AN ECONOMIC VISION THAT CENTERS BLACK WOMEN

Just a few weeks ago--November 10th-- more than 240,000 American lives had been snatched by COVID. Furthermore, a glance at the data drives home an undeniable fact: Death is far from democratic. In a society riddled by racism and rampant inequality, Black and poor folk always get disproportionately pummeled by pandemics. Thus, the COVID-19 mortality rate for Black Americans is twice as high as that for Whites, and Black folk account for 20% of all COVID deaths--even though they only account for 12.4% of the population. Indeed, if Black Americans were dropping from COVID at the same rate as Whites, over 21,000 of them would still be alive today. The abysmal response of this nation's governing elites to the current pandemic has imposed a high price on all but no group is getting pounded the way Black folk are.

And as if all of this is not enough, there's this: Absent some strong and progressive policy intervention, our recessionary economy will not experience what economists call a "V-shaped" recovery; that is, a quick bounce back to the previous peak after a sharp decline in such key metrics as GDP and unemployment. Case in point: For the week ending Nov 11th, 1.1 million persons applied for unemployment insurance (UI). That, by the way, marks the 35th straight week in which total initial claims were greater than the worst week of the Great Recession. And the economy is still down 10 million jobs from where it was in February, before we started getting clocked by COVID. The current recovery, if you want to call it that, is clearly anemic and looks nothing like a quick bounce back. Joseph Stiglitz, the 2001 recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, put it as blunt as you can when he opined: "The US economy will not have a V-shaped recovery from the COVID-19 crisis."

What we're witnessing, at most, is a "K-shaped recovery." A recovery where the rich bounce back faster and stronger than the rest. Visualize it this way: Two lines that touch at a point of origin, and then increasingly diverge as they branch out. The rich race back up to where they were, and beyond, while the rest continue to get spanked by a still slumping economy. Everybody is not in the same boat. Some folks--the rich-- weather the storm in a yacht, while others--the rest-- must ride it out in a dinghy. For some folk, the choppy waters are an annoyance; for others--the ones in that damn dinghy-- the terrifying turbulence is a matter of life and death.

And certain groups and persons are disproportionately crammed into that dinghy. Essential or front-line workers are more likely to be there. Poor people are disproportionality present in the dinghy. Black bodies are more likely to be bouncing around in that dinghy. Single moms are aplenty and, Black women, particularly poor Black women, are there in abundance. Such folk tend to be the last ones to taste the fruit of any supposed economic recovery. They are the ones on the wrong branch, so to speak, of a "K-shaped economy" and any "K-shaped" economic recovery. They are the ones who were especially struggling in the pre-pandemic economy and they're the ones catching more than their share of hell right now.

Going forward, rather than back to "normal", demands that we push for policies that place their lives and experiences at any visions of more just and inclusive economy.

CENTERING BLACK WOMEN

But let's cut to the quick and be even more specific: How about talking about and pushing for short and long-term economic policies that explicitly center the lives and experiences of Black women? What would our economic vision look like if we centered Black women? What if we began our economic imaginings by prioritizing those women who are heavily concentrated amongst frontline and essential workers? What if we started out by highlighting and expressing solidarity with those who have traditionally borne the burden of caregiving, and continue to do so within our current pandemic-related recession? What if economically lifting Black women functioned as the lodestar toward a more just and inclusive economy? What if we advocated--and fought for-- an economy that cared for the caregiver?

What if we showed some serious economic love for the very women who have been at the heart of Black Lives Matter. At the heart of the fight for voting rights. At the heart of resisting the winds of Trumpism that blow across the nation? What if the canaries in the coal mine become the lodestar that guides us toward a more just and inclusive economy? What if?

BLACK WOMEN BEST

What we need, in short, is an economic principle that incorporates the experiences of Black women and can guide us in moving toward genuine economic justice for all peoples. And this is exactly what economist Janelle Jones does when she proffers the economic principle that she dubs "Black Women Best." At the core of the "Black women best" framework is the conviction that the best way to build an economy that prioritizes people over plutocrats is to craft and push for a set of economic policies that lift Black women up. Here's how Jones puts it:

"If history has taught us anything, it's that Black people, particularly Black women, are among the last to recover from economic recession, and the last to reap the benefits during periods of recovery or growth. So, when policymakers focus on helping the average worker find a job and the average family out of poverty, and then to declare the job done when that happens--they are necessarily leaving Black women still in a crisis. But if they orient their thinking to put Black women first, and to promote policies that focus on pulling Black women out of the recession and into prosperity--then they will necessarily be lifting everyone up in the process. I call this economic ideology "Black Women Best," and I believe it can be a powerful tool to help our economy truly recover from economic downturns."

No more singular focus on the income of the "average" worker. No more on the unemployment rate of the "average" or White worker. The emphasis, according to the economic principle of "Black Women Best," must on the incomes and jobless rates of Black folk in general, and Black women. Again, when we raise the economic status of those residing in the economic basement, when we center and elevate the status of Black women, we raise and elevate the status of millions of others struggling with economic precarity. The economic principle of "Black Women Best" means that the best way to envision and construct a just and humane economy --an economy that prioritizes people over profits-- is begin by interrogating all economic visions by asking the question, "Will this hurt or harm Black women?" "Black Women Best" is the best way of charting a path out of the current recession and combatting a "K-shaped" economy and economic recovery. It's the best way to avoid not going back to "normal" and building something better out of our current mess. Kendi expresses it this way:

"Black feminists have been saying from the beginning that when humanity becomes serious about the freedom of Black women, humanity becomes serious about the freedom of humanity."

You know, I'm writing this on a Sunday. If I were preaching, I'd be tempted to do something that, generally, I don't care much for. Saying to the congregants, "turn to the person sitting next them, tap them on the shoulder, and tell 'em..." But I wouldn't say, turn to your neighbor, tap them on the shoulder, and tell 'em

"You’re the head, not the tail."

I wouldn't say, turn to your neighbor, tap them on the shoulder, and tell em

"He won't put more on you than you can bear."

I wouldn't say, turn to your neighbor, tap them on the shoulder, and tell em:

"There's money in the mouth of the prophet."

Nope. If I did it all, I'd say, turn to your neighbor, tap them on the shoulder, and tell 'em:

"Black Women Best." That just might be a word we need to hear in the midst of this mess.

I'm out,

Doc Greene