“Why are you looting? Why don’t you people get jobs and pay for things?”
“Well, I really don’t see it as looting, I call it gaining access, access that has been denied.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Have you seen the latest statistics, and are you aware that the wealth gap has widened? The median net worth of White households is $142,000 and the median net worth for Black households is only $11,000. Access, I have no access.”
“Get a job.”
“Do you understand what access means, access to wealth? It takes 13 median Black households and their net worth to equal the net worth of one median White household. How long do I have to wait for fair and equal access to wealth? Do I sit tight while our society makes progress to equality?”
“You’re making excuses.”
“Easy for you to say; you have access. Yet we live in the same world, with rising rents and things we all need to buy and help us survive — food, cars, gas, computers, clothes, a college education, and telephones. Do you understand?
“As we live our lives, we all have to pay the same price for goods and services, yet White households have a median wealth of $142,000 and Black households have a median wealth of only $11,000. Do you understand where my anger comes from? Do you get it? Access!”
Frank Erickson lives in Minneapolis
