Commentary: Dedrick Asante-Muhammad and Tyler Bond - Biden has chance to close racial divide
Dedrick Asante-Muhammad and Tyler Bond
Jan. 25, 2021
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Twelve years ago, the inauguration of America’s first Black president had many Americans believing that a future free of racial discrimination and inequality was finally within reach.
This year, as Obama’s former vice president, Joe Biden, takes office amid a surge in far-right violence, it’s clear we have a long way to go not just to build a safer country for all of us, but to close the vast racial wealth divide.
Despite Obama’s historic victory, his administration made little to no progress in bridging this divide.
Biden Needs to Make Closing the Racial Wealth Divide a Priority on Day One
President-elect Joe Biden speaks as Vice President-elect Kamala Harris looks on during day two of laying out his plan on combating the coronavirus at the Queen theater January 15, 2021, in Wilmington, Delaware.
Alex Wong / Getty Images
Twelve years ago, the inauguration of America’s first Black president had many Americans believing that a future free of racial discrimination and inequality was finally within reach.
This year, as Obama’s former vice president Joe Biden takes office amid a surge in far-right violence, it’s clear we have a long way to go not just to build a safer country for all of us, but to close the vast racial wealth divide.
Contributing Writer
Twelve years ago, the inauguration of America’s first Black president had many Americans believing that a future free of racial discrimination and inequality was finally within reach.
This year, as Obama’s former vice president Joe Biden takes office amid a surge in far-right violence, it’s clear we have a long way to go not just to build a safer country for all of us, but to close the vast racial wealth divide.
Despite Obama’s historic victory, his administration made little to no progress in bridging this divide.
Over Obama’s presidency, median Black wealth never returned to even its modest $10,700 from before the Great Recession. By 2013, it had dropped to just $1,700 virtually nothing even as white wealth rebounded.