AL HJR6

Urges Alabama to commit to supporting legislation that champions Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy and advances Black economic equity.

Highlights Dr. King's emphasis on economic justice as essential to achieving full citizenship, including his work on the Poor People's Campaign demanding jobs, fair wages, unemployment insurance, and education.

Documents persistent racial wealth and income disparities in Alabama and nationally: Black median household income is $45,870 (lowest among racial groups), Black unemployment at 7 percent versus national rate of 3.9 percent, and median Black household net worth of $20,730 compared to $181,440 for non-Hispanic White households.

Notes Alabama has a poverty rate of 16.7 percent, among the highest in the nation, with 37.2 million people in poverty nationally and 19.5 percent of Black Americans living in poverty.

States that policy changes, rather than behavioral changes, are key to closing wealth gaps, and calls on legislators to ensure state policies shrink rather than exacerbate existing economic disparities.