1. Chicago's Racial Wealth Gap: Legacies of the Past, Challenges in the Present, Uncertain Futures
- Author:
- Fructoso M. Basaldua Jr., Maximilian Cuddy, Amanda E. Lewis, and Ivan Arenas
- Publication Date:
- 02-2022
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy (IRRPP), University of Illinois at Chicago
- Abstract:
- By the time they reach adulthood, Black and Latinx children born to middle income families in Chicago are far less likely than White children from families with the same income to remain in the middle class or to attain a college degree. These patterns in downward mobility among middle class Black and Latinx Chicagoans are much worse than national averages, raising important questions about the future of Black and Latinx communities in Chicago. In this report, we argue that we need an in-depth understanding of wealth inequality to comprehend why middle class families in Chicago seem to be on such different trajectories. The report centers the life experiences of middle class Black, Latinx, and White families to demonstrate that there is much work to be done to support our middle class families, many of whom are contending today not just with the legacies of past inequities, but also with the ongoing failures of public policy to address basic needs.
- Topic:
- Education, Children, Inequality, Class, Economic Inequality, and Middle Class
- Political Geography:
- North America and United States of America