Exploring the Racial Wealth Gap: The Contributions of Redlining and Blockbusting

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Transcript | Summary

During the Economic Mobility Project’s virtual event, Exploring the Racial Wealth Gap: The Contributions of Redlining and Blockbusting, on Tuesday, July 12, 2022, from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm CT (2:00 pm to 3:30 pm ET), we explored the disparate impacts of redlining and blockbusting on the current state of racial wealth inequality.

Black people in the United States have, on average, lower earnings, higher unemployment rates, lower rates of homeownership, and less access to traditional banking services—all factors that contribute to economic disparities between their households and White households. Racially discriminatory housing practices, including redlining and blockbusting, contributed to unequal homeownership rates between Black and White Americans in the twentieth century, with the effects still being felt today. Considering the importance of homeownership in building wealth, we illustrated how these practices have contributed to the racial wealth gap.

The event included the following:

• Overview of the Racial Wealth Gap and Contributing Factors | Working Paper
  Kristen Broady, senior economist, economic advisor and Director of the Economic Mobility Project, Chicago Fed
• The Effects of Redlining Maps on the Long-Run Trajectories of Neighborhoods
  Daniel Aaronson, Senior Vice President and Associate Director of Research, Chicago Fed
• Blockbusting and the Challenges Faced by Black Families in Building Wealth Through Housing in the Postwar United States
  Daniel Hartley, Senior Economist, Chicago Fed
• Panel Discussion: Factors Contributing to the Racial Wealth Gap
  Moderator: Natalie Y. Moore, Journalist
  Andre M. Perry, Senior Fellow at Brookings Metro and scholar-in-residence at American University
  Nicole Elam, President and CEO, National Bankers Association
  William Darity, Samuel DuBois Cook Distinguished Professor of Public Policy, Duke University
  Damon Jones, Associate Professor, University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy