Many American families use the equity in their home to finance the higher education of their children or grandchildren. This source of higher education funding is less available to African Americans.
The huge wealth gap between Black and Whites makes it harder for African American families to finance the college education of their children. Even for African Americans who have higher incomes, there are significant barriers to accumulating wealth.
The racial wealth gap has tremendous consequences in the ability of African Americans to afford higher education. The report finds that in 2009 the median net worth of White households was $265,000. For Black households, the figure was $28,500.
According to the Federal Reserve, between 2007 and 2010, nonwhite and Hispanic families saw their median net worth dropped from $29,700 to $20,400. This is a decline of 31.3 percent.