#BlackWorkersMatter

Despite racial and economic progress in the Unites States, Black communities continue to endure disproportionate levels of inequality and injustice. The status of Black workers and their ability to address the socio-economic issues faced in their communities reveals an America defaulting on its promise as the “land of opportunity.”

In an effort to address the state of Black workers in the United States, the Discount Foundation commissioned several scholars to develop the #BlackWorkersMatter report. This report highlights the economic crisis affecting black communities, shares analysis on the Black jobs crisis, and elevates the importance of investing in efforts to organize Black workers.

BMP’s Sean Thomas-Breitfeld wrote the first section of the report. In Working While Black: The State of Black Worker Organizing in the U.S.,  Sean examines the organizing landscape for Black workers, and looks at the range of worker organizing taking place in Black communities, by using interviews with twenty-nine community organizers, national experts, and foundation staff members as his primary source material. The activism flourishing under the #BlackLivesMatter banner has increased the sense of urgency and energy in community organizing around Black issues. Sean’s report underscores the need to be frank and honest about race and to recognize the unique impact of anti-Black racism, rather than hide behind “color blindness.”

Download Sean’s excerpt by clicking on the “Download Report” button on the right.

Download the full report here.

The full #BlackWorkersMatter report includes the following sections:

• Foreword 
  Dorian Warren 
   
• Working While Black: The State of Black Worker Organizing in the U.S.
  Sean Thomas-Breitfeld
   
• Gender and the Black Jobs Crisis
  Linda Burnham
   
• Low-Wage Work in the Black Community in the Age of Inequality 
  Steven Pitts
   
• Partnership between the Labor Movement and Black Workers: The Opportunities, Challenges, and Next Steps 
  Marc Bayard
   
• The Importance of Good Jobs to the Social and Economic Health of Black Communities 
  Algernon Austin