>> A local organization is sounding the alarm on the widening racial wealth gap in Chicago.

The Chicago Urban League's new report, the state of Black Chicago draws on research from the new school in New York.

The report found that in 2024 the median net worth for black Chicago area household was $0 compared to $210,000 for white households.

The group is now rolling out a plan of action to help black communities build wealth.

Joining us to discuss that report are ComEd a Coleman chief operating officer at the Chicago Urban League.

Rendell, Solomon, a financial literacy advocate and founder of estate planning platform inherent and on Zoom, Dumond drummer director of strategy at the new school's Institute on Race Power and Political Economy.

Thanks to all of you for joining us.

You hear that number 0 compared to $210,000.

That is really jarring.

Come out you have done this report in the past, though.

But this one is slightly different in that.

It goes beyond presenting these inequities and provide solutions policy recommendations.

What do you think needs to be done to address these disparities?

Thank you so much brands for having us.

>> So to your point, we have done these state of Black Chicago reports for a number of years.

We've also looked at the reports that other organizations like the new school have done.

And what we've seen consistently is that the numbers don't really change it so that it's time to stop talking just about.

>> The disparities and really focus on solutions.

And the main key that we see there is that these solutions have to systemic and collaborative, but also we're taking latter approach.

So if you actually look at the full, full report, the title of it is latter path to wealth building.

So recognizing that different individuals are in different places.

So some people need to really just improve their relationship with money and how they think about it.

You know, it so often because of all the systemic barriers, we have a mindset when it comes to money.

Right?

And we don't necessarily have the best relationship with So thinking about financial literacy for our communities and for individuals, for families as a whole.

But then also for people who might, you know, say have a good job in the making decent money.

They don't always know like how to actually grow that money.

And some really thinking about how to increase home ownership, which is one of the key path to wealth building as well as thinking about investments starting our own businesses and really having not leaving that on the individual to do.

But thinking about how can institutions organizations collaborate on solutions a broad spectrum, read some of them are more.

So a broad spectrum of solutions.

Demar drummer lot of this research.

Of course, it's based on a report from the new school last year on black wealth.

>> What do we know about these inequities and how they present in neighborhoods?

>> Yes, so that that well, for many by family, as we know in Chicago $0.

number 0 doesn't even begin to tell the whole dramatically.

A white households headed by the individual who has been incarcerated some point as a higher will position that a black household led by somebody who went to college home ownership.

A white household doesn't own their home, has a higher well positioned in a black Chicago household who owns their home and just a single headed, a head of household in Chicago who is white has a higher well position.

Median.

Then a two-parent family that is black.

so this is structural this doesn't come only from financial literacy concerns, but a function of lawn policy that produces and reproduces these wealth gaps generation after generation.

And so the set of solutions that we propose in our report upon which Urban League report is based goes into the realm of public policy so we can get ahead of this.

So we're not always playing whack a ball in the back in and trying to clean up a crisis as it unfolded.

>> And we talked a lot about, you know, financial literacy and, you know, educating ourselves and our families do you have taught kids about stocks in financial planning?

How do you get black people educated on finances starting at young age?

Absolutely.

It is truly a cultural issue.

And thank you so much for having I read the report.

>> Last night at 04:00AM with my baby girl.

Savannah Morning in Aurora morning of may be of an a 3 year-old my legacy came into the room.

want to lay in bed with daddy.

But the the challenge when you're talking about educating youth about this topic, we all know how important it is.

And one of the things I think it is critical is that we meet people where they are.

We meet young people where they are so we can't simultaneously say we want to educate and teach kids and criminalize them at the same time and mass regardless of some bad behaviors.

And so that's why when I created one stock one future to give away stock to kids, I said, you know what?

They have enough school all week.

They're overwhelmed with activities at times.

Let me not create one more thing that they have to go to all go to them.

That's one and to let me not require them to get straight A's in school.

So what happens is only the the bright kids were doing well, get reward.

So my idea was just get every kid, some stock, if we can, and then use that as a catalyst for the education you mentioned, it's cultural.

Is this something that black families don't talk about enough?

And is that because historically we don't have to talk about.

>> It's definitely a historical issue around having that conversation.

We talked mentioned inherit an estate planning, a sort of that last step, pun intended of one's financial journey.

Also a conversation that we don't have so from adults down the youth, there's a trepidation, some anxiety around having these critical conversations, sometimes even a simple as embarrassment.

It's hard to talk about it when perhaps you realize you've not done as well as you could have given the opportunities that you may have.

And so there is a fear of having the conversation.

I'm hoping we can break that stigma by approaching the conversation differently.

>> Let's talk about wealth, white wealth as something for you all to focus on.

And also clarify for us what wealth is right, because when you hear $0 doesn't mean everybody's Brooke, right, right?

It does not mean So when we think about we decided to look at it in 2 ways.

So one financial, well, the things that we always think about, you know, like.

>> You know what, you're you're the actual assets are that you have.

But we also are looking at holistic.

Well, because we know that it actually has a keen relationship to financial.

Well, so whether or not people are healthy.

So we're talking about health equity, the level of education that people attain that allows them to, you know, get a good job, start a business, be smart about money and those things.

So we're looking at that.

But you asked why?

Well, really, we start with wealth in this report.

And I think even in our work increasingly is because, well, this really foundational to opportunity.

And that's what we see over and over again as a divider.

So we in our past reports that we talked about earlier stated back Chicago report.

We have looked at all the communities and neighborhoods in Chicago and their 27 at a predominantly black.

And those are repeatedly the 27 where you see the biggest gaps.

The biggest disparities and so much of that is about whether or not people have access to.

>> Demond this report.

You know, it's coming at a time.

Of course, both of these reports are at a time when the federal government is cutting many programs that a lot of black families depend on to survive Medicaid Headstart among others.

How do those federal decisions impact those disparities, economic disparities on a local level.

>> Again, yes, I think, you know, good.

What produce is this crisis of this wealth gap, these public policy?

So what we're seeing in America is what has been done to black people's from the beginning of this country is now being done to a broader swath of this entire country.

And so, you know, of financial literacy is important.

However, it is not going to be right here.

Have the same conversation if that intervention that is being proposed by rundown Coleman, A is not also backed by public policy.

Chicago beat a solution set.

That means the scale scope and death and persistence of this crisis.

We can't just single out black people is not being, you know, with the right mindset on this.

The crisis has created by public policy as though it's going to be public policy that helps solve the crisis in one of those solutions that we're seeing take place in the country across the country, particularly in states where innovation can still happen is baby bonds were talking about the state government seeding children born in poverty with an account that can be managed by the state until that child reaches the age of majority by which they can then invest in what college education they can buy stocks, they can start a business that could put a down payment on a house that have that material floor publish.

They can build their adult livelihood.

Right now.

Today we have 2 billion dollars being directed to children born into poverty in the states that have already implemented bond program.

So the question I have for Chicago, Illinois, is what are we going to get all that entre because we have 12 billion dollars in proposed baby bonds that we're seeing all across the country in Illinois.

Chicago's not relate to that game.

Let's give these kids something to manage financial literacy.

>> Another definite recommendation, their baby bonds.

On the flip side of that, obviously we've we've heard about the talk of the baby bonus rate for families who have more children, which is another conversation.

Rondo as an estate planner.

How do you go about starting that that difficult conversation with family members about the state and well planning what he say it right up.

It has forefront.

I think first thing first and foremost recognize that it is a sensitive.

>> And at times scary topic and that that conversation is going to be different.

If you're talking to someone maybe later in age, middle age or even a young person about the importance of doing it.

So first and foremost, having that sensitivity around the conversation, I think number 2 is framing the conversation and focusing on what that person wants.

What is that person want?

Focus more on here are the things that you've accumulated a home.

Your bank account, a pair of Jordans.

What do you want to happen with it when you're no longer able to manage it yourself and you just might have to continue having a conversation that the 3rd thing is recognize that it's going to take some consistency.

This is not a one-time sit down conversation.

That's going to be resistance.

There's going to be fear and anxiety that we talked about earlier.

And if you are an advocate and really want to focus on that for yourself and your family being persistent about having that conversation regularly.

>> Come at a how is the Urban planning to work towards progress on the recommendations that you've made here and, you know, fully addressing these inequities.

So absolutely.

So there are practical recommendations.

And so those are the some of the things that we actually already do and some level in our work and that other organizations are doing.

And we are really trying to, I would say Turbo charged that by partnering and collaborating more with other organizations that are trying to do something similar.

>> So one partnership that we announced on the day of the report was really around our home ownership and how to increase that one of the issues here in Chicago is not necessarily only that, you know, black people don't have access to homeownership, but part of the reason is not about financing or in calm but about actual availability of housing.

And so we have started a partnership with it.

Realty and connects, which does modular homes and really looking at a way to get people who come pre qualify, who are eligible for home to be able to buy a home to actually get them in a house.

And I think you've also start another partnership around credit and learning in credit academy, but really around that education and folks are going to have to go to our website to learn more probe worked We've given you the last word coming out coma, our Web site of his shot you will do to