Originally published in What’s Possible: The Tides Blog

The recession that was supposed to have ended in 2009 has become a depression for many communities of color. The Pew Research Center’s astounding report “Wealth Gaps Rise to Record Highs Between Whites, Blacks, Hispanics” is the most recent to draw this conclusion. Consider it’s findings. The median wealth of white households is 20 times that of black households and 18 times that of Hispanic households. From 2005 to 2009, inflation-adjusted median wealth fell by 66% among Hispanic households and 53% among black households, compared with just 16% among white households. This is the biggest racial wealth divide this country has seen in the past 25 years. This wasn’t the first news story to highlight the problem. Just a few weeks ago, Jesse Washington’s Associated Press article on the shrinking Black middle class was carried in every major newspaper in the country. …