Black Wealth White Wealth: A New Perspective on Racial Inequality 2E

356 Pages·2006·4.07 MB·English

by  Melvin Oliver

RT19877_FM.qxd 3/21/06 11:29 AM Page 2
Black
Wealth
/
White
Wealth

RT19877_FM.qxd 3/23/06 10:30 AM Page 1
TENTH-ANNIVERSARY EDITION
Black
Wealth
/
White
Wealth
A New Perspective on Racial Inequality
MELVIN L. OLIVER
AND
THOMAS M. SHAPIRO
New York London
Routledge is an imprint of the
Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
RT19877_RT19876_Discl.fm Page 1 Wednesday, November 9, 2005 11:00 AM
Published in 2006 by Published in Great Britain by
Routledge Routledge
Taylor & Francis Group Taylor & Francis Group
270 Madison Avenue 2 Park Square
New York, NY 10016 Milton Park, Abingdon
Oxon OX14 4RN
© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-415-95166-6 (Hardcover) 0-415-95167-4 (Softcover)
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-415-95166-1 (Hardcover) 978-0-415-95167-8 (Softcover)
Library of Congress Card Number 2005032020
No part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publishers.
Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only
for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Oliver, Melvin L.
Black wealth, white wealth : a new perspective on racial inequality / by Melvin Oliver and Thomas
Shapiro.-- 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-415-95166-1 (hardback)
ISBN-13: 978-0-415-95167-8 (pbk.)
1. Wealth--Moral and ethical aspects. 2. Wealth--United States. 3. Equality--United States. 4.
African Americans--Economic conditions. 5. United States--Race relations. I. Shapiro, Thomas M.
II. Title.
HB835.O44 2006
339.2'20973--dc22 2005032020
Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at
http://www.taylorandfrancis.com
Taylor & Francis Group and the Routledge Web site at
is the Academic Division of Informa plc. http://www.routledge-ny.com
For our mentors.
Harold M. Rose and Gerald Simmons—M.L.O.
Robert Boguslaw and Patricia Golden—T.M.S.
George P. Rawick—M.L.O and T.M.S
RT19877.indb 5 3/23/06 4:54:14 PM
RT19877.indb 6 3/23/06 4:54:14 PM
Contents
Preface to the Tenth-Anniversary Edition ix
Preface xiii
Introduction 1
1 Race, Wealth, and Equality 11
2 A Sociology of Wealth and Racial Inequality 35
3 Studying Wealth 55
4 Wealth and Inequality in America 69
5 A Story of Two Nations: Race and Wealth 93
6 The Structuring of Racial Inequality in American
Life 129
7 Getting Along: Renewing America’s Commitment
to Racial Justice 175
RT19877.indb 7 3/23/06 4:54:14 PM
viii  /  Contents
Eplilogue Changing Context of Black Wealth/White Wealth:
1995 to 2005 199
8 Wealth Inequality Trends 201
9 The Emergence of Asset-Based Policy 229
Appendix A 269
Appendix B 283
Notes 287
References 309
References to Epilogue, Chapter 8, and Chapter 9 323
Index 331
RT19877.indb 8 3/23/06 4:54:14 PM
Preface to the Tenth-
Anniversary Edition
This edition of Black Wealth/White Wealth represents an attempt to answer
the question: What are the most important changes in the last ten years affect-
ing racial inequality and the racial wealth gap? Since Black Wealth/White
Wealth was published in 1995, we have had the great fortune of presenting our
ideas nationally and internationally before interested citizens, students, social
scientists, and policy makers. These conversations engaged our thinking, often
pushing our ideas on many different levels. Often, too, interested readers have
asked us if we had plans for a new edition. This is our attempt to engage
old and new readers in the continuing conversation that Black Wealth/White
Wealth tapped into.
The book touched a need for a new way of examining racial inequality
and brought a fresh approach to these issues. The distinction between income
and wealth, the racial wealth gap, the connection of the past and the present
through examining wealth, the racialization of state policy, the role of the
state, the centrality of institutional arenas in wealth accumulation, and the
new policy directions we outlined have all stimulated scholarly discussion and
debate and a new policy direction. An indication of the stimulating character
RT19877.indb 9 3/23/06 4:54:14 PM