* * *

I THEDISAPPEARANCE

OFTHEJ BLACK^ AMERICAN

^ DREAM:"^* CAN OUR

: CLASSSURVIVE?

Thanks to the record home foreclosuresand unprecedented unemployment, the

Black middle class is rapidly shrinking.EBONY visits Prince George's County,

Md., one ofthe epicenters ofthe crisis.BY STEVEN GRAY I GRAPHICS BY CARL DETORRES

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PRINCEGEORGE'SCOUNTY.MD.. IS JUSTTO THE EASTOF WASH-INGTON.P.C.. AND INMANY WAYS.IT'S LIKEANY OTHERSUBURB INAMERICA.

Its sprawling roads are linedwith Targets and Starbucks,the occasional astrology shop,three-story apartment buildings and mini-mansions on rambling hills that not so longago bore tobacco. On Sundays, parking lotsof the coimty's many churches are filledwith BMWs and Volvo sedans. But PrinceGeorge's has some key distinctions. Nearlytwo-thirds of the county's almost 900,000residents are Black, according to the U.S.Census Bureau. In fact, it is one of themost affluent majority-Black jurisdictionsin America. Unlike some of the enclavessurrounding Atlanta, Detroit and Chicago,Prince George's gained wealth even as it be-came Blacker. Many considered the countythe ultimate symbol of Black upward mo-bility. "The promised land," longtime resi-dents such as Vii-ginia Callis call it.

From her office in a gleaming high-riseacross from Andrews Air Force Base whereAir Force One takes President BarackObama around the world, Callis, 70, runsthe Unity Economic Development Corp.The organization was launched nearly adecade ago by a Prince George's church, inpart to boost the number of homeowners.At the time, banks were sending agents intothe area to push Blacks into risky subprimemortgages. These days, the bulk of Callis'time is spent guiding her clients throughthe home foreclosure crisis, of which PrinceGeorge's is what experts consider an epi-center. The county has barely 14 percentof Maryland's housing units, but in 2009

Above: Marie Waiters in front of the house she originallypurchased as rental property, which she's now selling short.Below: Waiters in the home she shares with her mother.

posted nearly one-third of its foreclosures.In some Prince George's ZIP codes, nearlytwo-thirds of the homes are under water."It's a crisis," Callis says, "and some peopleare stui in denial."

REVERSAL OF FORTUNEOver the past 60 years, America's economicboom produced a vibrant Black middleclass in New York City, Shaker Heights,Ohio, and Houston: doctors, schoolteach-ers, government bureaucrats, lawyers andbarbers. The la.st decade was one of unpre-cedented Black political ascendance—mainly President Obama's election. But itwill also be marked as a period in whichthe wealth gap between Blacks, Whites andLatinos widened sharply. This is in part be-cause of the housing crisis, which is estimat-ed to have resulted in a loss of about $194billion in Black communities alone, accord-ing to the Center for Responsible Lending.It is also because the handful of industriesin which African-Americans gained a tenu-ous grip on middle-income jobs—govern-ment, education and manufacturing—areamong the Great Recession's casualties.The country's middle class is on life sup-port. But its nascent Black middle class isdisappearing.

In the Washington, D.C., area, affluentBlacks are 36 times more likely than Whites

to be in foreclosure. Marie Waiters, a nurse,bought a house in Prince George's. She laterbought a townhouse she'd planned to rentout and, eventually, sell to fund her retire-ment. But the townhouse has been vacantfor two years and is now up for sale. Whenthe 57-year-old retires, she says, "I'll moveinto an apartment." One thing is clear: "It'snot always better to buy more as you makemore. But that's the American way."

Here are some sobering Pew statistics:Between 3005 and 2009, the year the GreatRecession officially ended, the averageBlack household's wealth more than halved,to just $5,700. The assets of Whites fell by

126 V I S I T E B 0 N Y . C O M / A P R I L 2 0 1 3

16 percent, to about $113,00. And accordingto another Pew report, more than half ofAfrican-Americans raised at the middle ofthe wealth ladder will fall to the lower rungsas adults. In total, these shifts mean that al-most a half-century of financial and socialgains are being reversed, and the post-CivilRights era may turn out a lot like Recon-struction's fleeting progress.

NO HELP WANTEDAccording to the U.S. Department of Labor(DOL), between 2007 and 2009, nearly 1million Blacks lost jobs in manufacturing,construction and education. Historically,government has been a key entrée into themiddle class. That's why nearlv one in fiveBlacks works for government. But govern-ment budgets are being cut. "Overall, theproportion of Blacks who are 'middle class'is at best stagnating, and at worst, declin-ing," obsei'ves Mary Pattillo, a Northwest-ern University sociologist and author ofBlack Picket Fences: Privilege and PerilAmong the Black Middle Class.

Downward mobility is a difficult thing totalk about; people do not want their busi-ness in the street. Nevertheless, the story ofSanderia Smith is instructive.

Smith grew up in Gould, Ai-k., near theMississippi River. In the 1980s, she went tocollege and, after graduating, landed anauditor's job, with regular car service shut-tling her between airports and hotels. "Itwas everything I could dream of," Smithsays. Eventually, she became a regionalsales director at a major retailer in the Dal-las area. She worked such long hours, therewas hardly time to spend her $100,000 an-nual salary. She saved carefully and proud-ly drove a 1991 Mercedes. In 2009, Smithbought a townhouse near downtown Dallas.The rooftop patio has views of downtownskyscrapers and is perfect for a summermartini party. "On a good night," she says,"it feels like you're in New York."

Barely six months after moving into thetownhouse. Smith lost her job.

Since December 2009, she has appliedfor dozens of jobs. "I thought, with myexperience in sales and marketing, it'd beeasy to get another job, " she says. But she'shad only three formal interviews. Smithattributes her situation to one thing: theeconomy. She quickly notes that many ofher friends. Black and White, are goingthrough the same thing. Many have takenwhatever jobs they could find. She would'vetaken a job at 7-Eleven, she says, "but myunemployment pays more." Eventually,Smith started looking for jobs that paid aminimum of $40,000, the least she neededto cover her bills. í>

INFOGRAPHICS BY CARL DETORRES

Unempioyment rates 2007 through January 2013

NAT. AVERAGE

HISPANIC

WHITE

200T 2009 2011 2013

1 MillionThe number of Blacks who lost manufacturing, education andconstruction industries between 2009 and 2007

Services projected 'to have the largestemployment growth ' •;!,.••,••:•••• •..•y-^.^^- "'•i.ïï'^'

between 2010 and 2020 TECHNICAL CONSTRCUTION EDUCATION HEALTH

3 equity deciine from 2005 to 2009I HISPANIC I WHITE

$95,000-18%

Foreclosures for high-income earners

BLACK 10%

African-Americans with at least a bach-elor's degree have an unemployment rateof 7.1 percent, according to DOL statis-tics, nearly double the rate among Whites.Politicians frequently tout the nation'seconomic recovery. Although the generalunemployment rate declined to 7.9 percentin January 3013, it was about 14 percent forBlacks. Smith is among what economistscall the "long-term unemployed," thoselooking for a job at least 27 weeks. Blacksin this category spent about 50 weeks look-ing for work, compared with 42 weeks forWhites and 40 weeks for Latinos.

Eventually, her job situation upendedSmith's finances. For a few months, shetapped her savings to cover the $2,400 mort-gage. She tried getting a mortgage modifi-cation, but, she says, her lender told her shehad to be behind in her pa3Tnents at leastthree months to qualify. She hasn't paidthe mortgage for two years. "I don't knowwhen they're going to come to take me out

The Wealth Gap

Above: Sanderia Smith, a former district manager for a major retailer,is now a teaching assistant at the University of Texas at Dailas.

the house," she says. The old Mercedes fellapart, and she didn't qualify for a suitablecar loan. "I should be depressed or sad, butI'm not," she says. "I don't think God wantsus walking around with our heads down."

In January, she became a sommelier,and later this year. Smith will gradu-ate from a Dallas executive leadershipprogram. She's a teaching assistant at auniversity in Dallas and next year, she'sscheduled to receive a doctorate. "Thiswhole process has been difficult becauseI've always been the giver, the hero," shesays. "But if this can happen to me, it cer-tainly can happen to other people."

ONCE THE PROMISED LANDFor years. Prince George's County was

riu-al and predominantly White. Thatbegan to change in the 1950s, when

African-Americans came from the Southto take the newly expanded federal gov-ernment jobs that followed the post-World War II economic boom. Manyin the Washington region's emergingBlack middle class bought large subur-ban homes with lush yards and enrolledtheir children in good schools. Callis waspart of this shift. She'd grown up pooron a South Carolina farm. She came toWashington in I960, married a soldier,had two kids and, eventually, settled inthe Prince George's County town of Suit-land. She and her family were among thefirst Blacks in the neighborhood. Shortlyafter they arrived, she recalls, "there wasa mass exodus" of Whites. By the late1970s, the family moved into a largerhouse in another part of the county. Callisearned her college degree and moved intojobs on Capitol Hill. She was pulled outof retirement when her church launcheda program to provide budget counseling.

By 1994, nationalmagazines were tou-ting Prince George'sas one of the wealth-iest majority-Black

counties in the country. America was thriv-ing and so was Black America. In 1999,Newsweek columnist Ellis Cose wrote, "Bya wide array of measures, now is a gi'eattime—the best time ever—to be Black inAmerica." That year, for the fh-st time,more than half of African-Americans hadreached the threshold of what sociologistscall "middle class." But the housing crisishas decimated Black wealth. Last summer,the U.S. Justice Department reached a $175million settlement with Wells Fargo, findingthat the institution deliberately sent agentsinto communities such as Prince George'sto lure residents into subprime mortgages.Little did Callis know the problem wouldland right on her doorstep.

In September 1997, John and DanitaMatthews moved into their two-story brickhouse in Clinton, Md. John worked for aninsurance company, Danita worked as a

$3O,OOO $6O.OOO $90,000 $120,00056% of Blacks raised at the middle of thewealth ladder will fall to the bottom asadults, compared with 32% of Whites

In 2009, the median wealth of WHITE householdswas 20 times higher than BLACK households,and 18 times higher than HISPANIC households.

high school science teacher, and togetherthey handled theii- nearly $3,300 monthlyhouse note. But in 3001, Danita had ashoulder replacement followed by a secondsix yeai's later. The couple paid .some of themedical bills with credit cards. At one pointafler two refinancings, their monthly mort-gage payment had ballooned to more than$3,800 per month.

The couple kept their situation a secret.Finally, John told himself, 'I have to get pasttrying to be 'the man' and say, '1 need someprofessional help.' That help came fiomCallis, his mother-in-law, who was runningthe Unity Economic Development Corp.Callis put her daughter and son-in-law ona budget. Last summer, the couple askedBank of America to review their mortgage,which, ultimately, was lowered to $3,200.

John has taken on two part-time jobsto supplement the family's income. For awhile, he drove a minivan—until it stoppedworking. When the Matthewses applied fora new car loan, bad credit got in the way.Nevertheless, John has a car for his wife toget to work. Their loans are in order. "Wewould like to not be living paycheck to pay-check," he says, "but we have to manage itas best we can."

In this supposedly post-racial moment,few people—even the first Black president-want to talk about the racial dynamics ofthe economic crisis. "The big issues of thisday," NAACP CEO Ben Jealous said onMeet the Press in February, "include making-sure that we lift all boats. And right nowwhen you look at joblessness in this coun-try, [it's] back to pretty much where it waswhen this president started. White peoplein this country are doing a bit better. Blackfolks are doing a full point worse." RobertL. Johnson, chairman and founder of theRLJ Companies, a business conglomer-ate headquartered in Bethesda, Md., saidrecently: "I don't see any good signs forthe future economic well-being of African-Americans. This is not a Black problem.This is an American problem, and Americais going to have to solve it." O

A BLUEPRINT FORSAVING BLACK AMERICA

OUR PANEL WEIGHSIN ON WHATSHOUL

1. FIGHT FORHEALTHCARE

I Care Act̂'people

are going to losetheir jobs, andthey're not goingto get comparablejobs. Businesseshave figured outthey can operatewith less. The first •person they wantto let go is that57-year-old—andwe've seen this inthe postal service—because theycan hire a 21-year-old a lot cheaperand give them lessbenefits. We've

—Elijah Cummings,US. Representative(D-Md.)

2. FACETHEFACTS

avingaBlack president,¡t's even moreimportant to rec-" ~nize racial dis-

rlties and toJize we havet arrived. This isttosayBlack-iss equals pov-

erty, or the whole-ness of the Black

;perienoe islout how down-idden we are.

—Mary Patullo,sociologist, North-western University,and author of B\SiCkPicket Fences:Privilège and PerKAmong the B(ackMiddle Class

3. OPENEMPLOYMENTTO FELONS

people to transi-tion from incar-ceration to theworkforce. You'reprotected frompeopie holdingyour race againstyou but not em-ployers sayingthey don't want tohire you becauseof your criminalbackground.There's no wayto prove that anemployer—oncethey ask the ques-tion about crimina(background—didor didn't use thatagainst you. Pro-gressive (egis(a-tors can introduúbills to ensure thisis a question that'snot allowableon employmentapplications.We should thinkabout putting 'penalties in placIfyou don't havoiparents in the 'household whoare working, chil-dren won't get the

necessary advan-tages. The Blackfamily as we knowit will be threat-ened. This willhave generational

—NiooleAustin-Hillery, director andcounsel, BrennanCenter for Justiceat NYU Law School'sWashington, D.C.,office

4. CREATEINNOVATORS

tion reform in thecountry, the thingsmany philanthro-pists are support-ing are very pateinalistic. The k¡ ~aren't being tauto think. As Afri-can-Americansin philanthropy,we have to pushback and makesure we're creat-ing young peoplewho can competeacademically andintellectually. Thisisn't about pro-ducing cogs in thewheel. We have tobe very intentionalabout making sureAfrican-Ameri-cans have accessto the growthsectors. Theseare key roles forphilanthropy inbuilding a middleclass."

operating officer,Skillman Foundation

S PUSH PRESI-DENT OBAMAON RACIALINEOUALITY

about racial in-

equality as some-thing that is in thenational interest.Ifit'snotledbyPresident Obama,then who? If notnow, when? That'swhat ( think thepresident oughtto focus on in hisfinal four years.You can't havemillions of African-Americans livingon the take fromother taxpayers.Th

founder and chair-man. The RLJCompanies

6. FIX THEHOUSINGMARKET

crisis is that wehave an oppor-tunity to makesome changes.Homeownershipis viable. It's gotto be thought ofas a ticket to themiddle class anda ticket to a moresecure future, nota lottery ticket. Toprevent anothercrisis, we haveto clean up themarketplace. It'salready underway. We shouldbe working tomake reliable,nonprofit housingcounseling avail-able. There's a~" mendous track

:ord of peoplelOing high-quality

support work forpeople who wantto own theirhomes. The resultis vastly lower

—Justin King,federal policy liaison,asset building pro-gram. New AmericaFoundation—SG

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