I’ve spent the past six years of my life organizing in the Black community across the nation, including Washington, DC. I know firsthand that too many people in my community are struggling to make ends meet. With the rising cost of inflation to the exorbitant gas prices, I know personally what it’s like to pick up a spare job just to pay for gas or to lose your job at the beginning of the pandemic with little to no notice. For me, this meant getting a call from the sandwich shop I was working at about 24 hours before I was laid off. There was no severance; in fact, there was no offer of any kind of assistance. So, like the rest of us, I scrambled to find a way to make ends meet on top of paying for my college tuition. I was lucky to have the support of my family, but I know that I’m the exception, not the rule. This grim reality plagues Black America every day. Despite some encouraging signs from the latest national jobs report, for many, job opportunities are scarce and systemic...