Wealth inequality in the United States is staggering. Atlanta – a city with a large Black workforce and number of Black-owned businesses – has one of the highest rates of income inequality in the country. The median household income for a Black family in Atlanta is $28,105 compared to $83,722 for a white family. That’s roughly one-third.

This racial wealth gap has been generations in the making. Our history of redlining and discriminatory practices has left too many Black people with too few opportunities to grow wealth, especially across generations. This remains a problem today. According to the US Census, more than 90% of all businesses with over 20 employees remain white-owned. Simply put: it’s nearly impossible to build wealth if one has been excluded from most ways to build it.

Employee ownership can be a driving force in building generational wealth, replacing longstanding racial inequity with tangible, material growth. Employee ownership preserves Black wealth by supporting Black-owned businesses, providing a sale that keeps the businesses open and enables Black employees to become owners. As owners, they will profit from their labor, and their household income can be as much as 92% higher.

Also, almost 3 million businesses in the United States have owners at or near retirement age, many of whom have no plan for what will happen to the business when they retire. Almost one in four of these businesses are in the construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade and warehousing and transportation industries. These industries tend to have businesses with lower-wage workers and a significant percentage of workers of color. Helping companies in these industries can impact a critical mass of workers who would benefit most.

Employee ownership is good for business owners, workers and communities. It is a dynamic strategy that can help the Black business community build economic resilience and community wealth and reduce the racial wealth gap.

Black workers account for 15 million (12%) of the 125 million U.S. private-sector workers. Nearly 60% of our Black workforce lives in Southern states. 50% of Black workers are concentrated in three U.S. industries: healthcare, retail and accommodation and food service. Imagine transitioning the 30,000 Silver Tsunami businesses in Atlanta, which account for $163 billion in revenues, into employee-owned companies. This would result in over 430,000 workers becoming owners. The potential spillover effects to the Black community are enormous.