Closing the Gap to the American Dream

Every day, millions of African Americans go to work but struggle to support their families. Earning poverty wages in an economy with ever-increasing costs of living, these working families frequently are forced to forgo basics—food, housing, clothing—and rely on public assistance to make ends meet. This report from the AFL-CIO featuring data from the Economic Policy Institute shows that more than 4 million African American workers would benefit from the opportunity to earn a living wage. African Americans comprise 11% of the nation’s workforce, but they are 14.8% of the workers who would be positively affected by raising the minimum wage. As this report details, many African Americans live in a state of economic insecurity and are much more likely to be paid lower wages than others. African Americans often have trouble finding a job and struggle to save for retirement. Hiking the minimum wage to $10.10 would greatly help African American workers across the country.