Understanding the racial wealth gap as a call to faithful action
Third video in series makes the economic case for investing in inclusivity
In the third installment of The Center for the Repair for Historic Harm’s video series "Zero to One: A Congregation’s Journey to Repair," Oak Grove Presbyterian Church in Bloomington, Minnesota, turns its attention to one of the most persistent and measurable legacies of systemic racism in the United States: the racial wealth gap.
The episode, “What is the Racial Wealth Gap?”, explores how Oak Grove’s members came to understand that the economic disparities between White households and Afro-American and Indigenous households were the result of deliberate policies and practices. This understanding led the congregation to take concrete steps toward repair.
Ruling Elder Jim Koon offered a sobering breakdown of the numbers: the median wealth of White households in the U.S. is approximately $284,000, compared to $44,000 for African American households and $29,000 for Indigenous households. “If all wealth were distributed equitably,” Koon explained, “the average would be about $244,000."
Restorative Actions, an organization that worked with Oak Grove through their reparations process, estimated from household wealth data in 2020, that across the nearly 86 million White households in the U.S., the aggregated wealth accumulated above parity has grown to just under $13 trillion, a racial wealth disparity that has tripled in the last 30 years and "is expected to grow exponentially in the future."
The congregation members asked themselves what this gap meant for people of faith. Ruling elders like Mark Pridgeon and Bob Heise reflected on how learning about Reconstruction’s collapse and broken treaties with Indigenous nations helped them to see the racial wealth gap not just as a national issue, but as a local and spiritual one. “You can’t heal it unless you give the people what you promised,” Heise said, referencing the U.S. government’s failure to honor agreements with Indigenous communities.
The video opens with a Biblical verse from Luke 19:8. This is the story of Zacchaeus, who upon encountering Jesus pledged to give half his possessions to the poor and to repay those he has defrauded fourfold. Luke's account anchored Oak Grove’s journey as a model for economic repentance.
Ruling Elder Elona Street-Stewart, executive of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, and the Rev. Jermaine Ross-Allam, director of the Center for the Repair of Historic Harms, helped to frame the church’s actions within a broader movement. They emphasized that restorative action is not charity but a spiritual discipline rooted in surrender. “Christian people in the United States are not in a position to be philanthropists, donors or benefactors when it comes to people of African descent and Indigenous nations,” said Ross-Allam. He noted that the credible witness is in realizing “I’m not giving but I’m actually unburdening myself of wealth I wouldn’t have in the first place if others had been treated with equity.”
Oak Grove’s response was to create two investment trusts — one for Afro-American communities and one for Indigenous communities — entrusting the funds to leaders from those communities to determine their use. Finance Committee Chair Sue Greimel recalled the moment the church voted to allocate $267,000: “It was a relief. We were lucky to have the ability to invest. Now we’re giving others that same opportunity.”
Koon made an economic case for reparations, arguing that inclusive economies grow faster. He cited how during the 1960s and early 1970s, when the U.S. invested in civil rights and job programs, the gross domestic product (GDP) grew at 4% annually. Today, according to Koon, it's growing at less than 1%. “If we invested in inclusivity again,” he said, “the return would more than offset the cost of reparations within a generation.”
The video series, “Zero to One: A Congregation’s Journey to Repair,” is being released weekly on Thursdays from Aug. 7 through Sept. 4.
Oak Grove’s story reminds viewers that repair is not a one-time act, but a journey of transformation. From understanding the racial wealth gap to surrendering wealth as an act of faith, this congregation is moving from reflection to action — and inviting others to do the same.
Watch the full series and learn more here.
Read the series' introduction and follow-up article on the second video, "Is Racial Justice Possible?"
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