Guaranteed Income

why is it important?

Nearly a century after the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Black residents living in Dr. King’s childhood neighborhood are still more than 4x more likely to be living under the federal poverty line than their white neighbors, with 46% of Black households earning below $25,000 a year. Many longtime Black residents are experiencing the negative impacts of gentrification, including increasing unaffordability and displacement.

Over fifty years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., called for a guaranteed income to alleviate racial and economic injustice. Today, the urgency to fulfill this call and ensure economic security to live a dignified, decent life persists across the country, throughout Georgia, and in Dr. King’s own neighborhood, the Old Fourth Ward.

Unfortunately, these disparities are only increasing throughout the state, as Black and Brown Georgians have borne the brunt of the human and economic losses from COVID. Meanwhile, Georgia’s underfunded safety net programs often deny support to the people who need it most, including barriers that block access to many low-income women of color and their families.

Day-to-day economic insecurity, compounding over months and years, is destabilizing lives, limiting economic growth, and creating negative outcomes for individuals and the state.