Unpacking the Racial Wealth Gap

Understanding the Disparity

The racial wealth gap in America didn’t happen by chance—it is the result of centuries of systemic injustice and exclusion. To fully grasp its magnitude, we must understand the deep-rooted historical forces that have shaped it.
Until 1865, the vast majority of 
Black people in the United States 
were enslaved, forced to labor 
without wages, denied freedom, 
and stripped of property rights.
For another century, until the 1965 Civil Rights Act, Jim Crow laws and segregation severely limited Black people’s access to education, 
housing, and the right to vote.

In the past fifty years, discriminatory practices like “redlining,” mortgage discrimination, appraisal bias and predatory lending have continued to limit home ownership and equity-building opportunities for Black families.

The Economic Impact

Closing the racial wealth gap is not just a matter of fairness; this wealth disparity has a significant negative impact on the broader economy. A Morgan Stanley analysis found that racial housing inequality has cost nearly 800,000 jobs, $400 billion in tax revenue, and prevented about five million people from owning homes.
Take The Pledge

According to the U.S. Federal Reserve, the median wealth of white households ($285,000) was more than six times greater than that of Black households ($44,890) in 2022.

While Black wealth has been increasing, particularly due to rising home equity values, white wealth has been growing even faster, leading to a widening gap. Despite a narrowing income gap among less wealthy Americans, The Brookings Institution reported in 2024 that the wealth gap continues to expand.

Reflect on Your Wealth Accumulation

Do you know your own net worth? Have you reflected on the tools that helped you build it? Once you understand your own wealth, and how your wealth compares to the rest of America, think about how you accumulated it.

For most people, the answer is a combination of the following:

[ 1 ] educational opportunity that opened career options and
salary choices

[ 2 ] access to credit or capital for business growth or other
investments

[ 3 ] home ownership

[ 4 ] generational wealth transfer

The racial wealth gap is a consequence of the systematic denial of Black access to those wealth-building tools over the past 400 years. The INSPIRE Campaign℠ is an invitation to understand that history, acknowledge its impact, and take concrete steps to address the consequences. Let’s come together in this journey to close the racial wealth gap and build a more equitable America! 

Take The Pledge

Thank you for your interest in donating to the INSPIRE campaign. 

You can send donations via Zelle to donation@theinspirecampaign.org or mail us a physical check to: 

INSPIRE Equity, Inc.
88 Shepherd Village Circle
Shepherdstown, WV 25443

Please send us your name and snail/email address to donation@theinspirecampaign.org so we can send you a receipt for your tax deductible donation.
Jamie Campbell Board Member
Jamie Campbell, Ph.D., CDE, is the Associate Dean of Diversity Enhancement Programs at the Smeal College of Business at The Pennsylvania State University. Jamie has had a career working with underrepresented persons in academia and corporate America. He has helped to define and shape policy supporting the advancement of individuals who may not have been afforded opportunities to reach their full potential due to systemic barriers. Jamie obtained his BA from Morehouse College, M.Ed., Central Michigan University, and Ph.D. The Pennsylvania State University. Jamie and Kimberly reside in State College PA with their three daughters, Grace, Vivian, and Lillian. He joined the INSPIRE board to help close the wealth gap that African Americans are facing today through words and actions.
Peter O’Driscoll Chair of the Board
Peter O’Driscoll has been executive director of Equitable Food Initiative since 2011, where he leads a multi-stakeholder collaboration to improve wages and working conditions for agricultural labor throughout the Americas. After earning a bachelor’s degree in history and literature from Harvard College and a master’s in economic development from Columbia University, Peter’s prior career covered advocacy, research and program management in several nonprofit organizations focused on humanitarian assistance, refugee relief and international food system reform. He lives with his wife Christine Reesor in Takoma Park, MD, where they raised two daughters. Peter helped to found INSPIRE in 2020 out of a conviction that true racial reconciliation in America requires that our society confront and address the historical inequities that created today’s egregious Black-White racial wealth gap.