Slowly but measurably, the disparity between the races in income has diminished, in part as a result of affirmative action.54 But the dramatic wealth gap has endured. At the end of the twentieth century, as a major study reported, “the net worth of the typical white family is $81,000 compared to $8,000 for black families . . . only 10 cents for every dollar of wealth held by white families.” Having lost out in so dramatic a way when federal mortgages first came on line, African Americans have not begun to catch up. Today, “the most dramatic difference is the wealth effect of homeownership.
