Black Wealth/ White Wealth: A New Perspective on Racial Inequality

Black Wealth/White Wealth demonstrates how an analysis of private wealth uncovers a revealing story about race in America. An examination of how assets are created, expanded and preserved reveals a deep economic divide between blacks and whites. Charting the changing structure of inequality over many generations, the authors examine how and why many blacks have had difficulty accumulating wealth and opportunities for a better life. In combining quantitative data from over 12,000 households and interviews with a range of black and white families, the racial face of wealth in America is measured and conceptualized.

Melvin L. Oliver is Vice-President of the Ford Foundation's Asset Building and Community Development Program. He is on leave from UCLA where he is Professor of Sociology and Social Policy. Thomas M. Shapiro is Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at Northeastern University. He is the author of Population Control Politics: Women, Sterilization, and Reproductive Choice.