Jesse Scheckner
Elected officials, community leaders, nonprofit executives and industry experts will convene for a two-day forum this week to discuss America’s middle class and how to strengthen and grow it in Florida.
The Middle Class Summit, organized and hosted by the Opportunities Industrialization Centers of South Florida (OIC-SFL), runs Wednesday and Thursday at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood. Tickets are free and available to the public.
Its goal: To develop and highlight actionable solutions to some of today’s most pressing socioeconomic issues, from disparities in education and housing unaffordability to criminal justice reform and the rising costs of child care, health care and everyday living expenses.
“Many families are already feeling increases at the gas pumps, grocery stores, and certainly as they attempt to find affordable housing here in South Florida and around the country,” OIC-SFL President and CEO Newton Sanon said in a statement.
“It’s important that we elevate the voices of the underrepresented and foster timely discussion with key stakeholders to develop and deploy solutions. The issues discussed at the Summit affect absolutely everyone.”
Still, some are hit harder than others. A recent United Way study found that while the overall number of Florida households struggling financially increased from 2019 to 2021 due mainly to the COVID pandemic, there were marked disparities in hardship rates by race, ethnicity, age and household composition.
For instance, roughly 61.5% of Asian households and 59% of White households in Florida in 2022 lived above the United Way’s ALICE threshold (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed), meaning they earned more than the federal poverty level but not enough to afford basic costs of living where they resided.
The same was true for just over 40% of Black households, 48% of Hispanic, and 49.5% of mixed-race households. A notably larger share of Black households (13.5%) lived in poverty compared to their Asian (7.5%) and White (8%) counterparts. About 10% of Hispanic and mixed-race households lived in poverty as well, the United Way found.
Across the four counties of Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe and Palm Beach, 35% of residents lived within the ALICE threshold and close to 13% lived in poverty.
The Middle Class Summit kicks off with an 8 a.m. continental breakfast on Wednesday and concludes with a 2:35 p.m. executive address and Sanon’s final call to action on Thursday.
Close to two dozen events are scheduled in between, with speakers and panel participants including U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, U.S. Department of Labor Assistant Secretary José Javier Rodríguez, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary Lenita Jacobs-Simmons, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Broward Mayor Nan Rich, Miami-Dade Commission Chair Oliver Gilbert, Miami-Dade Chief Administrative Officer Carladenise Edwards and Broward Office of Economic and Small Business Development Director Sandy-Michael McDonald.
Miami-Dade Beacon Council President and CEO Rodrick Miller, Broward Black Business Chamber President Shaheewa Jarrett Gelin, Seminole Tribe of Florida Chair Marcellus Osceola, Florida Power & Light Director of External Affairs Juliet Murphy Roulhac, United Way of Miami President and CEO Symeria Hudson, among many others, will also participate.
Click here to view a video previewing the upcoming Middle Class Summit, which features footage from prior iterations.
For more information and a complete list of speakers, visit the Middle Class Summit website.
