Vermont Racial Justice Alliance Film Viewing

First Congregational Church
38 S. Winooski Ave., Burlington
3:00 PM til 6:00 PM
August 11, 2019

Acclaimed journalist Bob Herbert explores the often heroic efforts of black families to pursue the American dream in the face of unrelenting barriers

"Have black Americans had a fair shot at the American dream?" acclaimed journalist Bob Herbert asks. The question is answered in AGAINST ALL ODDS: The Fight for a Black Middle Class, a documentary that probes the harsh and often brutal discrimination that has made it extremely difficult for African-Americans to establish a middle-class standard of living. "Whites talk about working hard and playing by the rules. But blacks have always had to play by a different, hateful set of hideously unfair rules. Working hard has never been enough for black Americans to flourish," Herbert says in the film's opening. Then, through dramatic historical footage and deeply moving personal interviews, he explores the often frustrated efforts of black families to pursue the American dream.

Today many African American families are still digging out of the recession that followed the Great Crash of 2007-08, and although some are doing better, black wealth remains meager compared to the white middle class. Nearly 40 percent of black children are poor, and for every dollar of wealth in the hands of the average white family, the typical black family has only a little more than a nickel.

This revealing and sometimes shocking documentary connects the dots of American history to reveal how the traditional route up the economic ladder by attaining a job that pays a living wage and then buying a house — is a financial ascent that has been systematically denied to black families. Reduced educational opportunity, rampant employment discrimination, the inequitable application of the GI bill, mortgage redlining and virulent housing segregation are among the injustices that have converged to limit the prosperity of black families from generation to generation.

There is allot to unpack after the film. We'll give you an opportunity to get involved with some of the things that JFA is doing to address systemic racism and poverty and explain how you can help us do the work with the legislative agenda of the Racial Justice Alliance.