The Boston Fed collaborated with some academics in 2015 to produce a report on the racial wealth gap in the city. They surveyed residents from several racial and ethnic background, singling out Black families who had lived in the U.S. for multiple generations as a subgroup to isolate people who had been affected by historically racist laws and policies. The report found that white households in the greater Boston area had a median net worth of almost $250,000, while Black families had only $8. This number was cited in local media, justifiably, because of the stark disparity. The research had some more detailed things to say about structural factors behind the city’s wealth gap. Ahead of the Boston Fed’s follow-up report, which is currently under way, I think they’re worth looking at. You can see the final product here.
The report found that the structural tools of long-term wealth creation — homeownership, stock ownership, retirement accounts — are much more likely to be in the hands of Boston’s white residents. Structural barriers to creating wealth — several forms of debt including medical, student loan, and mortgage debt — are more likely to affect Black residents, especially those who are multigenerational. White Bostonians have higher incomes, which the authors note makes them more able to weather short-term financial shocks, but they emphasize the importance of the structural factors above in determining long-term outcomes.
The Boston Fed’s report and methodology can be found here.
I got some more experience with ai2html and with using visuals to move a narrative along.
Some research into why this is disparity is so pronounced in Boston would be interesting! It makes sense that it would be the case: the city is historically very physically segregated, but attempting to understand specific city policies and other factors that contribute to this will be an important next step.