Race, Class, Gender, Experience continued.

I want to continue with my line of thinking from the last post as it is along the lines of what Rebecca said in her post. In response to the discussion we had about class based factors and wealth let me be more clear. I am of the opinion that focusing on class based factors and work ethic or as some people call it the "bootstrap theory" is an inaccurate way to measure the effect of inequality on the upward mobility of minorities. In my opinion this line of thinking serves the purpose of disregarding the legacy and impact of institutional racism.

What I was trying to say in a prior post about wealth I will try to say more clearly in this post. Racial inequality no matter the socioeconomic class is a result of the long term effects of an unequal distribution of wealth, labor discrimination, and institutional practices.

In my opinion wealth is a very accurate way to measure the level of inequality that exists. A study by the University of California done from 1984-2007 published last May found that income inequality between black and white had hit an all time high. The average middle income white household accumulated 74,000 in assets on average compared to high income black families who accumulated 18,000 in assets. Even when black families have higher paying jobs they are still behind lower income white families in accumulated wealth.

The gap between black and white has increased four fold in this time frame. There is a large gap in median net worth between whites and blacks. This suggests to me that blacks do not have the same oppourtunites for advancement regardless of economic class. I will go one step further and give an example of how people underscore the effect of racism on minorities.

White flight from cities and suburbs to the peripheral areas of cities has resulted in residential segregation which has raised the value of white owned housing and lowered the value of black owned housing in many places. You have banks which rate housing in predominently black areas with less value as high risk so when black people get a mortage loan they pay higher interest rates for property that is less valuable. What you end up having are white residential communities with more equity in their homes thus equating to more wealth for white home owners as opposed to black homeowners. Blacks and hispanics are twice as likely to receive high cost home mortages as whites with similar incomes.

The proof is in the numbers they don't lie. If our country is moving towards a doctrine of breaking down barriers and promoting equality then these numbers are disturbing. If more minorities are going to college and obtaining higher education and better paying jobs then why is the divide in wealth increasing? The recession has only exascerbated the problems that are going on. It is hard for me to look at class base factors without looking at wealth and its impact on the inequality that exists in our society.