We like to think that the US labor market is a meritocracy — that people who work hard will attain good jobs, climb the career ladder, or start and grow businesses. The experience of Black Americans, however, raises questions about whether the reality lines up with the ideal. The unemployment rate among Black Americans is roughly double that of White Americans, and Black college graduates are roughly twice as likely to be unemployed as White college graduates. Over the past three decades, Black workers have attained higher levels of education and experience, but have not seen a commensurate increases in earnings, benefits, and economic standing. How do we understand the experience of Black workers in the US, and what does it tell us about working in America today?
This event features Ryan P. Haygood, Esq. (President & CEO, New Jersey Institute for Social Justice), Debra Plousha Moore (System Chief of Staff & Executive Vice President, Carolinas HealthCare System), Don Tomaskovic-Devey (Professor of Sociology, University of Massachusetts), Tanya Wallace-Gobern (Executive Director, National Black Worker Center Project), and moderator Dorian T. Warren (President, Center for Community Change Action; Vice-President, Center for Community Change).
This event is part of the Working in America series, an ongoing discussion series hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program that highlights an array of critical issues affecting low- and moderate-income workers in the United States and ideas for improving and expanding economic opportunities for working people. For more information, visit as.pn/workinginamerica.
The Economic Opportunities Program advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy. We recognize that race, gender, and place intersect with and intensify the challenge of economic inequality and we address these dynamics by advancing an inclusive vision of economic justice. For over 25 years, EOP has focused on expanding individuals’ opportunities to connect to quality work, start businesses, and build economic stability that provides the freedom to pursue opportunity. Learn more at as.pn/eop.