America’s Structural Racism: Black-White Wealth Gap Persists
The already large racial wealth gap between white and black American households in America grew even wider after the Great Recession of 2007-2009. A new report from the Center for American Progress finds that the racial gap in wealth is widening. The report finds that in 2016 the median wealth of Black households led by a person who was at least 25 years old was $13,460. For similar White households the median wealth was $142,180.
Wealth—the measure of an individual’s or family’s financial net worth—provides all sorts of opportunities for American families. Wealth makes it easier for people to seamlessly transition between jobs, move to new neighborhoods, and respond in emergency situations. It allows parents to pay for or help pay for their children’s education and enables workers to build economic sustainability in retirement. Importantly, it is the most complete measure of a family’s future economic well-being. After all, families rely on their wealth to pay their bills if their regular income disappears during an unemployment spell or after retiring, for instance.
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By Global African History