success or at least provides some financial security. And 121 00:07:56,600 --> 00:07:59,800 Speaker 1: when he inherit the lend from his mother, she wanted 122 00:07:59,800 --> 00:08:04,520 Speaker 1: this aimed for him and her other children it didn't 123 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:16,080 Speaker 1: quite work out that way. Anyone dealing with passing down 124 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:18,960 Speaker 1: land knows how expensive and messy that process can be 125 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:23,440 Speaker 1: and always has been. But historically, white families and black 126 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:28,160 Speaker 1: families have faced different challenges. In My family's story typifies 127 00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:32,400 Speaker 1: some of them. The story begins with Will and Barbara Brotus. 128 00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:37,560 Speaker 1: Barbara was born in eighteen seventy six. She's my great 129 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:41,880 Speaker 1: great aunt and was married to Will. They were farmers 130 00:08:42,040 --> 00:08:45,840 Speaker 1: and had nearly eighty acres in Gilmer, Texas, about two 131 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:52,199 Speaker 1: hours east of Dallas. The thumb was between the school 132 00:08:52,760 --> 00:08:57,240 Speaker 1: in their home. That's sunny and like me, she has 133 00:08:57,280 --> 00:09:01,240 Speaker 1: relatives who were raised by the Brotus and they raised 134 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:09,480 Speaker 1: peace cord beings okrah Amish, peace onion, wallomelon camel, of theories, 135 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:13,079 Speaker 1: everything they could. People thought of the protest as strict, 136 00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:17,160 Speaker 1: god fearing people, but they were also kind. They took 137 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:21,959 Speaker 1: an abandoned or orphaned children, including my grandmother Jewel. They 138 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:24,240 Speaker 1: cared for at least half a dozen kids over the years. 139 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:27,680 Speaker 1: For a time they lived off the crops they raised 140 00:09:27,679 --> 00:09:32,160 Speaker 1: on those seventy seven acres. Then Will died and Barbara 141 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:36,080 Speaker 1: divided the land between children and family friends. She died 142 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:40,160 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty four. I searched high and low trying 143 00:09:40,160 --> 00:09:43,440 Speaker 1: to uncover exactly how Will and Barbara originally came into 144 00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:47,000 Speaker 1: the land. I went through public records, I made phone 145 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:51,920 Speaker 1: calls to family members across multiple states. I called county officials. 146 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:56,720 Speaker 1: What experts and historians do know is that black farmers 147 00:09:56,840 --> 00:10:01,079 Speaker 1: were often gifted land from a white landowner or possibly 148 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:06,280 Speaker 1: even a former slave master. My family records only date 149 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:08,920 Speaker 1: to the time when the Brotess split up their land. 150 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:13,880 Speaker 1: Let me let me check. Let me check one of 151 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:18,120 Speaker 1: my documents here. Okay, that's my cousin Ples. He has 152 00:10:18,160 --> 00:10:22,880 Speaker 1: all of the records. Uh. Jules Simmons two point five 153 00:10:23,040 --> 00:10:27,800 Speaker 1: two acres, Mildred's Shop three point five acres, Florida, May 154 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:34,280 Speaker 1: Phillips two point five acres, Katherine Young two five acres. 155 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:37,000 Speaker 1: By the time the Brotus died, the children they raised 156 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:40,240 Speaker 1: had moved on and out of Gilmour. They wanted their 157 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:43,080 Speaker 1: children to go to college and were professional jobs, which 158 00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:46,360 Speaker 1: usually took them to bigger cities. And that's exactly what happened. 159 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:50,400 Speaker 1: But while our families commitment to the land declined, one 160 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:54,800 Speaker 1: thing did not property taxes. They went up and up, 161 00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:57,720 Speaker 1: and the land that should have been an asset became 162 00:10:57,760 --> 00:11:01,240 Speaker 1: a liability. I looked at it. It seemed like a headache. 163 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:04,680 Speaker 1: My cousin Noel, who lives in Atlanta, sold the last 164 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:08,000 Speaker 1: of his family's personal in two thousand nine. All I 165 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:12,400 Speaker 1: heard about the land was distress. My mother didn't concern 166 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:14,760 Speaker 1: herself with it for the most part. Other than giving 167 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:17,839 Speaker 1: money to help pay all property taxes. There are other 168 00:11:17,880 --> 00:11:22,000 Speaker 1: reasons not to hold onto the land. LANDA Davis is 169 00:11:22,040 --> 00:11:25,320 Speaker 1: another cousin and lives in Dallas. At one point, she 170 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:28,480 Speaker 1: considered using the Gilmer Land as a retreat center for 171 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:31,600 Speaker 1: her youth mentoring group, so she went to Upshurre County 172 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:35,240 Speaker 1: to deal with taxes. But when she got there, she says, 173 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:38,760 Speaker 1: a white man overheard her talking about her plans, and 174 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:42,200 Speaker 1: he said, I don't want to deter you or any 175 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:45,800 Speaker 1: of that, but I don't think you, being black, this 176 00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:50,880 Speaker 1: will be a good place for you all. And we're like, okay, 177 00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:54,160 Speaker 1: he said, I have some good black friends, but there's 178 00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:57,559 Speaker 1: a lot of white people out around here. This not 179 00:11:57,760 --> 00:12:03,880 Speaker 1: really wanting X to be in this area. Llana sold 180 00:12:03,920 --> 00:12:08,240 Speaker 1: most of her parcel in we would never live in Gilmer, 181 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:11,520 Speaker 1: or even developed that land in Gilmer. We need to 182 00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:15,800 Speaker 1: let that go back to my dad's land. Remember when 183 00:12:15,800 --> 00:12:19,680 Speaker 1: I was digging around my closet over a weekend during lockdown, Well, 184 00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:21,960 Speaker 1: I had to catch my breath when I found an 185 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:24,440 Speaker 1: offer letter from my dad's land from a man I'd 186 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:28,800 Speaker 1: never heard of. Turns out Dad agreed to sell his 187 00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:32,280 Speaker 1: piece of land a long time ago. I had no 188 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:36,079 Speaker 1: idea he sold it or why. The man who bought 189 00:12:36,080 --> 00:12:40,800 Speaker 1: the land was named Shane Mayn, so I called him 190 00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:43,679 Speaker 1: up to find out more. Okay, so are you are 191 00:12:43,679 --> 00:12:45,480 Speaker 1: you from like that vicinity or are you from a 192 00:12:45,520 --> 00:12:50,000 Speaker 1: different part of Texas. I'm actually from gilmur originally. Shane's 193 00:12:51,120 --> 00:12:54,520 Speaker 1: white and has spent his entire life in Gilmour. He 194 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:57,520 Speaker 1: works as a home inspector, he's a deacon in a church, 195 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:00,160 Speaker 1: and he's been buying land in the area since he 196 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:04,080 Speaker 1: was seventeen. He eske to meate he's got around sixty 197 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:08,719 Speaker 1: or seventy acres now, including my dad's two point five. Yeah, 198 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:11,960 Speaker 1: I remember when we bought that property. We've been kind 199 00:13:11,960 --> 00:13:14,960 Speaker 1: of like buying pete piece and here and there we 200 00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:17,120 Speaker 1: were going we were actually gonna be aild a house 201 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:21,640 Speaker 1: on it, if we got enough accumulated in there. Uh, 202 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:25,480 Speaker 1: but we never have. We've just got trees up there. 203 00:13:25,520 --> 00:13:28,200 Speaker 1: At the moment. In the files I was searching through, 204 00:13:28,880 --> 00:13:32,319 Speaker 1: I saw Shane offered my dad about six thousand dollars 205 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:35,120 Speaker 1: for the property. That figure felt really low to me. 206 00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:38,920 Speaker 1: And then I saw paperwork in that same file cabinet 207 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:41,439 Speaker 1: showing the county had to praise the land at almost 208 00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:45,760 Speaker 1: six times that amount. I asked Shane about that. He 209 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:48,320 Speaker 1: didn't agree the land is worth that much. I was 210 00:13:48,400 --> 00:13:51,960 Speaker 1: told that every acre in ups Your county is valued 211 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:55,240 Speaker 1: at twelve thousand, five hundred dollars and no matter what 212 00:13:55,400 --> 00:14:00,200 Speaker 1: it is, and that's the base pride. It can go up, 213 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:04,240 Speaker 1: but it won't go below twelve thousand five night and 214 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:08,640 Speaker 1: every piece of land on that no matter why. Really, 215 00:14:10,640 --> 00:14:15,800 Speaker 1: I couldn't disagree more because like Yolanda's half an acre, 216 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:19,120 Speaker 1: I'd be glad to send you a picture of it. 217 00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:24,760 Speaker 1: It is a swamp. I mean a swamp. I reached 218 00:14:24,760 --> 00:14:28,240 Speaker 1: out to the up Sture Appraisal Office for the record 219 00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:33,920 Speaker 1: an official. They're said, valuations vary and not every property 220 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:39,160 Speaker 1: starts at twelve thousand five an acre. I've never been 221 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:43,000 Speaker 1: to Gomer, I've never seen the land. The county said 222 00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:46,120 Speaker 1: it was valued at more than thirty thousand dollars, which 223 00:14:46,120 --> 00:14:49,520 Speaker 1: would help explain why the taxes were so high. But 224 00:14:49,600 --> 00:14:52,680 Speaker 1: when it came time to sell, it was only worth 225 00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:56,520 Speaker 1: six thousand dollars. That still didn't make sense to me. 226 00:14:57,160 --> 00:14:59,600 Speaker 1: But when you start to add up the history of 227 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:03,120 Speaker 1: how we got the land, the multiple slivers that were 228 00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:06,600 Speaker 1: parceled out to family owners who were impossible to track down, 229 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:10,600 Speaker 1: the inadequate record keeping, the nature of the land itself, 230 00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:14,480 Speaker 1: and high taxes, you start to get a sense of 231 00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:17,280 Speaker 1: how black families in the US have a hard time 232 00:15:17,320 --> 00:15:21,640 Speaker 1: passing on wealth. Before I hung up, I asked Shane 233 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:26,360 Speaker 1: what he planned to do with the land. Everything my 234 00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:30,800 Speaker 1: son to give them something another flip. And when I 235 00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:42,320 Speaker 1: get older, Black Americans have been trying to shore up 236 00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:45,600 Speaker 1: their economic futures for over a hundred fifty years, We're 237 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:47,240 Speaker 1: going to spend a lot of time looking at how 238 00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:50,440 Speaker 1: those efforts have been boarded time and time again. But 239 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:52,400 Speaker 1: there are also places in the US that are seen 240 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:56,200 Speaker 1: as havens for black people, places where ambitious young professionals 241 00:15:56,240 --> 00:16:00,080 Speaker 1: are finding community and upward mobility, and there's one in 242 00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:15,120 Speaker 1: city that tops that list, Atlanta. I've been a journalist 243 00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:18,840 Speaker 1: at Bloomberg for twenty four years. I started in Paris 244 00:16:18,880 --> 00:16:22,720 Speaker 1: as a retail reporter. These days, I manage our bureaus 245 00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:26,760 Speaker 1: across the America's, among other things. And just over a 246 00:16:26,880 --> 00:16:30,440 Speaker 1: year ago, one of our reporters, Jordan Holman, told me 247 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:33,720 Speaker 1: she wanted to leave New York City. I pitched to 248 00:16:33,800 --> 00:16:36,480 Speaker 1: you that I should be going to Atlanta, um, which 249 00:16:36,520 --> 00:16:38,640 Speaker 1: I remember you were surprised about and said you did 250 00:16:38,640 --> 00:16:40,640 Speaker 1: not expect that from me. Oh did I say that? 251 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:43,840 Speaker 1: Because you figured that I would want to stay in 252 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:46,640 Speaker 1: New York and that I was super happy there, So 253 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:49,440 Speaker 1: why did you want to go to Atlanta? I was 254 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:53,400 Speaker 1: imagining Atlanta just being super fun, you know. When I 255 00:16:53,400 --> 00:16:55,160 Speaker 1: would bounce the idea off my friends, like what if 256 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:57,360 Speaker 1: I moved to Atlanta? They were like, if I would 257 00:16:57,360 --> 00:16:59,680 Speaker 1: move to any other city, it would be Atlanta because 258 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:03,840 Speaker 1: there's so much entertainment and culture here, lots of good food, 259 00:17:04,280 --> 00:17:06,919 Speaker 1: and then the element that there's so many black people 260 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:09,880 Speaker 1: there who are thriving. I was like, Okay, I can 261 00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:11,960 Speaker 1: make that work too, I can be part of that. 262 00:17:12,359 --> 00:17:16,439 Speaker 1: So moved and now you're in Atlanta, I am, and 263 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:19,240 Speaker 1: it's been really eye opening. I think the idea of 264 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:22,720 Speaker 1: Atlanta as this black mecca have been so deeply ingrained 265 00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:25,760 Speaker 1: in me growing up. I had cousins who graduated from 266 00:17:25,760 --> 00:17:28,560 Speaker 1: more House and Spellman, and when we visit it, we 267 00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:31,439 Speaker 1: went to the King Center and all of that. So 268 00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:34,560 Speaker 1: I was really surprised when I read the stats. There 269 00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:37,919 Speaker 1: are a lot of successful black people in Atlanta, but 270 00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:42,280 Speaker 1: the income inequality is also off the charts. The median 271 00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:45,520 Speaker 1: household income for a black family in Atlanta is about 272 00:17:45,560 --> 00:17:49,520 Speaker 1: twenty eight thousand dollars, compared to about eighty four thousand 273 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:52,760 Speaker 1: dollars for white family living in the city. I was 274 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:56,200 Speaker 1: reading the biography of Maynard Jackson, the first African American 275 00:17:56,400 --> 00:17:59,480 Speaker 1: mayor as you know in Atlanta. He was elected in 276 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:04,040 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy three, and in his biography he talks about 277 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:07,520 Speaker 1: the need for affordable and worked for its housing in Atlanta. 278 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:10,000 Speaker 1: So it's been fascinating to me that this is still 279 00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:14,720 Speaker 1: a challenge for us. That's Atlanta's current mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, 280 00:18:14,960 --> 00:18:18,399 Speaker 1: speaking at a Clinton Foundation event in the fall. She's 281 00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:21,879 Speaker 1: the city sixth black mayor, but she's talking about the 282 00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:26,399 Speaker 1: first one Maynard Jackson. He was elected in nineteen seventy 283 00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:29,960 Speaker 1: three when he was just thirty five years old. Atlanta 284 00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:32,840 Speaker 1: was a center of black political power during the Civil 285 00:18:32,960 --> 00:18:36,680 Speaker 1: Rights Movement. Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Grew up here, 286 00:18:36,840 --> 00:18:40,199 Speaker 1: went to more House, preached from Aberneze or Baptist and 287 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:42,760 Speaker 1: by the end of the nineteen sixties you had a 288 00:18:42,840 --> 00:18:47,920 Speaker 1: highly motivated, engaged black community here and they elected Jackson. 289 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:52,680 Speaker 1: I talked to Tiffany Bussey about this. She's the director 290 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:56,399 Speaker 1: of the Entrepreneurship Center at more House and she's been 291 00:18:56,440 --> 00:18:59,520 Speaker 1: in Atlanta for thirty years. I think we we cannot 292 00:18:59,760 --> 00:19:03,520 Speaker 1: have this conversation without really giving thanks and looking at 293 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:05,560 Speaker 1: the work and building on the shoulders of the work 294 00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:08,560 Speaker 1: from Maynard Jackson in the first Black man of Atlanta. 295 00:19:08,800 --> 00:19:11,919 Speaker 1: He used his political power to lay the groundwork for 296 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:16,320 Speaker 1: what would become generations of black wealth. And he did 297 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:22,560 Speaker 1: it with this very unsexy thing government contracts. The city 298 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:26,639 Speaker 1: was expanding its airport to become an international hub. It 299 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:29,640 Speaker 1: was the largest construction project in the South at the time, 300 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:34,680 Speaker 1: and everyone wanted a piece. Jackson decided that a full 301 00:19:36,119 --> 00:19:39,640 Speaker 1: of the contracts we're going to go to minority owned firms. 302 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:44,480 Speaker 1: Prior to that, they got in just one percent. By 303 00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:48,919 Speaker 1: giving folks a chance and stating a certain percentage to 304 00:19:49,040 --> 00:19:52,159 Speaker 1: let them in, not to lord a bar, not to 305 00:19:52,760 --> 00:19:55,280 Speaker 1: change the quality of what needs to be done, but 306 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:58,320 Speaker 1: just saying we're going to give them an opportunity to 307 00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:01,880 Speaker 1: get a piece of this pie. UM, I think really 308 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:05,919 Speaker 1: really cropped the door in UM started the whole movement. 309 00:20:06,359 --> 00:20:09,960 Speaker 1: The idea of giving minority groups preferential treatment for city 310 00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:16,359 Speaker 1: contracts was new, controversial, and immediately effective. Within five years, 311 00:20:16,760 --> 00:20:21,640 Speaker 1: about city contracts went to minority on firms in other 312 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:26,520 Speaker 1: cities started to implement similar programs, but the set asides 313 00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:32,159 Speaker 1: or affirmative action was not universally popular. In Atlanta and elsewhere. 314 00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:36,520 Speaker 1: They were almost immediately challenged in court, kicking off decades 315 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:43,880 Speaker 1: of legal battles that slowed everything down. By the time 316 00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:46,800 Speaker 1: the airport gets done. Reagan's in the White House. The 317 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:51,320 Speaker 1: culture shifts in Atlantis, growing black middle class kids are 318 00:20:51,320 --> 00:20:54,040 Speaker 1: going to college to become lawyers or doctors, or to 319 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:57,560 Speaker 1: work in consulting or head to Wall Street. And that's great, 320 00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:01,640 Speaker 1: But what happens in Atlanta, and this is happening everywhere 321 00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:04,680 Speaker 1: else in the US is that money leaves the poor 322 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:08,680 Speaker 1: and working class black neighborhoods and heads to the suburbs 323 00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:14,120 Speaker 1: or neighborhoods with bigger houses, better schools, nicer supermarkets. Latresa 324 00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:18,520 Speaker 1: mclaughharn Ryan is another long time Atlanta resident who's watched 325 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:22,000 Speaker 1: some of these trends unfold. She has the Atlanta Wealth 326 00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:26,919 Speaker 1: Building Initiative, which raises awareness about income inequality in the city. 327 00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:30,960 Speaker 1: When people do have greater options, or the greater options 328 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:34,680 Speaker 1: that began to develop as a result of the policies 329 00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:36,920 Speaker 1: that were put into place in the in the seventies, 330 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:40,640 Speaker 1: um over time, they moved to where those amenities are 331 00:21:40,640 --> 00:21:44,360 Speaker 1: easier to harness. It's not just about the amenities, it's 332 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:48,880 Speaker 1: also about community, who your neighbors are. Before I moved here, 333 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:52,800 Speaker 1: I didn't realize just how clicky Atlanta could be. So 334 00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:55,240 Speaker 1: where do you go to college? Where do you go 335 00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:59,120 Speaker 1: to church? Are you in a sorority? On one hand, 336 00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:03,200 Speaker 1: those kind networks built a lot of social and political capital, 337 00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:07,399 Speaker 1: but they also leave a lot of people out. Here's 338 00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:11,000 Speaker 1: Professor Bussy again. I'm afraid that some of what I 339 00:22:11,119 --> 00:22:14,959 Speaker 1: see happening in Atlanta is exactly that you have the 340 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:17,800 Speaker 1: group that is making it, and then they go off 341 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:21,719 Speaker 1: into their own little social clubs and repeat what the 342 00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:25,160 Speaker 1: majority community has done. And we know that we did 343 00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:27,399 Speaker 1: not like what they did. Well, we have some of 344 00:22:27,520 --> 00:22:30,440 Speaker 1: that happening also, and we have to find a way 345 00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:33,000 Speaker 1: to break that and not repeat the same mistakes that 346 00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:36,280 Speaker 1: we saw there. There's definitely a lot working for some 347 00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:40,159 Speaker 1: black folks in Atlanta. For example, the median income for 348 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:46,320 Speaker 1: black families in the city grew about from that was 349 00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:49,879 Speaker 1: faster than for white households, and it was a bigger 350 00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:53,240 Speaker 1: jump than for black families in New York, Los Angeles 351 00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:57,440 Speaker 1: and Chicago. In the last decade, the number of black 352 00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:01,080 Speaker 1: households in Atlanta making at least two hundred thousand dollars 353 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:06,240 Speaker 1: a year is up by a hundred and that rising 354 00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:09,359 Speaker 1: tide hasn't lifted all boats, at least not enough to 355 00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:11,840 Speaker 1: put it in in black poverty or the racial wealth 356 00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:15,560 Speaker 1: gap in Atlanta. There's a new generation of activists and 357 00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:18,960 Speaker 1: politicians who are ready to leverage the city's political power 358 00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:23,080 Speaker 1: to change that, and they're acknowledging that the issues we're 359 00:23:23,119 --> 00:23:26,040 Speaker 1: seeing today we're never fully dealt with in the past. 360 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:30,720 Speaker 1: Here's Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms again. My husband is a 361 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:35,480 Speaker 1: corporate corporate executive. I am the mayor of Atlanta. I 362 00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:38,439 Speaker 1: live in a neighborhood that has not recovered from the 363 00:23:38,480 --> 00:23:41,000 Speaker 1: two thousand and eight crisis. I still owe more on 364 00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:45,760 Speaker 1: my home um than its value, and my schools in 365 00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:50,040 Speaker 1: my neighborhood right pretty much at the bottom of all 366 00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:53,600 Speaker 1: of our public schools. We can't address one or the other. 367 00:23:53,680 --> 00:24:03,240 Speaker 1: We have to address it comprehensively. So, Jordan, does Atlanta 368 00:24:03,359 --> 00:24:05,520 Speaker 1: feel like a black mecca in the same way it 369 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:08,800 Speaker 1: did before you moved? I think Atlanta is definitely still 370 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:12,480 Speaker 1: a black mecca, but I am just realizing that there's 371 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:16,360 Speaker 1: a lot of forces working against it. For example, Atlanta 372 00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:20,959 Speaker 1: has this affordable housing crisis, there's this shrinking black middle class, 373 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:23,840 Speaker 1: and it's just just taking a lot of efforts make 374 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:26,679 Speaker 1: sure it lives up to its reputation of being a 375 00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:30,280 Speaker 1: black mecca and making sure that every black person can 376 00:24:30,320 --> 00:24:33,679 Speaker 1: benefit from some of, you know, the great opportunities that 377 00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:49,919 Speaker 1: the city affords. Atlanta story is complex and layered and 378 00:24:50,119 --> 00:24:52,960 Speaker 1: doesn't give us all the answers. What it does tell 379 00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:55,199 Speaker 1: us about the racial wealth gap in the US is 380 00:24:55,240 --> 00:25:00,480 Speaker 1: that even small political decisions can have big impacts. Next 381 00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:03,080 Speaker 1: week on The Paycheck, we'll be going deep on just that, 382 00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:07,240 Speaker 1: the political history of the racial welcap and how moments 383 00:25:07,280 --> 00:25:10,679 Speaker 1: both big and small, led to the inequalities we see today. 384 00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:15,159 Speaker 1: You needed to break up the plantations and distribute the 385 00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:18,439 Speaker 1: land for two reasons. This was the only way that 386 00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:23,360 Speaker 1: African Americans would avoid being economically dependent on their former owners. 387 00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:26,600 Speaker 1: They wouldn't really then be free. They did not know 388 00:25:26,760 --> 00:25:30,879 Speaker 1: accidentally leave out people of certain races. It did so 389 00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:36,800 Speaker 1: explicitly um methodically. Where the civil rights movement didn't succeed 390 00:25:37,119 --> 00:25:42,040 Speaker 1: was in any significant way addressing uh economic inequality between 391 00:25:42,720 --> 00:25:51,879 Speaker 1: blacks and whites in the United States. Thanks for listening 392 00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:55,080 Speaker 1: to The Paycheck. If you like the show, please rate, review, 393 00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:58,960 Speaker 1: and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was 394 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:03,800 Speaker 1: hosted by Me Rebecca Greenfield and me Jackie Simmons. This 395 00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:07,840 Speaker 1: episode was edited by Janet Paskin and reported with the 396 00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:13,359 Speaker 1: help of Jordan Holman, Brett Polly, Maria, Eloisa Capuro, and 397 00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:17,879 Speaker 1: Katarina Surviva. Our producers are Lindsay Cratowell, Magnus Hendrickson, and 398 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:22,040 Speaker 1: Ethan Brooks. Our original music is by Leo Sedgrin. Francesco 399 00:26:22,119 --> 00:26:25,400 Speaker 1: Levi is Bloomberg's head of podcasts. We'll see you next time.