Providing Greater Access to Racial Wealth Equity Data

Follow the Data Podcast

On average, Black families in America have one-eighth the wealth of White families. Bloomberg Philanthropies is working to change that with data. The new Black Wealth Data Center (BWDC)will provide greater access to racial wealth equity data, making it easier for policymakers, economists, philanthropists, and journalists to find and analyze a variety of factors correlated to economic well-being and progress by race. On the BWDC's Racial Wealth Equity Database, visitors can interact with data points such as homeownership, business ownership, and employment compared with race, sex, education attainment and geographic location. The effort is created to be a source for leaders and organizations working to uncover and scale opportunities to increase Black wealth. The Black Wealth Data Center is incubated by Prosperity Now, a leading nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. focused on advancing racial and ethnic economic justice, , and is part of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Greenwood Initiative - a national effort aimed at accelerating the pace of wealth accumulation for Black individuals and families and addressing systemic underinvestment in Black communities. On this episode of Follow the Data, Garnesha Ezediaro, who leads Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Greenwood Initiative, is joined by Natalie Evans Harris, the Executive Director of the Black Wealth Data Center, who brings nearly 20 years of experience advancing the public sector’s strategic use of data, and Gary Cunningham, President and CEO of Prosperity Now. They discuss how the Black Wealth Data Center will give leaders access to tools and data they need to speed up progress towards increasing Black wealth, what types of data people will be able to access on site, the importance of data in the fight for racial wealth equity, and more.