Melvin B. Miller
Editor & Publisher

The color of wealth

For several years the Banner has proclaimed that the Civil Rights era is over. African Americans would do well to focus their attention and energies on the development of political clout and wealth.

This message is not always well received because civil rights violations continue to occur. Those who prefer to combat those problems are then quick to assert that the battle for civil rights is not yet finished.

Those who persist in pushing the civil rights agenda have an advantage because of the damage to personal feelings and the disrespect that violations engender. It is not quite so easy for people to see that they have been the victims of economic predation.

That circumstance will undoubtedly change with the publication of “The Color of Wealth: The Story Behind the U.S. Racial Wealth Divide.” The staff of the organization United for a Fair Economy has completed a prodigious task in assembling the history of economic discrimination against Native Americans, Asians, Latinos and African Americans.

This book, published by the New Press of New York and London, was written by Meizhu Lui, Bárbara J. Robles, Betsy Leondar-Wright, Rose M. Brewer and Rebecca Adamson. It is a necessary resource for any serious social planner.

For decades, strategists committed to improving the economic circumstances of African Americans have been concerned exclusively with the income disparity with whites. The gap continues: median household income for whites in 2003 was about $48,000, while for black households it was about $30,000.

Little attention has been paid to the economic crevasse which divides black and white net worth (defined as assets minus liabilities). In 2001, whites had a median net worth of $120,989 compared with only $19,024 for blacks. “The Color of Wealth” shows the importance of assets and the public policy in America that has impaired the ability of blacks to improve their economic status.

Nothing is more stressful than to live from paycheck to paycheck. The loss of a job or the onslaught of a serious illness with no disability benefits could result in homelessness. Assets, especially a health savings account, will be able to tide you over until conditions improve.

On a more positive note, assets enable you to buy a house, invest in a business or pay for the education of one’s children. Assets can also be invested to provide for a desirable level of comfort in retirement.

African Americans often think that they are the only victims of economic oppression in America. However, “The Color of Wealth” demonstrates how Native Americans, Asians and Latinos were also victimized. The name of the game is for those in power to appropriate as many resources for themselves as they can. Even poor whites are victims, but they generally do not as yet realize it.

There is a myth in America that successful people make it on their own. “The Color of Wealth” deflates this myth by listing the special advantages public policy delivered to whites and denied to others. This understanding is important for blacks who might otherwise see themselves as failures.

It is clear from “The Color of Wealth” that African Americans must maximize their political impact so that public policy advantages come their way in the future.