Washington, DC
February 28, 2024
Hi, everyone. It's great to see you all.
Nicole, thank you for all of the work you do here at DOL, along with the Chief Diversity and Equity Officer, Alaysia Black Hackett. And thanks to the entire team at DOL for putting together some great Black History Month events this year.
I also want to thank Chair Jackson for joining us today and for her message.
And we also have Congressman Frost with us. In Congress, he's a great champion for justice and a champion for the arts.
And to all of the special guests here today, welcome to the Frances Perkins Building.
I've been looking forward to this event. And I'm so glad that you all could join us today.
I want to start with a Toni Morrison quote. It's from her reflections on being a writer, but I think it also applies to artists of all kinds. She said, "A writer's life and work are not a gift to mankind; they are its necessity."
Art is about expression, creativity, connecting with our deepest selves—and connecting with others. And while that can feel like a gift, that exploration and connection are at the core of what makes us human.
Art and the people who create it are life's necessity.
And at the Department of Labor, we're making sure in every industry, including in the arts, that workers can get good jobs. Because that's a necessity for our economy and our country.
Today's event is about merging those two needs—good jobs in the arts—especially for Black Americans and people of color.
When I talk about good jobs, I mean jobs that allow people to live full lives and where they don't have to scrape by to do the thing they love.
This is something I heard over and over during last year's writers' and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Actors and writers were tired of getting less and less, while the companies made record profits. They told me they were tired of hearing that, because their work comes from a place of passion, they should be willing to accept low wages and poor working conditions. They were tired of "the hustle" being glorified and used as an excuse for not treating people with dignity or for not paying a living wage.
Over the weekend, I went to the SAG awards—in my personal capacity—and celebrated the union's wins at the collective bargaining table where they are charting a new future for workers in Hollywood.
But last year's worker strikes also exposed specific barriers for Black workers in entertainment. As just one example, as the size of writing rooms shrunk in size, it became even more difficult for writers of color to get their foot in the door for those opportunities.
And when Black artists are squeezed out or go unrecognized, as Jay-Z pointed out in his speech at the Grammys earlier this month, when that happens, we all lose out.
Representation matters.
Our stages, screens, music playlists, bookshelves, and galleries need more representation, not less. Because we all benefit from art that shows ALL of us in all of our complexity: our struggles, our triumphs, our heartbreaks, and our dreams.
In 2022 President Biden signed an Executive Order that directed the federal government to advance equity and accessibility in the arts by lifting up more—and more diverse—voices and experiences. And I'm glad to have federal government partners here today to discuss what that looks like in practice.
I also want to be transparent about the challenges for Black workers, not just in the arts, but across our economy. By almost every measure, Black workers face the largest inequities. And the racial wealth gap in this country persists. In 2022, the median wealth for a white household was more than six times that of a Black household.
This isn't a question of education or skills. In fact, in 2019, the typical Black family whose highest level of education was a bachelor's degree had LESS median wealth than the typical white family whose highest level of education was a high school degree.
We have to do better.
And in the Biden-Harris administration, we're working to expand and strengthen the Black middle class and end the wealth gap. A 2019 report by McKinsey estimated that if we closed the wealth gap for Black Americans, it could raise GDP by 4 to 6 percent higher by 2028. I don't know how many economic policies could have that kind of outcome. Ending structural racism is good economic policy.
And unions are one of the most powerful forces—if not the most powerful force—for combatting racial and gender wage gaps. In a union, pay for Black workers increases by 17.3 percent, compared to 10.1 percent for white workers. And I am glad that we have union representation here today.
President Biden knows that unions are essential to building the middle class. And he is delivering on his promise to be the most pro-worker, pro-union president in history.
Here at the Department, we're working toward a future where everyone who wants a good job can get one. And to make sure that no one is left behind, we have to be clear about who has been. We cannot shy away from explicitly stating the need for racial justice.
So we're creating and expanding pathways for Black workers to get good jobs.
That's why we're investing in registered apprenticeships, where workers can earn while they learn new skills with on-the-job training. And often, registered apprenticeships are tied to good union jobs that workers can build their lives around.
We're also partnering with HBCUs, which are centers for excellence. It's great to have students and school leaders from Bowie State and Howard here with us today. I've twice been to Tennessee State University, the state's largest HBCU. Just recently, I visited Benedict College in South Carolina. At both institutions I got a chance to hear how they are investing in new programs and state-of-the-art facilities so that HBCU students are well-prepared for jobs of the future. And by partnering with HBCUs—along with unions, employers, state and local governments, nonprofit groups, and more—are what will help make sure that all workers can get connected to good jobs.
As I often say, a good job is not just a question of economic security. It is fundamental to advancing racial equity, too.
Throughout the history of this country, Black Americans have been in the arts, in telling and shaping the American story through all kinds of art—often facing great barriers to doing so.
We honor that today, along with acknowledging the struggles that remain to real equity, to security and protections at work, and to good jobs for ALL of America's workers.
It is a privilege to get to lead the Department in this moment—and to work alongside all of you.
And I'm looking forward to today's panel where we will talk more about two necessities: good jobs in the arts.