Tampa Bay Times
By Emily L. Mahoney
Jul. 9
Updated Jul. 9
Before the pandemic threw the economy into a tailspin and left millions unemployed and worried about the future of their housing, a slower, quieter crisis was already well underway when it comes to who owns homes in America.
The gap between Black and white rates of homeownership — a key way that families acquire wealth — had widened by 2017 to be larger than it was in 1960, according to an analysis by the Urban Institute. That means the racial gap is greater today than it was before the passage of the Fair Housing Act, a time when redlining was common and Black home buyers were discriminated against by lenders.