Crowd Sourcing

With the aggregate wealth in the African American community it's a wonder the capital for movies, music , books and dare I say business is not crowd sourced.

Black Woman Earnings

It may seem paradoxical to write just a few posts ago that African American women enjoy a higher a higher standard of living than other women of color throughout the world and then point out their wage gap but actually it illustrates just how much work needs to be done to achieve a reasonably sound foundation for black families. This report highlights the median earnings of black women in 20 states. California does the best but that's presumably because the data are skewed by women in the entertainment industry. As you might suspect, most single black women with children are raising them in poverty.
Lenin or Marx (I forget whom) pointed out that the foundation of the state is the family. America as a whole suffers when black familial relationships are not maintained and nurtured. The reasons are complex & solutions start with individuals but it would be nice to hear & see more positive messages from the hip hop crew and others that family is the true source of wealth.

The black athlete unchained

In the aggregate sports in America is not quite so big a business but it carries an outsize influence because of its media impact. For black Americans sports (as well as entertainment) carries a huge influence because it simplifies the road to riches. Catch the ball, sing a song, act as directed and riches materialize. By and large, black youth tend not to be encouraged to become captains of industry or technological innovators despite their chances being far better to accrue riches and positively impact their world.

The singular achievements of athletes insulates them and whatever monies they earn from the larger community of their families , friends & peers. Suddenly, the support system that produced them is viewed negatively because it expects (rightfully) a return on its investment in them. In economic terms the human capital of the blacks is drained away.

No one seems to really believe that "A mind is a terrible thing to waste" because so little is invested in developing the African American mind. Those scientists & businessmen who do achieve success are viewed as aberrations when in fact they should be considered the norm.

I suspect that of the  roughly 1.6% of blacks earning over 200k per year a disproportionate amount is from sports and media activities.

Africanus Ceteris Peribus

The study of economics benefits all people including African Americans. One of the most potent insights thinking critically about economics provides is just how well off Americans of African descent are in this country.
I often hear black people complain about being poor yet they clearly have not considered

1. How relative concepts like poor & rich are
2. The living standards of blacks around the globe

For example, worldwide most black women do not have a drivers license, much less a car. In America it is not uncommon to see black woman shopping at malls, driving and enjoying what would be termed a luxury lifestyle in much of the and to much of the worlds population (regardless of sex or race). The authors of this report endured much criticism in the media but their fundamental premise carries weight.

Wealth & Income stats for 2011

The Wall Street Journal has a great info graphic on wealth distribution. To see it broken down by race click here for Black Demographics page on black income.