Overview
I have attached the reading below and here are the questions:
Check your Understanding
8.1 What are some historical reasons for housing and wealth inequalities in the United States? Enslaved African Americans were unable to accumulate wealth. Once freed, their opportunities for land ownership were limited.
Q What does slavery have to do with contemporary wealth inequalities?
8.2 When and how did residential segregation become a characteristic of U.S. cities?Today, most U.S. cities are segregated, but this has not always been the case. Residential segregation was created in the early twentieth century by White residents’ desire for homogeneous neighborhoods, by the real estate industry’s profit seeking, and by federal housing programs that were available exclusively to Whites. Whites are the only group that, on average, lives in primarily White neighborhoods. Black families are the most likely group to be hypersegregated.
Q What factors contributed to the creation of residential segregation?
Q How is residential segregation related to the racial wealth gap?
8.3 What is the extent of wealth inequality today in homeownership and beyond?On average, African Americans and Latinxs have less than 9 percent of the wealth of Whites. The 2007–2009 housing crisis exacerbated racial inequalities in wealth.
Q What is the difference between wealth and income? Why is this difference important in studies of racial inequality?Q Why and how did the wealth gap between Whites and other groups change between 2005 and 2009?8.4 What factors are sustaining and exacerbating wealth inequalities?Black families with incomes similar to those of White families have substantially less wealth. This is because wealth is not solely a function of income differentials. The disparity is also attributable to years of homeownership, years of unemployment, college education, and inheritances.
Q What programs and policies have contributed to the racial wealth gap, and in what ways?Q What other factors have exacerbated the wealth gap in the twenty-first century? Give examples.
Critical Thinking
1. In the United States, why does the idea endure that if you work hard, you will get ahead? Why might this not be true, especially for people of color?
2. How have race, class, and immigration history played a role in the amount of your family’s wealth? Consider factors such as Veterans Administration or Federal Housing Authority loans.
3. Why is racial segregation problematic? Suggest at least three reasons.
4. What distinct social challenges stem from overall wealth inequality and the racial wealth gap?
5. To what extent would narrowing the racial income gap contribute to narrowing the racial wealth gap?6. How would asset-based social policies work in practice? Could they work?