U.S. Wealth: Not a Class Act

The existence of a large and growing black underclass now has been documented by the U.S. Census Bureau--the hard numbers writ large as a reminder that for all this country’s advances in race relations, economic progress is a myth for many black Americans. It is time for Americans to be more than offended by this inequity; it is time for action by the national government.

The Census Bureau studied both the incomes of Americans--where blacks have made some progress, albeit not enough--and their assets, adding up ownership of homes, cars, stocks and money in the bank. And when it comes to weathering hard times, sending children to college and eating well, whites made out 10 times better than blacks--even though their incomes were just double.

Nearly one-third of black households either have no wealth at all or are in debt. Less than 10% of white households are in that fix. Latinos had more wealth than blacks, but not much. The dollar figures are these: In 1984 white households had a median net worth of $39,135 while black households had $3,397 and Latinos $4,913.

For years segregation kept most blacks out of well-paying jobs and out of many good schools that could have trained them for those jobs, but segregation is history. Through the civil-rights movement Americans marched, legislated, even died to give blacks equal access to the polling place, the public school and the lunch counter.

The next phase tried to redress past injustices through prodding and even requiring corporations and educational institutions to seek out, hire, train and promote members of minorities. The goals of that phase have just been reaffirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in decisions that specifically repudiated attempts by the Reagan Administration to undo the gains of the last 30 years.

The Administration plods ahead anyway, now threatening to water down rules that require companies wanting to do business with the federal government to actively recruit and advance minority members in their ranks. The matter, at issue between the Justice and Labor departments with no leadership whatsoever coming from President Reagan, remains unresolved.

Vigilance among friends of affirmative action will help, but the problem obviously goes far deeper than that and predates the Reagan Administration. Obviously new approaches are needed on unemployment, education and teen-age pregnancy, but even the old solutions aren’t being pursued with any energy. Supporters of civil rights and economic justice are too busy fighting rear-guard actions to preserve past gains to look ahead with any creativity. Only when national leaders commit the country to the dramatic action that is needed will the dismal statistics on wealth in this nation become a matter for the history books and not a blot on the American ledger.