“Lower home ownership depresses voter turnout and homeownership for Black Americans has been declining for the past 15 years. Clearly this year is going to be a very high turnout election, but having said that, Black Americans will still be uniquely disadvantaged.” (SHORT THREAD)
According to a new study by Rugh published in Race and Social Problems, Black homeownership has fallen to the lowest level since the 1968 Fair Housing Act. [H]omeownership is strongly tied to voter turnout, even after controlling for other factors.
link.springer.com/article/10.100…
link.springer.com/article/10.100…
Neither education, income, nor credit explain this divide, Rugh finds. For example, Rugh cites research that reports that Black college graduates remain less likely to own their homes than White Americans without a high school diploma. 3/
Data shows that several swing states where Black home ownership dropped between 2008 and 2016—Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin—also saw significant decreases in Black voter turnout in an extremely close election [net of voter ID laws, etc.] 4/
news.byu.edu/intellect/stud…
news.byu.edu/intellect/stud…
For every 10% diff. in Black home ownership at the state-level, Black voter turnout is 9% lower on average. Within states, every 10% drop in ownership leads to a 3% decline in turnout, net of many other stat. sig. factors like year (Obama) & voter ID laws.
link.springer.com/article/10.100…
link.springer.com/article/10.100…
Data from US Federal Reserve’s 2016 Survey of Consumer Finances shows White Americans hold $171,000 in wealth, nearly *10 times* that of Black American households, who hold roughly $17,150. Most wealth is made up of home equity (home value minus mortgage).
news.byu.edu/intellect/stud…
news.byu.edu/intellect/stud…
“The past matters to African Americans in this country,...that they were locked out for so many centuries matters, not just slavery, but also #redlining and other discriminatory practices. Black people in this country don’t have as much wealth to pass on.”
link.springer.com/article/10.100…
link.springer.com/article/10.100…
[C]hanges in homeownership, wealth, and voting reinforce and reshape the color line in America, undermining multiracial democracy.
link.springer.com/article/10.100…
link.springer.com/article/10.100…
#Reparations (h/t @SandyDarity @nhannahjones) represent ultimate solution to the wealth gap
Other steps: safe home loans (@DanImmergluck), more (affordable) housing (@jenny_schuetz), zoning reforms (@jtrothwell), baby bonds (@DarrickHamilton), & public banking (@MehrsaBaradaran)
Other steps: safe home loans (@DanImmergluck), more (affordable) housing (@jenny_schuetz), zoning reforms (@jtrothwell), baby bonds (@DarrickHamilton), & public banking (@MehrsaBaradaran)
Best recent (brief) podcast I've listened to where @SociologistRay & @andreperryedu make clear moral, historical, and logical argument for #reparations to Black American descendants of slavery #ADOS, redlining, & other racist practices that continue today:
In 2020, Black home ownership inched up to 44% (vs. 74% for Whites), yet chasm remains one of *caste* rather than race, as @Isabelwilkerson might argue:
nytimes.com/2020/07/01/mag…
Ex: Black women vote at high rates, but rate would be sky high if Black ownership were at white levels
nytimes.com/2020/07/01/mag…
Ex: Black women vote at high rates, but rate would be sky high if Black ownership were at white levels
Relevant backstory on how Black-White divide persists today, including in home ownership...
washingtonpost.com/business/2020/…
washingtonpost.com/business/2020/…
