The racial wealth divide between Black and white Americans is much bigger — and more stubborn — than many of us realize.
The median African American household has just 6% of the wealth of the median white American household, the Institute for Policy Studies found in 2020. That’s actually a lower percentage than four decades prior. The racial wealth divide is vast — and it may be growing.
This is a result of public policy. Not just slavery but also segregation, mass incarceration, housing and lending discrimination, and other injustices that persist. Closing this gap will also take public policy — including some form of cash payments to help Black families build their wealth, otherwise known as reparations.
