Massachusetts

The Racial Wealth Gap Is Vast: 2020 Democrats Have Plans to Close It

In many ways, it's a defining issue of the 2020 cycle so far, one that brings together multiple trends that are transforming the party

If you’ve been to an event with a Democrat running for president this year, there's a good chance you’ve heard about it: the racial wealth gap.

Candidates are regularly bringing up the fact that the typical black family has only one-tenth the assets of the typical white family — a divide that has grown larger than it was 35 years ago, NBC News reports.

In Iowa, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts gives detailed history lessons on how discriminatory policies created the wealth gap while predatory lending and mass incarceration exacerbated it. Beto O’Rourke, the former Texas congressman, condemns the “imperfect, unfair, unjust and racist capitalist economy."

Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey doesn’t just bring up the disparity in places like New Hampshire, he brings state-specific data along with him.

Politicians, academics and activists who’ve worked on these issues say this cycle is unique both in the emphasis White House hopefuls have put on the racial wealth gap, but also the type of detailed agendas they've proposed to address it.

Contact Us