Nu Vibez and Roleplay Guide Magazine - October 2014 | Page 49

shocking and even a St. Louis native myself
that grew up hanging in Ferguson with
friends and family was not prepared for the
following facts*:
• A typical black household has
accumulated less than one-tenth of the
wealth of a typical white one. And it’s only
getting worse.
• Over the past 25 years, the wealth gap
between blacks and whites has nearly
tripled, according to research by Brandeis
University.
• That’s in large part because home
ownership among blacks is so much
lower. Housing is often Americans’
greatest asset and a major component of
their overall wealth.
• Blacks also typically have lower incomes
than whites, which also makes it harder
for them to save and build wealth. The
median income for black households is
less than 60% that of white ones.
• Unemployment is also a major problem.
The jobless rate for blacks is twice that
of whites. The gap has been at least that
large for years.
• All of these factors combine to push
many blacks into poverty. America’s 15%
poverty rate masks the underlying racial
differences. More than one in four blacks
live in poverty, while fewer than one