Our Issues Matter — Higher Education & the Wealth Gap

Black Cowork
Sep 8, 2018 · 3 min read

The African American community relies on a number of different ways to spread information word of mouth is still highly prevalent. Newer platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are also spaces where we connect. If none of these sound familiar, don’t fear our mission is to keep you abreast of major topics that are being discussed on social media.

Reparations

Ta-Nehisi Coates, a native of Baltimore, Maryland and Howard alum wrote an award winning article, The Case for Reparations, which was published June 2014 as the cover story in The Atlantic magazine. The piece sparked much debate on and offline but before you get worried take a moment to think about who should be in this conversation and who should quietly remain on the side. If someone has a non British last name, for the most part their ancestors were not here during the 1600’s, 1700’s, nor 1800’s in which slavery was at it’s height before being abolished in 1865. Therefore feel free to completely disregard the opinion of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th generation immigrants who feel they have any say about what happened before they arrived here.

Duke University held a Reparations Now conference featuring a panel of experts and academics. The final takeaway was to never stop asking. It may take a number of attempts, it may require experimentation but we should never limit ourselves to believing it is not possible. There is a very real racial wealth gap that needs to be addressed. In addition, the protections created by the Civil Rights Movement are being chipped away. Here we discuss access to education and the wealth gap.

Black Wealth Inequality

Black family net wealth is under $10,000 where the average White family wealth is over $100,000. Numbers vary based on source. Find a source that works best for you. Wealth is determined when you calculate your assets minus your liabilities. Assets are things you own that can be converted into cash and include property, cash value of life insurance, checking and savings account balances, investment accounts, market value of auto, furniture, clothes, and jewelry. Liabilities are what you owe someone for those assets like your mortgage, student loans, or car payments. While you may do this calculation and find that you have a positive net worth closer to the average white family know that collectively we aren’t doing well. This means that when you walk into a store the assumption is that you have a net worth of $10,000 versus $100,000. When you sit down for a meal at a restaurant, the assumption is that you won’t tip because you have a net worth of $10,000 versus $100,000. Lastly, remember when your children apply for private school admission they are thinking will your family be able to donate to our school.

Blacks & Higher Education

Howard University is placed in heightened cash monitoring status by the Department of Education. Basically, Howard will no longer get upfront federal financial aid for its students instead it will have to seek reimbursement for millions of dollars. This could be unfeasible for Howard.

The Asian community filed a lawsuit against Harvard University stating that their Affirmative Action admission policies discriminate against Asian students. The Department of Justice has supported this claim in a statement of interest. Experts predict the case will make it to the Supreme court this Fall. Hence why Corey Booker asked Supreme Court nominee, Brett M. Kavanaugh, what his position was on Affirmative Action.

Black Cowork

Written by

Writing for the cause. If you like our work, support today $4Blackwomen on Cash App. Follow us on Twitter @blackcowork