How America's Low-Income Trap Set the Stage for George Floyd Protests

History has shown that social upheavals and political uprisings occurred at the conjunction of a number of events, influences, and conditions. Some factors served as tipping points and triggers while others acted as deep-seated drivers. The recent protests that erupted across the United States in response to the death of George Floyd were not exempt from this rule.

Growing discontent brought on by COVID-19 lockdowns, unprecedented unemployment levels, and instances of police brutality, fueled by the spread of messages across social media, became background conditions that triggered the civil unrest which now bears transformative potential in the United States.  These triggers overlay persistent racial inequity and socio-economic inequality that have contributed to what economists refer to as the low-income trap. Following are a few data points to illuminate the reality of the income trap for African Americans in the United States today:

• Almost one quarter of all African Americans depend on food stamps/SNAP payments—the largest of US welfare programs—compared to a 6% of the White population.
• Even more striking is the significant difference in educational degree attainment among African Americans and White adults. The discrepancy is the largest at the associate's and bachelor's degree levels, where the gaps in attainment amount to 16 percentage points.
• African Americans also have a higher prevalence of diseases, a prevalence that appears even in the current pandemic, with a disproportionately high COVID-19 death toll among African Americans.

If the data trail is followed, we may see changes appear as the United States seeks ways to address these issues—reducing educational disparities, providing equal rights and opportunities in employment, housing, criminal justice, and improving health care access. Track these data points and more through the data resources we share below.