Thomas Shapiro
Special to CNN
Program note: 'Black in America 2' This July, Soledad O'Brien investigates what African- Americans are doing to confront the most challenging issues facing their communities. You'll meet people who are using ground-breaking solutions in innovative ways to transform the black experience. July 22 and 23, 8 p.m. ET
Closing the racial wealth gap needs to be at the forefront of efforts to achieve economic opportunity in the 21st century.
Without sufficient assets, it is difficult to lay claim to economic security or true opportunity in American society.
Fifteen years ago, my work with Melvin Oliver identified the racial wealth gap as a fundamental axis of racial inequality, finding that African-Americans owned eight cents of wealth for every dollar owned by whites.
The good news is that the wealth (median net worth) of non-whites increased $6,600 per person from 1998 to 2007. The bad news is that the racial wealth gap is widening.
| Abel Tsegga |
June 10th, 2009 1:12 pm ET The Borgen Project has some good info on the cost of addressing global poverty. $30 billion: Annual shortfall to end world hunger. |
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| Enough |
June 10th, 2009 2:52 pm ET They gotta want to work! You can't just hand out money to make things equal. Your life is what you choose to make it, and if you choose to make it nothing, that is your choice. |
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