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Author Candy Johnson is the new President & CEO of Urban League.

Are we still dreaming… or has the check been cashed?

"We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we’ve come to cash this check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I Have a Dream Speech, August 1963

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday marks a significant time in our nation when we reflect on his life, legacy and the civil rights movement for racial equality and justice.

His dream extended beyond what we typically hear about during his annual celebrations focused on the moral compass of people to love and do what is right. In May of 1967, Dr. King noted that we can’t solve our problem until there is a radical redistribution of economic and political power.

Today, we are still pursuing the economic, racial and social justice Dr. King spoke about while simultaneously dealing with racial and social unrest affecting Black Americans.

At the heart of the American Dream lies the promise of economic opportunity for all. However, institutional and systemic inequities have disadvantaged many Black and brown Americans from experiencing economic prosperity and generational wealth compared to their white counterparts.

The net worth of a typical white family in the U.S. in 2016 — including home, retirement accounts, and assets — was nearly 10 times greater than that of a Black family, at $171,000 to $17,600.

In Chattanooga, the racial gap in household earnings remains 30 percent higher than national averages, with the typical white household earning twice as much as the average Black household.

For Black Americans to cash the check that was promised by the American Dream, we need unconventional interventions on a systems-level for policy change towards a better living wage and removing the burden of the benefits cliff, advocacy for substantial resource investments in Black communities for minority business growth and adult educational attainment, and finally, the foresight to advance the delivery of high impact programming that will help individuals achieve upward economic mobility.

We can no longer wait until we have more data or conversations to deliver on these issues that have been historically evidenced as constant disparities; we must implement a bold plan to accelerate the wealth and success of the Black community and other disadvantaged persons.

The Urban League is committed to living and breathing Dr. King’s dream until there is equality and economic justice for all.