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.

For decades, reports have highlighted the size of the Black consumer market, often citing figures in the trillions. Those same reports quietly acknowledge the contradiction: massive consumption has not translated into proportional ownership. The issue is not how much is spent. It is where spending terminates.