This is more than a report. It’s a call to action, rooted in lived experience, grounded in data, and led by Black men reclaiming their futures.
Breaking the Chains: Reclaiming Wealth, Power, and Dignity for Black Men
This report is the result of a powerful partnership between Fathers, Families & Healthy Communities (FFHC) and Equity and Transformation (EAT) — two Chicago-based organizations deeply embedded in Black communities and committed to economic justice. Together, they led a community-centered research process that uplifted the voices of over 170 Black men and fathers across the city’s South and West sides. FFHC brought its expertise in restorative dialogue and family-centered support, while EAT led focus groups with formerly incarcerated men navigating systemic barriers to employment. What emerged is a data-informed, story-rich examination of exclusion and a blueprint for transformation.
Two Grounded Approaches. One Shared Goal.
The Crisis
Black men helped build Chicago. But today, they face the lowest labor force participation rates in the state. Not because of a lack of effort, but because of systems that have denied them access to opportunity, stability, and wealth.
This report centers the experiences of 172 Black men and fathers across Chicago's West and South sides. It unpacks how economic exclusion happens and what must be done to change it.
A City Built by Black Labor, Yet Still Leaving Black Men Behind.
of Black men in the U.S. were part of the labor- force in 2021.*
of Black men aged 20 to 24 in the U.S. were jobless in 2021.**
of Black men in Illinois were part of the labor-force in 2021.*
The reality is, unless we shift from economic exclusion to economic empowerment, Black men will continue to be left behind in a city that they helped build.
*SOURCE: CHICAGO COOK WORKFORCE PARTNERSHIP, 2023
**SOURCE: M.D. WILSON & PATTERSON, 2023
History of Injustice
Black men have been excluded from wealth and power in America long before the first job application. From slavery and sharecropping to redlining and mass incarceration, their labor has been exploited and their potential overlooked.
Yet despite generations of barriers, they’ve continued to resist by building businesses, fighting for family, and finding new ways to thrive.
The economic exclusion of Black men in Chicago didn’t start in the pandemic or even in the last decade.
As union jobs disappeared, Black men were swept into prisons by targeted policing and punitive drug laws. Today, over 1,300 Illinois laws restrict the rights of formerly incarcerated people making economic recovery nearly impossible.
Mass Incarceration & Labor Force Decline
Segregation and hiring discrimination forced Black men into low-wage, unstable jobs. Still, they created thriving Black business districts and led labor movements until racist violence and redlining erased progress and stripped away generational wealth.
Jim Crow to Civil Rights
Black men built America’s wealth while being denied any claim to it. After emancipation, they briefly gained land, businesses, and political power only to face violent backlash, revoked promises, and economic sabotage through systems like sharecropping.
Slavery & Reconstruction
the rate of white individuals.
In 1880, Black individuals were incarcerated nearly
the rate of white individuals.
By the late 1960s, Black individuals were incarcerated nearly
SOURCE: PETIT, 2022
of Chicago’s workforce in 1970 to
Manufacturing jobs fell from
in 2019.
Simultaneously, unemployment in majority-Black communities rose from 7% in 1970 to over 20% in 2019.
SOURCE: YOUSEF, 2019
Our Findings
“When I can’t take my lady out to eat, when I can’t buy diapers for my kids... I feel inadequate.”
What We Heard from Black Men Across Chicago
community voices
Across every conversation, Black men described an economy that undervalues their labor, blocks their advancement, and punishes their efforts to provide. From job discrimination to broken public systems, the barriers are constant and the costs are emotional, financial, and generational. Still, many are finding ways forward through trades, informal work, and business ownership built on resilience, not access.
Racial discrimination, credential barriers, public systems that don’t work
Systemic Roadblocks
Mental toll, income instability, strained family relationships
Hidden Costs
Overrepresented in low-wage roles, underrepresented in leadership
Workforce Inequity
Informal economies, entrepreneurship, and trades as survival and strategy
Resilience & Hustle
“The money is good when it’s there, but some months are lean and the bills pile up.”
Policy Recommendations
From baby bonds to reparations and guaranteed income for system-impacted men. These are overdue investments in stability, dignity, and generational wealth.
Wealth Redistribution
The economic crisis facing Black men in Chicago didn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of generations of policies that locked them out and today, we need policies bold enough to undo that harm.
We don’t need more research, we need action
Redirect funding away from incarceration and toward healing: housing, mental health, reentry programs, and community-led solutions rooted in care, not punishment.
Redesign Public Budgets
Fatherhood programs that feed families, fund childcare, and center healing can shift outcomes across generations. Especially when they meet real needs like job access, meals, or legal support.
Invest in Black Fatherhood
Fund training in high-growth fields and pair it with childcare, transportation, and legal protections. Because opportunity isn’t real unless it’s accessible.
Expand Workforce Access
Debt-free trade programs. Financial literacy. Mentorship. Every door to growth should be open, whether you’re 18 or 58.
Rebuild Education Pathways
Grants, co-ops, and incubators for entrepreneurs ready to lead especially those shut out of traditional funding. Black men don’t need a seat at the table. They’re building new tables.
Support Black-Owned Businesses
Tax credits, hiring pipelines, and public campaigns to push back on stigma and open doors for formerly incarcerated Black men.
Incentivize Fair Hiring
What gets measured gets funded. A statewide data initiative owned by the community ensures Black men’s needs, health, and talents are visible and prioritized.
Build a Statewide Data Set
The time for half-measures is over. Black men deserve more than symbolic change they deserve full participation, stability, and the ability to pass down wealth.
Let’s Improve an Economy That Includes Those that built it.
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breaking the chains report
