Closing the Racial Wealth Gap

For 400 years, structural racism embedded in federal, state, and local policies
has produced and maintained a stark wealth gap between Black and white
Americans. Today, the typical white household holds 10 times more wealth than
the typical Black household. This disparity persists even after controlling for
protective factors such as education, income, or homeownership. While lawmakers
and policy experts increasingly agree that the racial wealth gap poses a serious
problem, little consensus exists on the most effective way to eliminate it. For instance, a recent CAP analysis found that five leading policy proposals
will not be enough alone or in combination to fully close the racial wealth gap
by 2060.
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Racial disparities in wealth are not a result of individual or family choices,
but rather are the result of structural racism in American public policy. Many
government programs designed to expand access to homeownership, higher
education, fair wages, and union protections have largely benefited white
households, allowing them to build and transfer wealth across generations, while
Black households were systematically excluded. As a result, the racial wealth
gap persists, even after controlling for educational attainment, marital status,
age, and income level.

Racial wealth inequality is the result of centuries of structural racism in
American public policy and has only worsened due to the coronavirus pandemic.
[[link removed]] Closing the racial wealth gap will require bold and intentional policies,
including but not limited to supporting and analyzing reparations as a viable
policy solution to make amends for more than 400 years of injustice.
Truth and Reconciliation
[[link removed]] Many Americans lack a complete understanding of their nation's history. While
84 percent of Black Americans believe that the legacy of slavery affects the
current outcomes for Black people, a much smaller fraction—58 percent—of white
Americans agree. We must look at the history of slavery in the United States, how its roots have
spread to the present day, and what needs to be done to right years of
oppression.
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Slavery was followed by terror and exclusion in all aspects of American life; it
provided the scaffolding and paved the way for decades of intentional,
systematic disenfranchisement of Black Americans

This moment of reflection on our nation's systemic racism must be used to make
real structural change. One of the most effective ways to address this
collective harm is to tackle the racial wealth gap. Lawmakers must support H.R.
40, a bill that would create a commission to analyze reparations as a possible
policy intervention to close the racial wealth gap.
Systematic Inequality
[[link removed]] Exploitation and Neglect
[[link removed]] This report examines how government-sanctioned job segregation, exploitation,
and neglect exacerbated racial inequality in the United States. Eliminating
these disparities will require long-term, targeted interventions to expand
access to opportunity for people of color.
[[link removed]] Displacement, Exclusion, and Segregation
[[link removed]] Structural racism in the U.S. housing system has contributed to persistent
racial disparities in wealth, especially between Black and white households. In
fact, these differences are so entrenched that if current trends continue, it
could take more than 200 years for the average Black family to accumulate the
same amount of wealth as its white counterparts. #MoreThanFebruary on Social [[link removed]][[link removed]]

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