Addressing the hardships and disparities faced by Black women in order to encourage more inclusive policymaking.

Whereas throughout United States history, the country’s economy was built in large part upon Black women’s diminished power, through unpaid, exploited, and forced labor; Whereas income gaps, wealth gaps, lack of adequate worker protection laws, and a host of other socioeconomic indicators illustrate a system that has been designed to keep Black women without power; Whereas Black women made up 6.4 percent of the United States workforce in 2020, but represent 10.4 percent of the workers who would benefit from raising the minimum wage to just $15 an hour; Whereas economic insecurity is intensified for Black women, who have little to no wealth to fall back on due to generational inequality and ongoing discrimination; Whereas discriminatory features of the United States labor market and the punitive design of public benefits programs hinder the economic mobility of Black women with disabilities; Whereas, in 2019, the median wealth for Black women was $1,700, while the median wealth for White women was $81,200, and the median wealth for White men was $78,200; Whereas Black women’s median annual earnings for full-time year-round work in 2020 was $43,209, while the median annual earning for a full-time, year-round White, non-Hispanic man was $67,629; Whereas 4.7 percent of Black women overall report serious psychological distress, and this rate nearly doubles for Black people living in poverty; Whereas studies show that Black women, whether insured or uninsured, receive worse care by health care professionals, often at the expense of their lives; Whereas, in 2020, more than 30 percent of Black women relied on Medicaid as their primary source of health coverage; Whereas Black women have been denied access to safe and affordable housing through the current rental housing market and Federal housing assistance programs; Whereas racist and sexist Federal policies have denied Black women access to safe and affordable housing in both home ownership and rental markets, rendering them more likely to be cost-burdened and face eviction; Whereas Black college graduates owe an average of $25,000 more in student loan debt than White college graduates; Whereas Black women are less likely to have wealth, to own a home, to hold retirement savings, and to receive inheritances and other family financial support; Whereas guaranteed income, direct cash transfers, hazard pay, an increase in worker power, sectoral worker bargaining, and stronger labor law protection can benefit the economic well-being of marginalized demographics, specifically Black women; Whereas policymakers must provide robust, permanent, dedicated funding for home and community-based services to protect the right of Black women with disabilities to receive care within their homes and communities; Whereas Black women not only need access to health care providers that value their identity, but also providers who look like them to improve Black women’s access to quality care; Whereas we must eliminate the school-to-prison pipeline for Black girls and prioritize restorative justice in lieu of policing in schools and our communities to promote equitable academic success; Whereas expanding the child tax credit and earned income tax credit, incentivizing State tax changes, and strengthening the estate tax can assist in centering Black women in tax reform; Whereas critical legislation such as H.R. 6268, the Protect Black Women and Girls Act, establishes a Task Force to examine the conditions and experiences of Black women and girls to identify and assess the efficacy of policies and programs designed to improve outcomes for Black women; and Whereas the Black Women Best (BWB) framework, as designed by Janelle Jones, offers the blueprint to adopt a more innovative and equitable approach to center the lived experiences of Black women in policymaking: Now, therefore, be it That the House of Representatives— (1) supports the need to use policy frameworks similar to the Black Women Best (BWB) framework to center the lived experience of Black women in the policymaking process in order to ensure a more equal and just future for all; (2) encourages the use of this framework and those that complement it as a guideline to create and implement better public policies to benefit all people, and specifically Black women; and (3) considers legislative proposals presented in the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls March report, An Economy for All: Building a Black Women Best

Summary: This resolution supports the need for and use of certain policy frameworks to incorporate the experiences of Black women into public policies.