Black Economic Gains Wiped Out During “The Great Recession” by Dr. Boyce Watkins

Commentary and Dr. Boyce Watkins
Research by YourBlackWorld.com

Before the recession hit in 2008, millions of African Americans had found their way out of poverty and into the middle class. After the recession, many of them have been knocked right back to where they came from. Black unemployment stands at a staggering 16.2 percent after the latest economic report, and even more stunning has been the disappearance of decades of wealth creation through the value of home ownership.

“For me to live that life we were so comfortable in, we never had to worry about finances, we always had money where I can help my kids and my grandchildren — to go to calling my daughter to borrow $100 because I can’t pay a bill …” said Deborah Goldring, as she described to USA Today how her family has been hit by this recession.

Economists say that the Great Recession lasted from 2007 to 2009. According to the Economic Policy Institute, median net worth of white households was $134,280, compared to just $13,450 for African Americans. By 2007, African Americans went from having a net worth that was 1/10 that of whites to having a net worth that was 1/97th of white Americans.

Algernon Austin, director of the EPI’s Program on Race, Ethnicity and the Economy, said the following: “In 2009, for every dollar of wealth the average white household had, black households only had two cents.”

Since the start of the recession, overall unemployment has dropped from 9.4 percent to 9.1 percent, while black unemployment has risen from 14.7 percent to 16.2 percent.

“I would say the recession is not over for black folks,” Austin says. Austin argues that even for educated African Americans, who face discrimination in the workplace, drops in wealth and employment opportunities will continue. He also cites the fact that African Americans are over represented in government jobs, which are going to be cut in the near future as the government deals with a massive budget deficit.

Discrimination plays a role in the outcomes on the job market as well. A 2003 study at The University of Chicago showed that whites with felony records were more likely to get callbacks than black applicants without criminal records.

Some civil rights leadership have claimed that a lack of targeted policy on behalf of Washington politicians has led to the wealth gap increasing over the last three years. They also argue that dealing with hiring discrimination and supporting urban businesses can go a long way toward correcting the imbalance. To date, the Obama Administration and Congress have made no mention of targeted policy to deal with racial gaps in economic outcomes.