RT19877_FM.qxd 3/21/06 11:29 AM Page Black Wealth/ White Wealth RT19877_FM.qxd 3/23/06 10:30 AM Page TENTH-ANNIVERSARY EDITION Black Wealth/ White Wealth A New Perspective on Racial Inequality M E LV I N L O L I V E R AND T H O M AS M S H A P I R O New York London Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business RT19877_RT19876_Discl.fm Page Wednesday, November 9, 2005 11:00 AM Published in 2006 by Routledge Taylor & Francis Group 270 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10016 Published in Great Britain by Routledge Taylor & Francis Group Park Square 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 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.) Wealth Moral and ethical aspects Wealth United States Equality United States African Americans Economic conditions 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 is the Academic Division of Informa plc and the Routledge Web site at 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 3/23/06 4:54:14 PM RT19877.indb 3/23/06 4:54:14 PM Contents Preface to the Tenth-Anniversary Edition Preface xiii Introduction 1 Race, Wealth, and Equality 11 A Sociology of Wealth and Racial Inequality 35 Studying Wealth 55 Wealth and Inequality in America 69 A Story of Two Nations: Race and Wealth 93 The Structuring of Racial Inequality in American Life 129 Getting Along: Renewing America’s Commitment to Racial Justice 175 RT19877.indb ix 3/23/06 4:54:14 PM viii / Contents Eplilogue Changing Context of Black Wealth/White Wealth: RT19877.indb 1995 to 2005 199 Wealth Inequality Trends 201 The Emergence of Asset‑Based Policy 229 Appendix A 269 Appendix B 283 Notes 287 References 309 References to Epilogue, Chapter 8, and Chapter 323 Index 331 3/23/06 4:54:14 PM Preface to the TenthAnniversary 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 affecting 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 3/23/06 4:54:14 PM ... AM Page Black Wealth/ White Wealth RT19877_FM.qxd 3/23/06 10:30 AM Page TENTH-ANNIVERSARY EDITION Black Wealth/ White Wealth A New Perspective on Racial Inequality M E LV I N L O L I V E R AND... and Shapiro many whites denies it to blacks, thus forging an intimate connection between white wealth accumulation and black poverty Just as blacks have had “cumulative disadvantages,” many whites... occupational attainment, or education It is our argument that wealth reveals a particular network of social relations and a set of social circumstances that convey a unique constellation of meanings