Thread by @arghavan_salles

Please read this piece by @DionRabouin debunking the top 10 MYTHS about the racial wealth gap (eg, suggestions that Black people should get more education, save more, etc).

I’ll share some highlights from the piece here.

THREAD.

1/

axios.com/racial-wealth-…

Is the gap due to lack of education? Turns out, matched for level of education, Black people still have less wealth than white people.

In addition, Black people with post-college advanced degrees have “about 1/2 as much wealth as the avg white earner with just a college degree.”

If only Black people would buy more houses, would the racial wealth gap disappear?

No, it is wealth that allows people to buy homes, not the other way around.

3/

While white families have benefited from federal loans and secure mortgages, Black families have often been denied loans except in predatory settings. So the homes they are able to buy are lower priced.

4/

Ok, but maybe the real issue is that Black people don’t save money? Controlling for level of income, Black families save more than white families.

5/

What about Black-owned banks? Maybe if Black people invested in Black-owned banks, would that make a difference?

“If every single Black-owned business put every single dollar of its revenue into Black-owned banks every year..."

6/

"...after a decade Black-owned banks would have 6% of the total assets that banks led by white people had in the fourth quarter of 2019.”

Put another way: “It would take just under 30 years of every dollar earned by all of the Black-owned businesses..."

7/

"...invested in Black-owned banks for their assets to surpass those held by one bank, JPMorgan Chase, in the first quarter of this year.”

So that's a no.

8/

Maybe Black people should be more entrepreneurial? Well, Black-owned businesses receive less startup funding & financing. While 40% of Black-owned businesses get the full start-up funding they seek, non-minority-owned businesses get this 68% of the time.

9/

Well, maybe the real issue is lack of financial literacy? While some have argued that Black people use payday lending and check cashing stores due to lack of knowledge, data suggest it is economic challenges, not lack of knowledge, that lead to usage of these predatory services.

Bottom line: no matter how much Black people do to achieve/save/invest, they cannot overcome systemic inequalities & racism or the impact of slavery. To make changes across the board and fix this injustice, we need everyone, not just Black people, on board.

11/

Thanks to @jemelehill @dionrabouin, and @andreperryedu for discussing these myths yesterday and raising awareness. If you missed it, check out their clips on the @axios page or on their individual pages.

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cc @drjessigold @DrAyanaJordan @FutureDocs @RakheeBhayaniMD @DrHowardLiu @WrayCharles @rhoineyd @uche_blackstock @gradydoctor @SashaShillcutt @DrJRMarcelin @londyloo @GlennonDoyle @DrJenGunter @AmyOxentenkoMD @choo_ek @DoctorYasmin @RoxanaDaneshjou @ADocNamedDani @rocketgirlmd