A Black man who works in the French Quarter in New Orleans told me that he doesn’t like window-shopping. For those unfamiliar with the concept, this refers to the practice of visiting a store without buying anything. Some see this as an opportunity to assess the availability, quality, and cost of items they may purchase in the future. But for others, like my friend, this experience felt like walking on pins and needles, the process of going out of his way to see things up close that he knew he couldn’t afford. Many Americans can relate to this, particularly as the cost of living rises and wages remain stagnant for lower-income earners. Most are living paycheck to paycheck and have limited buying power. Yet, the burden of poverty isn’t evenly distributed. For example, “the typical white household had 9.2 times as much wealth as a typical Black household — $250,400 vs. $27,100,” according to a 2021 Pew Research Center report. The racial disparities that date back to slavery have lingered like an unwanted house guest, trespassing on the nation that seems desperate to forget.

Contrary to racist stereotypes, which suggest Black people are either too lazy, ignorant, or undisciplined to acquire the wealth that white people and other groups have, their condition is a direct consequence of racist laws and policies that deprived them of equal opportunities. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. addressed this point in 1963, speaking on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. “One hundred years,” after slavery was abolished, “the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.” The irony wasn’t lost on King that many black communities in America were neglected and in disrepair, while many white communities were thriving. His statement highlighted the collective disappointment of Black Americans, who feel like their face is pressed up against the glass, looking at things they want but can’t have. White Americans had an entire century to address racial disparities, up until that point, to collectively reckon with the economic consequences of slavery, segregation, and discrimination, but failed to do so. And Black people suffered the bitter effects.

Once you realize that America is living under the shadow of the racist laws and policies of the past, and that the intergenerational effects of systemic racism impact Black people who live in the South today, you can see why my friend doesn’t like window-shopping. For him, seeing all the things that are available to buy, like a new set of power tools he could use for side jobs or a well-fitted, thick-lined jacket in olive green, his favorite color, was a cruel irony, given that he may never be able to buy them. Those experiencing poverty live on a tight budget indefinitely, making many products and services out of their reach. One hundred and sixty years after the abolition of slavery, the racial wealth gap persists. While the government no longer considers Black people property or three-fifths of a person, Black descendants of slavery and Jim Crow still feel the effects of systemic racism.

Research suggests that racial disparities are particularly pronounced in former slave states. According to Chandra Childers, a senior policy and economic analyst, “The southern United States has the largest share of residents living in poverty.” In states where slavery was a prominent trade, “poverty rates [were] above the national median, with the highest rate in Louisiana (18.9%) and Mississippi (18%).” When stratified by gender, Black women (19.9%) had the highest poverty rates, with “almost one-fifth falling below the poverty line.” And the poverty rate for Black children (30.1%) in the region was “almost three times the poverty rate for white children.” Southern states, Childers noted, “have consistently shown lower levels of intergenerational mobility than other regions.” As a result, it’s less likely for Black people in the South to rise above the socioeconomic status of the family they were born into. None of the former slave states has a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage, $7.25 per hour. Within the eleven states that seceded from the Union to form the Confederacy: South Carolina, North Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Virginia, Tennessee, Florida, and Arkansas, there’s a stubbornness to confront the legacy of slavery.

One study showed the life expectancy for Black people living in Southern counties and parishes is lower than that of white people, particularly “where slavery was denser in 1860.” Not only are Black people living shorter lifespans than white people in former slave states, but it’s riskier to give birth. The states with the highest rates of Black maternal mortality are in the South. In Mississippi, Black women are 4.5 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications compared to white women; in Louisiana, they are 4 times as likely; in Alabama, 3 times as likely; and in Georgia, over twice the rate. This reflects a broader pattern of racially disparate treatment in our healthcare systems that jeopardizes the lives of Black expectant mothers. The lingering effects of slavery also impact the quality of life for Black infants. “Enslaved infants died before 1 year of age at a rate 1.6 times higher than that of White infants,” based on historical data from 1850 (Owens & Fett, 2019). When compared to a 21016 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, the rate of Black infant mortality is even more extreme in the modern era, 2.3 times higher than that of White babies.

Lukas Althoff, an Assistant Professor of Economics, published a report titled Jim Crow and Black Economic Progress After Slavery, co-authored with Hugo Reichardt, an economic scholar and historian. Their research revealed “that Black families enslaved until the Civil War have significantly lower income, education, and wealth today than those whose ancestors were free before the war.” Findings suggest that the enslaved status of one’s ancestors has a direct impact on their descendants’ quality of life. A study in the Quarterly Journal of Economics found that “free-enslaved gaps account for 20 to 70 percent of the corresponding Black-white gaps.” So those who claim racism of the past has no impact on those living today are wrong. “Disparities between the two groups have persisted substantially because most families enslaved during the Civil War lived in states with strict Jim Crow regimes after slavery ended (Althoff & Reichardt, 2024).” The racist laws and policies that flowed from the slavery system “sharply reduced Black families’ economic progress in the long run.”

To understand why former slave states offer a poor quality of life for Black residents, we have to grapple with the nation’s history. While it’s common knowledge that the federal government broke its promise to provide formerly enslaved people with reparations, the consequences of their refusal are rarely discussed. But they should be. It’s estimated that one-quarter of the four million formerly enslaved Africans died from illness and starvation from 1862 to 1870. Many who escaped slavery had no resources and, as a result, died of preventable ailments. Historian Jim Downs explained in Sick From Freedom that while “members of Congress and the president considered the possibility that the war would lead to emancipation,” they paid very little attention to “the human consequences of emancipation.” In other words, how would Black people who were treated as property, deprived of basic resources, economic power, and opportunity, survive? “Where were slaves to live? How would they find adequate food or clean drinking water? What would happen if they became sick or injured?” Downs noted, “The human reality of emancipation shocked federal leaders.”

Last September, residents of the small town of Roseland, Louisiana, saw drops of oil falling from the sky following an explosion at Smitty’s Supply, a nearby petrochemical company. Residents found the sticky substance on plants, animals, the land, and bodies of water. In this mostly Black community, where 90% of the children live in poverty, few have the resources to move farther from the factory. This environmental disaster reflects a broader problem. Cancer Alley in Louisiana, an 85-mile stretch of land between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, following the Mississippi River, is known for some of the highest rates of cancer in the country. While many plantations once dotted the landscape, many chemical companies have taken their place. Thick plumes of smoke are often visible when passing through these parishes. One report noted within “fenceline communities that border those facilities,” the residents “breathe some of the most toxic air in the country and suffer some of the highest rates of cancer, along with a wide variety of other serious health ailments.”

In this country, many Black people find themselves on the outside looking in, deprived of an opportunity to fully participate in the economic system. One article published in the American Journal of Epidemiology noted “discrimination has been shown to adversely affect both mental and physical health through multiple, complex pathways, including denial of goods and resources, psychosocial stress, and physical violence (Marco et al., 2022).” Their research suggests the effects of racism have and continue to negatively impact the health and well-being of Black people. Those who wonder why these effects of radicalized poverty are so pronounced in the South needn’t look any further than the history of this country.

The closer you get to the scene of the crime, the more evidence is readily available. That’s not to say that racism doesn’t occur throughout the entire country, as it certainly does. But the intergenerational effects are more detectable in areas where slavery was denser. The poor quality of life for Black people today can be traced to the enslavement, segregation, and discrimination the group has endured. This explains why so many languish in poverty, despite living in a wealthy nation. Throughout this nation’s history, opportunities have not been distributed equally. As a result, the racial wealth gap is stubborn. And the only way it will leave is if we collectively escort the unruly guest off the premises and firmly commit to remedying racial inequality in the country.

This post originally appeared on Medium and is republished with author's permission. Read more of Allison Gaines' work on Medium.