The Racial Wealth Gap

In honor of Black History Month, let's educate ourselves on the racial wealth gap. Read on to learn more about how the racial wealth gap manifests and how you can take action.

The racial wealth gap persists across all educational and income levels in this country. How does that manifest?

• The Federal Reserve published findings in 2019 that showed the typical White family has eight times the wealth of the typical Black family and five times the wealth of the typical Hispanic family.

• In 2020, Brookings Senior Fellow Vanessa Williamson wrote that the 400 richest Americans have more total wealth than all 10 million Black American households combined.

  • Let that sink in for a minute. The 400 richest Americans have more wealth than ALL of the black households combined. 

This is the racial wealth gap. The wealth gap has been here since the slavery of Black people and forced displacement of Indigenous People from their homelands.

Wealth begets wealth. Studies illustrate how the compounding of wealth exacerbates the racial wealth gap. Past and current discrimination across housing, banking, education, and more mean less access to wealth for people of color. 

What can you do about it?

• Educate Yourself

  • Read: The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap by Mehrsa Baradaran

• Support BIPOC Businesses:

  • Still need an accountant for tax season? Check out this list of Accountants of Color. 

• Give:

  • Consider donating to a cause such as The Habitat for Humanities Advancing Black Homeownership mission. 

Let me know how it goes!