The Directors Council (TDC), a nonprofit coalition of Black leaders in the Des Moines area, has released its 2025 One Economy report, which highlights disparities for Black citizens of Polk County in the areas of housing, health, education, employment and financial inclusivity.

The report, released Monday, builds off two previous One Economy reports and includes statistical data and personal stories from African Americans, African immigrants and African refugees living in Polk County.

“It’s a story of resilience. It’s a story about our community, the pride we feel in our community and the commitment that we have to overcoming some of these barriers,” Jerrica Marshall, executive director of the Directors Council, told the Business Record in an interview.

The report states that disparities in Black Polk County have resulted in more than $1 billion in lost annual income, 5,200 fewer homeowners and 2,500 fewer employed people.

Marshall said addressing these disparities will take work in all of the five areas explored in the report, and said the work is crucial for all of Polk County.

“We’ve seen the interconnectedness between the different areas and know it’s going to take a multi-prong approach to get some of this change. Because wages are low, it affects how people go to the doctor or [get] insurance coverage, and employment affects where they live or if they’re renters,” Marshall said. “If we make these changes here in Polk County, it could affect all Iowans.”

The One Economy report also includes recommendations on systemic policy changes that could improve the disparities. These include targeted programs to develop more Black teachers, funds to support Black business owners and homeowners, and access to financial literacy education.

“We always want to try to give action items, but because our direction as the Directors Council was to do more systemic changes, we’re doing it more in the sense of ‘here are some opportunities for policy that we’ve seen in other communities that have worked,’” said Marshall.

To read the full One Economy report, visit the Directors Council’s website.