Have you heard of the Black Tax?
Billions of dollars each year are sent by African migrants to Africa in hopes of alleviating poverty back home. On top of my brothers enormous contribution, I personally send over $16,000 per year to my immediate family. Without this money, my family would not have access to food, shelter and healthcare. This is called the Black Tax.
The financial and emotional costs of black tax can be quite challenging for many people
$16,000 is a lot of money. It could be used for savings towards a deposit for a home; saving to invest in an index fund; re-invested into my business. The Black Tax is what makes it ten times harder for a person like me to create financial security and wealth.
It may look like there is progress because we now have many more Africans who are lawyers, accountants, engineers, doctors, and nurses, but the gap to get ourselves out of poverty is wide. We are barely surviving due to the money we send home let alone at the cost of living crisis we are in today.
This is an example of how Black Tax works. At law school there were internships with scholarships to work with prestigious institutions in Australia or overseas which would be good to further my career. A scholarship wasn’t going to fund the needs of my family in Zimbabwe. I have to work, work and work: work at McDonalds for my school fees, work as a cleaner because I need the money to send home. I have to work, morning, day and night. It’s life.
Why I am talking about Black Tax? The whole conversation of diversity and inclusivity rarely focuses on the economic inequity for why people like me don’t take up opportunities. We focus on racism, misogyny, homophobia. But economics of Black people is a HUGE barrier for inclusivity and this can be easily resolved.
The Black Tax is not exclusive to African migrants. The black tax is a phenomena that my friends living in Australia from other cultural backgrounds talk about as well. The Filipino nurse sending money home, the Indian Uber driving with a masters in Finance, sending money home, etc etc.
In the meantime, I recently had a in-depth discussion with Annastacia Wainaina the host of the podcast Freedom Fire, about the Black Tax, the causes and some of the solutions. Here is a picture of two beautiful chocklaty skinned professionals, one from Kenya and one from Zimbabwe who have made Australia home. But do you really really know what they are dealing with to fight for the life they have today and for their communities?
Rugare Gomo, Author and high performance coach
