how race and gender intersect with the theme of wealth and poverty

Many Americans would easily associate Blacks with poverty, but would just as easily
point to the income gains many Blacks have made and the growth in the Black middle
class in the past decade. And both assertions would be correct. But the problem is that
most poverty statistics don’t include asset poverty and wealth is different from income.
Wealth centers on asset holdings, such as homeownership, private pension plans, and
stock market investments. The Black middle class unfortunately is based more on income
than on assets.

Among some African Americans, there is a sad but true expression that
the difference between middle class and poor is one pay check. Middle class Black
households possess less than one-fifth of the wealth owned by white households and the
wealthiest Blacks have less than 30 percent of the level of wealth possessed by the richest
five percent of whites.

There is a preponderance of data that confirms the great disparity
in the net worth of black households at all points of the wealth distribution.
Despite the importance of wealth accumulation to the financial security of families, there
is very little analysis of wealth by gender and race. While there has been a great deal
written on the precarious financial situation of women, there has been relatively little
analytical work attempting to examine the factors that influence African American
women’s overall financial fitness and wealth attainment. Because wealth attainment
doesn’t occur all at once.