More in the news, my name is Alicia Lacy. Today, I will be talking about the black recession and the wealth gap. Now, a landmark state of the dream, 2026 report release, released this week, warns of a brewing black recession. So this is something that we really, really need to keep our eye on and stay focused as to what is going on nationally. in our lives. Wealth disparities for every $100 in white family wealth, black families hold just over $5. This lack of financial cushion makes a government shut down an economic earthquake. For black households, rather than a temporary disruption, savings get, on average, black households have only $1,500 in liquid assets to whether a crisis compared to $8100. For White Households. The impact of this shutdown for the DMV area, DC, Maryland, and Virginia. The DMV is the epic center of the crisis because it houses the nation's largest black middle class. Built largely on federal employment. Prince George's County, Maryland, home to roughly 70,000 federal workers, recent shutdowns and federal job cuts, including those from the Department of Government efficiency, have forced families in wealthy majority, black hubs like Oxen Hill, and Fort Washington to tap into 401 ks, and consider selling their homes to survive pay lapse. Yes. This is a national crisis for black communities. in the DMV. area. especially. Job losses, black unemployment rose by one. 5% points in the late 2025 due to federal downsizing, the sharpest increase of any demographic. Federal contractors, unlike direct federal employees, 1000s of black owned contracting firms and the DMV, do not receive back pay, leading to projected losses of up to $450 million. Now, as I speak further regarding Black Recession and the wealth gap that is further widening, safety net and government services. The safety net and government services include snap and wick uncertainty. Recent funding lapse left many families with empty EBT cards while some funding was restored 2026 tax law. Changes have added new work requirements that threaten access for 1000000s of black families. Housing and energy and urban centers like DC delays and housing and energy assistance, lahe, put high cost households at immediate risk of eviction and utility shut offs. Local resources, places that you may want to reach out to, and Prince George's County, a 1000000 relief fund was launched via 100 black men of Prince George's County to provide $1000 grants to impact workers. Maryland resources, you can dial 211 for emergency food, cash, or legal assistance through the Maryland Department of Labor. Governor Moore has expanded this program to help terminated federal workers, transition into teaching roles in Maryland schools, which is a good way to try to help a lot of people who have lost jobs. But it is still an uncertain and an uncertainty and very discouraging to hear. Again, that we're going into a setdown this weekend and hopefully they'll be able to get everything back up and running by Monday so that these people can try to. Maintain their homes and their lives and get back to work and be able to take care of the necessities to live a normal life. Um, it's very discouraging, very disheartening, to hear that, again, this area of what some consider to be, our mecca is crumbling, right, before our very eyes. And hopefully these houses will get together and come up with a swift resolution so that this deepening wealth gap can ultimately stop. Uh, my name is Alicia Lacy reporting for IMNX, A IMyriad FM. News brief. Peace.