Mission Yearbook: Racial wealth gap is subject of third video in series

In the third installment of the Center for the Repair for Historic Harm’s video series “Zero to One: A Congregation’s Journey to Repair,” Oak Grove Presbyterian Church in Bloomington, Minnesota, turns its attention to one of the most persistent and measurable legacies of systemic racism in the United States: the racial wealth gap.

The episode, “What is the Racial Wealth Gap?”, explores how Oak Grove’s members came to understand that the economic disparities between white households and Afro-American and Indigenous households were the result of deliberate policies and practices. This understanding led the congregation to take concrete steps toward repair.

Ruling Elder Jim Koon offered a sobering breakdown of the numbers: the median wealth of white households in the U.S. is approximately $284,000, compared to $44,000 for African American households and $29,000 for Indigenous households. “If all wealth were distributed equitably,” Koon explained, “the average would be about $244,000."

Restorative Actions, an organization that worked with Oak Grove through their reparations process, estimated from household wealth data in 2020, that across the nearly 86 million white households in the U.S., the aggregated wealth accumulated above parity has grown to just under $13 trillion, a racial wealth disparity that has tripled in the last 30 years and “is expected to grow exponentially in the future.”

The congregation members asked themselves what this gap meant for people of faith. Ruling elders like Mark Pridgeon and Bob Heise reflected on how learning about Reconstruction’s collapse and broken treaties with Indigenous nations helped them to see the racial wealth gap not just as a national issue, but as a local and spiritual one. “You can’t heal it unless you give the people what you promised,” Heise said, referencing the U.S. government’s failure to honor agreements with Indigenous communities.

The video opens with a biblical verse from Luke 19:8. This is the story of Zacchaeus, who upon encountering Jesus pledged to give half his possessions to the poor and to repay those he has defrauded fourfold. Luke's account anchored Oak Grove’s journey as a model for economic repentance.

Ruling Elder Elona Street-Stewart, executive of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, and the Rev. Jermaine Ross-Allam, director of the Center for the Repair of Historic Harms, helped to frame the church’s actions within a broader movement. They emphasized that restorative action is not charity but a spiritual discipline rooted in surrender. “Christian people in the United States are not in a position to be philanthropists, donors or benefactors when it comes to people of African descent and Indigenous nations,” said Ross-Allam. He noted that the credible witness is in realizing “I’m not giving but I’m actually unburdening myself of wealth I wouldn’t have in the first place if others had been treated with equity.”

Oak Grove’s response was to create two investment trusts — one for Afro-American communities and one for Indigenous communities — entrusting the funds to leaders from those communities to determine their use. Finance Committee Chair Sue Greimel recalled the moment the church voted to allocate $267,000: “It was a relief. We were lucky to have the ability to invest. Now we’re giving others that same opportunity.”

Koon made an economic case for reparations, arguing that inclusive economies would grow faster. He cited how during the 1960s and early 1970s, when the U.S. invested in civil rights and job programs, the gross domestic product (GDP) grew at 4% annually. Today, according to Koon, it's growing at less than 1%. “If we invested in inclusivity again,” he said, “the return would more than offset the cost of reparations within a generation.”

The video series, “Zero to One: A Congregation’s Journey to Repair,” was released weekly.

Oak Grove’s story reminds viewers that repair is not a one-time act, but a journey of transformation. From understanding the racial wealth gap to surrendering wealth as an act of faith, this congregation is moving from reflection to action — and inviting others to do the same.

Watch the full series and learn more here.

Read the series’ introduction and follow-up article on the second video, “Is Racial Justice Possible?”

Beth Waltemath, Communications Strategist (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Tonia Trice, HR Generalist, Human Resources, Administrative Services Group
Stephanie Vasquez, Manager, Global Language Resources, Administrative Services Group

Let us pray:

Lord, help us glorify you well by the way we work together in ministry. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: Cliff Goins IV calls for collective action to close the racial wealth gap

Cliff Goins IV, an investor and entrepreneur who recently published “Minding the Wealth Gap: Our Playbook to Close It Together,” , was a recent guest on “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast.” Listen to Goins’ hourlong conversation with hosts Simon Doong and the Rev. Lee Catoe here.

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Cliff Goins IV

In his book, Goins shares insights from in-depth interviews with management consultants, bankers, a lawyer turned entrepreneur and others focused on scaling small- and medium-sized businesses into large enterprises.

On the podcast, Catoe asks the first questions: How do we address the wealth gap between Black households and white households when wealth is intersectional with other issues that Black people face? How do we know where to start?

“On the one hand, it’s a big problem, and facing it would seem to be vital to our communities and our nation,” Goins said. It’s also a complex problem. “It’s a tension that either causes people to throw up their hands and say, ‘Good luck with that, Cliff,’ or to say, ‘It wasn’t my fault. That was way back then. Why are you talking about it now?’”

“But I think we do ourselves a disservice if we take that approach,” he said. It’s more than pointing out disparate statistics. “It’s really about the stark difference in life’s reality that a lot of Black households face.” Think of it as “not just a Black problem, but an American problem,” he said. “I would love to see us break the cycle together. I think that unlocking the economic potential of 15 million households creates a more prosperous nation for us all.”

As to the getting started part of the question, Goins said measuring wealth “gives us the best window into some pervasive and persistent problems we face in communities. I actually think it’s a blessing,” he said, because it’s linked to other justice issues, including inferior educational opportunities, housing instability and poor access to health care.

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“We find Black Americans are behind the 8-ball no matter how you cut it,” he said. Because the problems are so pervasive, “this allows us as fellow Americans to all jump in on the problem, to activate solutions from where you are. If you’re passionate about education, you can make some commitments there. If you believe in health equity, you can spend your time and resources in that way. If you believe in entrepreneurship like me, you can put your energy there.”

“I think there’s an invitation in all of the intricacy of this particular issue,” he said. “If we come together and put together our collective efforts, that’s how we can make meaningful progress.”

There are “small things we can all do tied to our personal situation,” Goins said. “At the same time, some of us have more influence, more ability, more access. We know it’s through large-scale partnerships that the needle really moves.”

While some people call for required classes in personal finance literacy, Goins called that “a component” of what’s needed, “but that’s not what created this wealth gap.”

“Ultimately,” he said, “it’s a multilayered, multigenerational problem.”

The wealth gap is “a problem 400 years in the making. If we stay at the same pace of closure, it would take another 400 years to get close to closure,” Goins said, suggesting people stick with their “passion areas” for helping to close the wealth gap. The wealth issue has economic, political and social components. “If you’re a [person of faith] who’s in the political realm, maybe it’s standing up to some of the momentum that’s going the other way around [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion] and things of that nature.”

“At the end of the day we’re talking about people. What can we appeal to in human nature that will compel people to help solve this problem?” Goins asked. “I want us to imagine a world where every child, regardless of their ZIP code, has a chance to thrive.”

“I have a lot of hope and faith in the American people,” Goins said. “I think it’s something we can get done.”

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service, Interim Unified Agency (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Jeanie Schmuckie, Legal Assistant, Presbyterian Foundation
Rose Schoene, Client Service Specialist, Presbyterian Foundation 

Let us pray:

Dear God, help us to dream big and not limit ourselves when reaching out to others. Remind us that nothing is impossible in you. Guide our hearts and minds to be more open to those in need of mercy, compassion and love. Amen.