Saturday, September 30, 2017
Time: 10am-2pm
Reginald F. Lewis Museum
830 E. Pratt Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
What is the Wealth Diversity Summit?
The Wealth Diversity Summit (WDS) is an event consisting of powerful panel discussions throughout the day to provide impactful solutions to social economic, poverty and inequality issues that have widen the wealth diversity gap among minorities and non-minorities within the last 50 years.
Millions of Americans have suffered a loss of wealth during the recession and the sluggish recovery that followed, but the last half-decade has proved far worse for minorities (Black and Hispanic families), widening the already large gulf in wealth between non-minority and most minority groups.
Given the dynamics of the housing recovery and the rebound in the stock market, the wealth gap is still growing, further dimming the prospects for economic advancement for current and future generations of Americans from minority groups.
There is a growing number of apathy toward social, economic, and political conditions that is again hurting the minority community (despite having a minority president) and must be replaced with a passion for change among our diverse people, from politics, economic development, education to entrepreneurship and homeownership.
Although the United States is one of the wealthiest countries, this prosperity remains out of reach for many minority Americans, in particular; African Americans and Hispanics, who strive to make a better life for themselves and their families, are not on the same wealth-building paths as whites. They are less likely to own homes and retirement accounts, so they miss out on these traditionally powerful wealth-building tools. Also, minorities lost a greater share of their wealth in the aftermath of the Great Recession.
Wealth is where the economic opportunity lies. A common misconception is that poor or even low-income families cannot save. Evidence from savings programs and research shows they can. But social safety net programs emphasize consumption, and many even discourage saving by making families ineligible if they have a few thousand dollars in savings.
Wealth-building policies, on the other hand, are delivered as tax subsidies for homeownership and retirement. Many minorities are less likely to be able to use these tax subsidies, so they receive little to no benefit from them. Without fair policies, paths to building wealth can vanish. Reforming policies like the mortgage interest tax deduction so it benefits all families, and helping families enroll in automatic savings vehicles, will help improve wealth inequality and promote saving opportunities for all.
Open Reception Speaker
To kick off the day we have an open reception to acknowledge our partners and sponsors. Also, we have an inspirational speaker to empower the crowd and set the stage for the event throughout the day.
2014 and 2015 Keynote Speakers:
2014-15 Remembering Reginald F. Lewis
Mr. Lewis broke down many wealth gap barriers for minorities as well as the importance of giving back to those less fortunate and the next generation through his philanthropy efforts so we plan to honor him at the event with a Baltimore City Declaration: Reginald F. Lewis Day.
2016 Remembering Arnold M. Jolivet
Mr. M. Jolivet, was a longtime advocate for minority- and women-owned businesses. He was consistent, devoted and vocal champion for minority businesses because he understood that progress cannot be achieved without economic parity for minority-owned businesses and was a familiar presence at City Hall so we plan to honor him at the event with a Baltimore City Declaration: Arnold M. Jolivet Day.
Panel Discussions:
The event will consist of powerful panel discussions to provide solutions to reduce the wealth gap for minorities and women in four pillars:
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Reducing Poverty Levels Among Minorities in Focus Areas: Education and Political System, Incarceration and Unemployment
The two largest minorities in the United States, African Americans and people of Hispanicorigin, show official poverty rates that are at least twice as high as those among non-minorities due to a number of factors such as poor school systems, unfavorable political system, high unemployment and incarceration rates.
Furthermore, we show that while labor market activity of family members and a preponderance of single mothers played a more significant role in explaining the higher poverty rates of Blacks, a larger number of dependent children is more closely associated with higher poverty among Latinos, who also suffer from a larger educational attainment gap and higher immigration rates.
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Improving Success Rates for Minority and Women-Owned Businesses
Racial inequality in education, income, and wealth are well known; less understood are the large and persistent racial disparities in business ownership and performance in the United States. The lack of attention is surprising, given the magnitude of these racial differences and the importance of business ownership as a way to make a living for many Americans. Roughly 1 in 10 workers owns a business, but these 13 million business owners hold an amazing 37.4 percent of total U.S. wealth. Yet only 5.1 percent of African-American workers and 7.5 percent of Latino workers own businesses.
The relative lack of success among minority-owned businesses is attributable in part to their owners having less startup capital, disadvantaged family backgrounds, and less education.
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Rebuilding Minority Wealth Through Homeownership
The homeownership rate for African American households (dropped from 49.1 percent in 2004 to 44.9 percent in 2011) and Latino households (46.9 percent in 2011), lags far behind the homeownership rate for whites (73.8 percent). Since fewer than half of black households own homes, this means that for the median (typical) minority household, there is zero home equity. The median minority household also owns no stock and therefore has no wealth from this asset class.
The Great Recession decimated wealth from all demographic groups, but minorities were especially hard hit. While median wealth of non-minority households sank 35.8 percent, it plummeted for African Americans households (49.7 percent) and nosedived for Latino households (86.3 percent) from 2007–2010.
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Increasing Minority, Next Generation and Women Retirement Savings through Financial Literacy
African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans, the two largest minority groups, are behind the rest of Americans when it comes to preparing for retirement, meaning a large number are likely to be in poverty in retirement. Only 62 percent of African Americans and 52 percent of Hispanics report having saved some money for retirement, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute's (EBRI) 2000 Retirement Confidence Survey. In comparison, 80 percent of the general population has set some money aside.
Many minority workers are employed in industry segments that traditionally do not offer retirement plans - such as non union construction, services, and daycare. For many women, moving in and out of the work force to care for children and other family members reduces their overall earning capability and the ability to build their “human capital” in the job market...
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