Researchers studied the wealth gap between Black and white Americans over 160 years. They found that while the gap got smaller quickly after the Civil War, progress has slowed down since 1950. Today, white families still have about 6 times more wealth than Black families because they started with much more money after slavery ended.
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White families have 6 times more wealth per person than Black families in 2020
The biggest progress in closing the wealth gap happened in the 50 years right after slavery ended
Since 1950, the wealth gap has stayed about the same and even gotten bigger since the 1980s
Starting conditions after slavery were very different, which explains why the gap is still so large
Income differences alone don't explain the wealth gap - it's much bigger than the income gap
Capital gains and property values have mainly helped white families build more wealth
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