Mitchell Hartman

Now it's nearly 22%.

The rise in black unemployment will cause long-term economic damage, says Tulane University economist Gary Hoover.

Hoover says more black families will have to dip into emergency savings.

They'll miss out on pension and IRA contributions, leading to lower household wealth accumulation.

After her layoff from the federal government, being without a paycheck certainly dealt Maryland resident Sharnice Mundell a financial blow.

She was delayed getting on unemployment, and after eight months of mostly fruitless job searching, she finally landed a position doing insurance authorizations at a big regional hospital.

She says she misses her job with the government serving the public.

But for now, she's just happy to be working again.

I'm Mitchell Hartman for Marketplace.

Mass work slowdowns and stoppages go back as early as the Civil War, says Peter Ratcliffe, a labor historian at Macalester College in St.

Paul, Minnesota.

By refusing to work, destroying crops, escaping to join the Union Army.

In 1886, a nationwide general strike called for the eight-hour workday.

1934 was a year of general strikes, including in Minneapolis, where the Teamsters joined with unions across industries, supported by neighborhood businesses and residents, setting up...

Similar to what Minnesotans are doing to support protesters today.

There's another parallel with history, says UC Irvine sociologist David Meyer.

Today's economic shutdowns aim to bring pressure on the system from consumers even more than workers.

And while one day of not shopping might have limited impact, Wharton marketing professor Americus Reid says, Consumers don't realize how much power they have if they just reduce consumption a little bit, 5, 10, 15%.

added up across hundreds of millions of people.

Reid says that could pressure some big brands to speak out more forcefully on the issues of the day.