Duke University economist Sandy Darity has studied racial wealth gaps, and his conclusions are stark. According to Darity, “for families in which the lead earner has a college degree, the average white family has $180,500 in wealth. The average black family? $23,400.” As Ezra Klein of Vox remarked, “that’s a difference of almost $160,000–$160,000 that could be used to send a kid to college, get through an illness, start a small business, or make a down payment on a home that builds wealth for the next generation, too.”
