Black History Is Economic History: A Charge Toward Black Futures | Nonprofit Quarterly | Civic News. Empowering Nonprofits. Advancing Justice.

"Nearly 250 years into the American experiment, the pursuit of liberty remains inseparable from the pursuit of wealth, and Black communities continue to face an economy that excludes them from both. The language of democracy is everywhere but often serves as a civic veneer over a deeper national project: the protection of racialized capitalism."

"For over 400 years, the Atlantic slave trade served as the principal engine of wealth across Europe and the United States. By 1860, the market value of nearly 4 million enslaved people was conservatively estimated at more than $3 billion—the equivalent of $42 trillion today—making slavery one of the nation's largest capital assets."

"Black history in the United States is not separate from economic history; in fact, it is central to it. And any serious conversation about the future of democracy in this country must begin with a clear accounting of how wealth has been structured and the power it confers."

The United States has constructed an economic system fundamentally rooted in racialized capitalism, built on genocide, slavery, and policies designed to concentrate wealth while excluding Black communities. Black economic history is inseparable from American economic history overall. Slavery generated enormous wealth—nearly 4 million enslaved people were valued at over $3 billion in 1860, equivalent to approximately $42 trillion today—making it one of the nation's largest capital assets. Black labor created substantial wealth that Black people were systematically prevented from owning or accumulating. The South's economy particularly concentrated this extraction, producing the majority of cotton for global markets and generating unprecedented wealth concentration. Understanding current economic inequities requires examining this foundational economic architecture and how wealth has been structured to benefit some while denying it to others.

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