Support Black start-ups: a visionary initiative

We can trace the origins of today’s racial wealth gap to Jim Crow-era practices like redlining and job discrimination which segregated African Americans from higher paying jobs and homeowner ownership opportunities that ultimately prevented wealth building. The 1935 Social Security Act did not afford coverage to domestic and agricultural workers, many of whom were African American, and its requirements for residency and payroll information also excluded the large number of African Americans working menial, “off the books” jobs and migrating North at the time.

Today, according an article in Green America, the median wealth for white families is about 12 times that for Black families  averaging around $140,000, and one in four black households have zero or negative net worth compared to less than one in ten white families without wealth. Even more concerning is that by 2053, the median wealth for Black families is projected to fall to zero.

Small businesses and entrepreneurs have been longtime wealth builders in our society. By supporting more Black-owned businesses, we can help create more opportunities for meaningful savings, property ownership, credit building and generational wealth.

Here's one great way to get behind Black businesses!

Head over to Evanstonian Tosha Wilson's FB group Boosting Black Business where, this morning, she unveiled her first pick of a Black business startup that you can support with just $20 (or more if you're able) toward its crowdfunding campaign.

It's a great one, ChiFresh Kitchen, a worker cooperative food service contractor, which is owned and determined by formerly incarcerated Chicagoans, primarily Black women. They serve their communities, define their own narrative, and serve food from local urban farms.

"They are beyond inspiring and the video captures only an ounce of their essence and superior work ethic," say Tosha.

Watch their video interview with Tosha and then donate! Their goal is $20,000, and as of this writing

(2 p.m.), members of Tosha's group have raised $4,322.

Watch my interview with Tosha here.

Donate to the ChiFresh Kitchen here.

Connect with ChiFresh on Facebook.

Visit their website.

Every month, Tosha will vet and announce a new Black start-up to support.

Read more here,