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Shriver Center on Poverty Law President and CEO Audra Wilson is
sounding the alarm about recent U.S. Census Bureau data that
finds black Chicago area residents now face poverty rates at
least three times higher than white residents across the city.
Overall, Black people in Chicago now experience rates of 28.7%,
compared with just 10.3% for whites. In neighborhoods such as
Riverdale, Fuller Park, Washington Park, East Garfield Park and
Englewood the disparity is even more glaring, with all those
areas seeing rates of at least 40%, topped by Riverdale at 51%
Wilson doesn’t hesitate in pointing a finger directly at the
powers that be for the burgeoning gap.
“These rising rates are not surprising because they correspond
in large part with the elimination of the pandemic related
emergency benefits that were given to these families at the
height of the pandemic as supplements to their income,” Wilson
told The Center Square. “During that period of time we had these
benefits, we saw rates of poverty, especially child poverty, and
food insecurity decline significantly.”
With many of those programs now a thing of the past, Wilson
argues a growing number of families are struggling as much as
they ever have.
“Many Black families and workers were struggling even before the
pandemic,” she added. “What COVID did was really expose just how
severe that gap is between Black workers and their white
counterparts.”
Again, Wilson says it’s a crisis that’s needlessly crippling
people.
“The reason we know that investment in communities makes a
difference is we saw when there was an investment that was made
with these emergency benefits,” she said. “We saw the benefits
that it had for the community and for those individuals. We saw
rates of poverty, especially child poverty, and food insecurity
decline significantly. Poverty is not a moral falling it’s a
policy choice.”
Through it all, Wilson said she remains confident that the
change she is fighting for will ultimately see the light of day.
“I’m very optimistic in the hard work, determination and focus
of the advocacy community within the city of Chicago,” she said.
“Despite the fact that this is a national problem, Chicago does
have a very strong advocacy community that is laser focused on
the alleviation of poverty and making sure that some of the most
under-resourced communities are getting the support that they
need.”
Wilson added she is hopeful newly-elected Chicago Mayor Brandon
Johnson will keep in place programs from the previous
administration and institute others to address the problem.
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