Please continue to get comfortable in your vulnerability as we reflect upon and answer the following questions:

1. What are your thoughts and feelings after reviewing the materials? What surprised you? What did you learn?
2. Wealth goes beyond income. Wealth is the financial capital families need to expand their economic opportunity and agency. Read the infographicto understand the racial wealth gap through different perspectives.
3. Reflect upon the fact that the racial wealth gap constrains the national economy, and it is estimated that its dampening effect on consumption and investment will cost the economy between $1 trillion and $1.5 trillion between 2019 and 2028. Explore the investment in Black-owned or minority-owned businesses in your community.
4. The Economic Impact of Closing the Racial Wealth Gapprovides, “The 16 states that are home to 65 percent of the Black residents in the United States perform below the national average on all categories of performance. . . . In particular, the states in which black residents are concentrated are well below the national averages in economic opportunity, employment, healthcare access, healthcare quality, public health, and access to broadband. At the neighborhood level, black families are up to 4.6 times more likely than white and Hispanic families to live in areas of concentrated poverty. Not even high-income black families are exempt: the average black family with a household income of $100,000 lives in a neighborhood where the average income is $54,000.” Virginia is among the 16 states explored in the article. Explore and examine what is happening in your community. What are the public, private, and social sectors’ commitments to increase the wealth of Black families?
5. Explore the roles of the public, private, and social sectors in removing institutional barriers to Black-owned businesses. Examine whether laws, policies, and practices have been designed to produce equitable opportunities and outcomes.
6. What opportunities exist in your community for minority children, particularly young Black men, to thrive?