black wealth

Julianne Malveaux  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Jan 3 2013

Counting the Cost

How will African American people improve our situation in 2013? Right now, we have higher unemployment than any other population in our nation, less wealth, higher school dropout rates, and more crime in our communities.

Julianne Malveaux  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Dec 20 2012

Channel it toward something that makes a difference

I was in a cab just the other day when the driver chided me for not knowing football. He was a big Redskins (I call them the Deadskins because they need to change their name) fan, and was obsessed with RG III. I must confess that I did not know who RG III was until he informed me and told me that I was culturally deficient because I lived in Washington, D.C., and did not follow football.

Jul 5 2012

The Great Recession blamed

NEW YORK—White Americans have 22 times more wealth than Blacks—a gap that nearly doubled during the Great Recession.

The median household net worth for Whites was $110,729 in 2010, versus $4,995 for Blacks, according to recently released Census Bureau figures.

The difference is similarly notable when it comes to Hispanics, who had a median household net worth of $7,424. The ratio between White and Hispanic wealth expanded to 15 to 1.

Joseph Wright  |   OW Senior Staff Writer
May 27 2010

Gap is getting wider

A recent study examined the question, “Why are White families $95,000 richer than Black families in the United States?”

According to a report by the Institute on Assets and Social Policy at Brandeis University, in which the question was examined, the wealth gap between African American and Caucasian families has expanded dramatically in the last 23 years.

In fact, the difference in financial assets between the two groups has increased over four times in the period of 1984-2007, from $20,000 in 1984 to $95,000 in 2007.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.