Author taps hidden history to advise Black America on closing racial wealth gap

The American dream has been a dream deferred for many Black Americans. More than 17 percent live below the poverty line. The median household income for Black families is almost half of that of white families. Black students are less likely to graduate from college and be hired into high earning jobs. And those who do make it to the workforce earn 15 cents less on the dollar than their white counterparts and carry a heavier burden of student loan debt. These situations are not due to bad luck or bad choices – it’s by design, says Rodney Brooks, author of “The Rise and Fall of the Freedman’s Savings Bank and its Lasting Socio-Economic Impact on Black America.” Author Rodney A. Brooks discusses “The Rise and Fall of the Freedman’s Savings Bank and its Lasting Socio-Economic Impact on Black America” in Washington, D.C. Photo courtesy Rodney A. Brooks Systemic disenfranchisement, racial bias in education, and mismanagement of finances are at the root of a growing racial wealth gap in this country, and the seeds of that marginalization were planted over 150 years ago, according to Brooks. “The economic trajectory and development of capitalism in the U.S. are inextricably linked to...