The transatlantic slave trade may have ended over a century ago, but its devastating effects continue to shape Black lives across the globe. This page outlines some of the most persistent systemic consequences rooted in slavery.
Racial Wealth Gap
Centuries of unpaid labor, exclusion from land ownership, and redlining practices have led to a massive racial wealth gap. The average white family's net worth is 6 to 7 times that of the average Black family in the U.S.
Mass Incarceration
The 13th Amendment abolished slavery “except as punishment for a crime.” Today, Black Americans are incarcerated at more than five times the rate of whites — a continuation of forced labor and control through the prison-industrial complex.
Education Inequity
Underfunded schools in predominantly Black neighborhoods, discriminatory discipline practices, and limited access to higher education contribute to cycles of generational disadvantage.
Healthcare Disparities
Black communities face higher rates of chronic illness and lower life expectancy. Systemic racism in healthcare — from inadequate access to biased treatment — exacerbates outcomes.
Police Violence
Over-policing, racial profiling, and excessive use of force are modern echoes of slave patrols. Black Americans are disproportionately stopped, searched, and killed by police.
Housing & Environmental Racism
From redlining and gentrification to toxic waste facilities near Black neighborhoods, housing discrimination continues to affect where and how Black families live and thrive.
Economic Legacy of Slavery and Jim Crow
A groundbreaking study from the Hoover Institution reveals that Black families enslaved until the Civil War hold significantly less wealth today than those freed earlier — accounting for up to 70% of the present-day racial wealth gap. These generational consequences emphasize why reparations and justice-driven policy solutions remain critical.
Why Reparations Are Necessary
An urgent explanation of how slavery's legacy directly shaped today’s racial wealth divide.