Black Wealth/White Wealthoffers a powerful portrait of racial inequality based on an analysis of private wealth. Taking issue with those who point to an expanding black middle class as evidence of greater racial equality,Black Wealth/White Wealthdemonstrates how an analysis of wealth--total assets and debts rather than income alone--uncovers a qualitatively different story about race in America. Providing a comprehensive examination of how material assets are created, expanded and preserved, authors Oliver and Shapiro reveal the persistent and deep economic divide between blacks and whites. Black Wealth/White Wealthcharts the ways inequality has been structured over many generations through the same systematic barriers that have affected blacks throughout their history in America--the legacy of slavery, history of low wages, poor education, restriction of blacks as economic free agents. Oliver and Shapiro examine how and why low blackentrepreneurship, limited access to capital, red-lining practices, local and state policy, the rise of the modern suburb and the making of the urban ghetto have discouraged and impaired the ability of many blacks to accumulate wealth and opportunities for a better life. Combining quantitative data from over 12,000 households and in-depth interviews with a range of black and white families, the authors measure and conceptualize the racial face of wealth in America. The findings uncover vast differences between blacks and whites: 63% of black households have no financial assets, more than twice the rate of whites; nearly three-quarters of black children grow up in households without any financial resources; the white middle class could support its present standard of living for more than four months without a steady stream of income while the typical black middle class household does not have enough wealth to survive a month. The recent movement of blacks into middle class occupations and gains ineducational attainment have not led to commensurate increases in wealth. The racial legacy of the past is etched in present day deprivation of wealth. The authors argue that black achievement at any given level not only requires a greater effort and provides fewer opportunities along the way, but also bestows substantially diminished rewards. The final section ofBlack Wealth/White Wealthidentifies and explores the factors, processes and structures behind the vast inequality between the two races and analyzes why wealth portfolios for blacks and whites of equal stature and accomplishment vary so differently. Pointing up the failure of current public policies to redress the problem--because they are based on a restrictive concept of income--the authors' analysis provides insight into some of the real reasons behind racial inequality and articulates ways to link opportunity structures to policies that promote asset formation and narrow the racial wealth gap.