Video: Brandeis Study Finds Black-White Wealth Gap Tripled in Last 20 Years

A study by Brandeis University has found that the wealth gap between Blacks and Whites has tripled in the last 20 years. Public policies play a major role in widening the already massive racial wealth gap, and they must play a role in closing it, said Dr. Thomas Shapiro, director of the Institute on Assets and Social Policy and a principal author of the report. We should be investing in prosperity and equity, instead we are advancing toxic inequality. A U-turn is needed. "
The study, "The Roots of the Widening Racial Wealth Gap: Explaining the Black-White Economic Divide," was conducted by the Institute on Assets and Social Policy. Download the full report as a pdf. here
The study, which followed 1,700 working-age households over a 25-year period found the wealth gap "almost tripled from 1984 to 2009, increasing from $85,000 to $236,500. The median net worth of White households in the study has grown to $265,000 over the 25-year period compared with just $28,500 for Black households."