For generations, Black labor was the engine behind America’s rise to global economic dominance. From forced enslavement on cotton plantations to exploited labor in railroads, sugar mills, and domestic work, our blood, sweat, and brilliance have been the backbone of this country. Every time we moved closer to ownership and economic autonomy, the system found new ways to push us back.

Renting is often framed as flexibility. In reality, it is one of the most effective wealth-extraction mechanisms in the modern economy.