While the nation is fixated on a debt ceiling standstill, the number one issue on the minds of Americans — jobs — has largely been ignored. But in addition to experiencing the worst economic downfall since the Great Depression, we are now also officially witnessing the largest ethnic wealth disparity in decades. For those who claim we are in some sort of ‘post-racial’ society, I have news for you: we are anything but.
The Pew Research Center just released a startling and sobering new study stating that the median wealth of White households is now 20 times that of Black households, and 18 times that of Latino households. The data, gathered from 2005-2009, indicates that a typical Black household had just $5,677 in wealth (assets minus debts), while the average Latino household had $6,325, and the ordinary White household had $113,149. And about one-third of all Black and Latino households had zero or negative net worth in 2009 alone.
These horrific stats must be an immediate wake up call for everyone. When this racial wealth gap is the highest it has ever been since the government began tracking such information, we are not progressing, but rather regressing. If the notion of the proverbial American dream constitutes home ownership, how can people of color be making advancements if they are losing their houses in catastrophic numbers? According to the Pew study, the median level of home equity held by Latinos declined by half from ’05-’09. While predatory lenders targeted the most vulnerable in the years prior to the recession, these families are now suffering under the biggest virtual land grab against Blacks and Latinos we have ever witnessed.
