Jim Crow laws functioned as an economic system which saw profit given to white men. After the abolition of slavery, angry racists enacted laws that kept Black people economically stunted.
These laws were about stripping away Black autonomy. Black workers received the worst and lowest-paying jobs. The Black Codes led to tens of thousands of our people being arrested and ultimately, forced into labor camps where their FREE labor was used to help white men profit.
The passage of civil rights laws in the1960s didn't stop the economic blowback of Jim Crow. Those laws didn’t make things right.
The wealth gap exists because the financial system works against us. Black people are kept from higher-paying jobs, lending discrimination continues, and the system keeps finding ways to keep us unable to experience upward mobility.
Even as we continue to try and climb out of the economic pit that white supremacy has forced us into, it's clear that the cards have long been stacked against us. Our best bet is to start by working together for our liberation.