On July 23rd and 24th, IABG hosted roundtable discussions on the racial wealth gap in Champaign and East St. Louis. The roundtables were co-facilitated by POWER PAC parents from COFI and co-hosted by a community organization. Community leaders, researchers, social services providers, graduate students, faith leaders, and advocates gathered to share how the racial wealth gap manifests in their communities, learn about the policies that contribute to the racial wealth gap and discuss policies that can close it. After exploring what the racial wealth gap looks like in their communities, the participants took a deep dive into the following issue areas:
- Universal Children’s Savings Accounts
- Credit Scores Disparities
- Retirement Savings & the Automatic IRA Program
- Access to Predatory & Mainstream Financial Products
Champaign – Co-hosted by the University of Illinois Extension
Less than one year after IABG’s last Statewide Conference in Champaign, community leaders came together to discuss policies that could significantly reduce the Racial Wealth Gap. “It’s a no brainer,” said one Champaign attendee of proposed legislation to create an Automatic IRA program that provides easy access to retirement savings accounts for millions of workers in Illinois. Attendees in the Retirement Savings small group said that in Champaign you either worked for the University of Illinois with access to the University’s pension plan for retirement security, or you were on your own.
East St. Louis – Co-hosted by the Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood House
“We need to make the community aware of why there is a Racial Wealth Gap,”shared one East St. Louis attendee. Few places in Illinois, or the United States for that matter, exemplify the impact of the Racial Wealth Gap more than East St. Louis.
Upcoming Racial Wealth Gap Roundtables
These were just the first two Racial Wealth Gap Roundtables. An upcoming Roundtable will be held in the South Side of Chicago on August 6th – register here to attend. If you are interested in co-hosting a Racial Wealth Gap Roundtable in your community, please contact Ethan Brown of IABG.
Check out all our photos from the events in East St. Louis & Champaign.