US White-Black wealth gap worse than apartheid South Africa

For every dollar in assets owned by whites in the United States, blacks own less than a nickel, a racial divide that is wider than South Africa’s at any point during the apartheid era.

The median net worth for black [US] households is [...] about 4.5 percent of whites’ median household wealth ...

Racial inequality in apartheid South Africa reached its zenith in 1970 when black households’ median net worth represented 6.8 percent of whites’, ...

Here's the link to the full article.

I feel like this would be different if black fathers didn't abandon their children in such insane numbers.

Doesn't that suck.

There is no racial divide.

There are also far more Blacks in prison then there were slaves during the chattel slavery period. It also incarcerates more Blacks than apartheid SA ever had. Just another tidbit of info illustrating how today's America is far more engaged in the crimes we're often told to reflect on but never learn from.

Good

Think about the Asians and Native Americans

You are wrong

NY TIMES ARTICLE

You like to play semantics so realize that you said black fathers "abandon their children" these articles actually prove that you are wrong.

"Although black fathers are more likely to live separately from their children"

I speak from experience when I say that separated households have a negative effect on children.

Actually, the conclusions in the articles are really reaching to the point where you have to wonder if the authors of them don't know how to read statistics. Many people in the comments section of both articles give nice breakdowns of the of the issues, so won't waste my time repeating them.

And?

Im well aware of what the comments section was saying. But if you read my earlier post I am referring to what sammich was claiming, which these articles actually point to disprove. How can you abandon your child if you live with them? So the only way for sammich's comment to make sense is if he was referring to black men leaving the homes of thier children and not taking care of them. As posted from above, the articles disprove that claim.

You can thank Ronald Reagan and the war on drugs for effectively destroying Black communities.

Stop making excuses. And drugs destroy lives.

And there are plenty of successful black people in the US.

Race has nothing to do with it. Motivation to work hard and achieve is lacking.

Oh no not another "oh blacks have it so hard"

But what did you want to debate with this post?

So what?

I thought black people get more oppurtunities, treated equally in US than any other white people countries ( eg Europe, Australia) :)

Among other state policies but yeah, "war on drugs" is one of the big ones.

It was also the depression of 2007 that wiped out whatever gains the Black middle class might have achieved.

http://www.businessinsider.com/us-black-middle-class-is-suffering-2012-10?IR=T

@TheWalkingGhost: I don't see how pointing out history is an excuse...

Ever since the start of this country whenever black people have acquired wealth it has ALWAYS been white people that have destroyed that wealth in fits of rage and rioting. Or do you think that "the birth of a nation" was just some feel good movie?

It been 50-53 years since the march on Washington and the civil rights movement. My father was born in 1960 and you want to tell me that we still don't have racists? That's not even 3 generations removed from where we are now! There are still people living now that were actively against any kind of integration and civil rights towards black people! They are teaching their grandchildren how to hate. Problems with ascending the ladder in american society? No one is making excuses, but I've learned one thing, which is that not everyone has the same opportunities. Not even close. Please don't be naive to what has happened not so long ago.

We have a winner......

But yeah it has nothing to do with race, of course. That massive wealth gap is just a coincidence and as we all well know can probably be explained quite simply because black people are, on average, lazier.

It's white privilege. Don't anybody fool yourselves.

@marth6352: You. I like you, you social activist you. Stick around.

They do. But in typical fashion, it's always the fault of somebody else. The white man is keeping them down, or the government isn't doing enough. Same old shit, just a different voice.

There is no personal accountability in the black community or its advocates.

True, 'some' black people seem to make a big ruckus over something trivial ( Take movies or games for instance, if there is no black main character they go as far to say the makers are racist). We asians too get ignored in US or other western countries, but we don't cry so much over it like those people lol.Again no offense to black people in general, only complaint against those who make a big deal out of something so nominal :)

You can only give someone opportunities. You can't give them success. It's like that in one of my night classes. There are three black guys that just don't show up, even though the state of New York is paying for their tuition. I know they're paying for it because we had a discussion in class a few weeks ago about welfare and benefits, and education benefits, etc.

The only thing a lot of people on these forums want to do is lay the blame on other people.

Mostly their own fault for having a culture that glorifies ignorance and violence. Take notice that in all these protests going on nation wide about the two recent high profile deaths, both were criminals, and amazingly in the conversation they're the only ones who don't have to change. Perhaps that is why the problem persists?

Yup, blaming is very easy lol.

I think he was clearly exaggerating but you need to take is comment in further context...he didn't say all of them, he said in such insane numbers. More to what he is referring to, I think the point was more the differences in number/percent. The study never addresses that issue and the articles misrepresented them as such.

I think folks tend to overestimate White privilege. Yes, Whites folks have relative privilege, as always, but that alone can't begin to explain this enormous wealth disparity. We know that the depression of 2007 hit folks hard but it nearly destroyed any wealth Blacks had gain prior to the recession.

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/17/wealth-race-and-the-great-recession/?_r=0

http://www.businessinsider.com/us-black-middle-class-is-suffering-2012-10?IR=T

Can't believe the amount of "bootstraps!" posters in here.....That is an incredibly gross oversimplification of complex social issues. lf you want to pretend that systematic oppression and glass ceilings don't limit certain races and gender's social mobility.. then go ahead and enjoy your blind ignorance. A lot of the more 'subtle' racism that is at the heart of the issue is pretty evident in this thread :/

It's not at all subtle, I don't think. Certain bigots tend to dismiss and erroneously simplify groups they don't like nor respect. Misogynists do it to women, Islamophobes do it to Muslims, homophobes do it to gays and so on. The scenario may vary depending on the personal prejudice but the same principle is always applied; 'they are - by and large - responsible for the injustices brought against them.'

So are you saying that black people are responsible for being lynched, hosed down, targeted by police? Remember before "our culture" started "glorying thugs, and low lives" we were still being abused, so I don't really see where this is coming from.

@ianhh6: Im not a social activist. I just know history.

Que? No, I'm saying that this is the rhetoric that is used by bigots toward groups they don't like or respect. I guess the sentence wasn't clear and could have been easily misinterpreted. I should have said 'the same principle is always applied.'

Ding ding ding! You are winner!

Instead of sitting around blaming the "white man" or others for your failures, pull up your pants and actually make something of yourselves. Set a positive example for young people...

There are systems in place that benefit minorites and women OVER the white men who are supposedly so damn privileged.

The real problems have NOTHING to do race and everything to do with the black hole of despair that poor communities are. That problem effects people of ALL races and ALL sexes who get stuck in said communities.

We have a HUGE problem of there being almost NO opportunity for social mobility in this country. If you are born poor you most likely are going to die poor. This stems both from shit education in poor communities and there being a lack of real opportunities for people who aren't born into well-off families. As someone who switched from a poor communities high school to a rich communities high school halfway through my high school years, I can't begin to tell you how much of a difference there was. There was better classes with better teachers and more difficult curriculum to help better prepare students for college.

I am sick of everything being turned into a damn race issue these days. The ultimate irony is that racism is ONLY called in support of those who are supposedly so oppressed because of their skin. You can't be a racist if you aren't white. God forbid a white person happens to be involved in something negative happening to a black person. That is instant RACISM regardless of any circumstances.

Quite frankly I think these social justice people are some of the most racist and sexist pieces of shit I have ever seen. They just arbitrarily focus on those two aspects of a person and turn EVERYTHING into a racial or gender issue. If those people would actually look beyond skin color and gender they might actually have a chance at spotting some of the real problems in this country.

Spot on.

If you always play the "victimcard" you will turn into a victim.

So the question anyone who wants to use this report for anything but to light up their fireplace, is "how come black parents seem to be less capable of motivating their kids and instead excels in playing victims"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/06/04/the-blackwhite-marijuana-arrest-gap-in-nine-charts/

I think this quote from Tim Wise sums up the mentality of this white male dominated thread(I am also a white male):

“Ignorance of how we are shaped racially is the first sign of privilege. In other words. It is a privilege to ignore the consequences of race in America.”

― Tim Wise

And? Do you even understand those numbers or just throwing out stuff?

Nice link disproving the fact based article I posted.

It had great data points.

@TheWalkingGhost: Maybe you should not force your privileged starting position on everyone else. There are many factors on what makes someone rich:

• access to education,
• access to clean water, food and correct living standards
• Access to information
• Geographical location
• Country born in
• Race
• Gender and many more. Thinking anyone can succeed in America regardless of race is absurd, you are clearly detached from the material conditions in America. A poor black child growing up in the ghettos of Detroit would not have the same chance of success of what a white rich kid would have.

It's no ones fault but your own if you don't succeed in life. Your choices are what put you where you are. How can you blame an entire race for your life not turning out like you wanted? I had a lot of white and black friends throughout school. Most were very smart. Some of them went somewhere in life and some didn't. I have friends who were very smart that ended up being criminals. Both black and white. They made the choice to live that way. It's no one else's fault but their own.

I think the image should speak for itself.

Yes. But it's easier to blame someone else for failure.

It's a shame