St. Louis Economic Inclusion Plan

The St. Louis Economic Inclusion Plan analyzes the impact of historical racism and segregation in St. Louis and releases its recommendations for eliminating the economic inequities existing in large swaths of the city.

"In 2018, racial tensions in St. Louis are still at alarmingly high levels, and Black residents in the city continue to lack equal access to the American dream," said Derrick Johnson, NAACP President and CEO. "What we've done with this report is to take a comprehensive look at the factors that exacerbate the economic isolation in the city, give our recommendations for how to resolve these issues, and as always, provide as much support to the local communities as we can."

The Economic Inclusion Plan (EIP) will be a resource for community residents, elected officials and stakeholders to alleviate systematic, government-sanctioned racial discrimination with beneficial economic policy and programmatic solutions. 

Taking into account the stark economic gap between whites and Blacks in the country, an NAACP issued a travel advisory for the state of Missouri, and the open wounds still left by the tragic shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a police officer, the NAACP offered its set of problems and solutions which concern the economic state for Blacks in Missouri.

The report notes that with a dissimilarity index above 70, the St. Louis metropolitan area has an extremely high level of segregation. The home ownership rate of 75.8 percent and the median home value of $175,800 for whites in the city is almost double that of its Black residents at 40 percent and $90,100 respectively. The report provides suggestions for improvement including a resonating call for government backed fair lending practices across different sectors.

Read the full report below.