Center on Race and Wealth

The mission of the Center on Race and Wealth is to enrich research, dialogue, and policy formation related to asset building, wealth accumulation, racial wealth disparities, racial disparities in law enforcement, poverty, and inequality.

Recent Announcements

2023 Graduate Student Research Workshop Call For Applications – Due 2/1/2023

Application Deadline: February 1, 2023, 11:59 p.m. CST
Informational Webinar: Thursday, December 1, 2022, 10:00–10:30 a.m. CST


Howard University’s Center on Race and Wealth (CRW) and the Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison seek applications for their Graduate Student Research Workshop on Poverty and Economic Mobility. This week-long workshop, held at Howard University in Washington, D.C., is aimed at pre-proposal doctoral students in the social sciences studying topics related to poverty or inequality in the United States who are from groups that are underrepresented in academia. Funding is provided by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as part of IRP’s National Poverty Research Center award.

To learn more, please visit the application on the IRP Website.

Welcome!

We are pleased to welcome you to the website of the Howard University Center on Race and Wealth. This Center was created by a grant from the Ford Foundation’s initiative on Building Economic Security over a LifetimeSince 2007, we have been carrying out research on the topic of racial wealth disparities. We engage academic researchers and state and regional asset building coalition leaders in research that will inform the public and policy makers about the causes, consequences, and solutions to the problem of racial wealth disparities.

We hope you are informed by what you find on this site and are motivated to get involved in finding a solution to closing the racial wealth gap. If you have questions or if there is something we can do to assist you, please let us know.

Thank you for your interest in the work of the Center.

Haydar Kurban

Director and Principal Investigator
Center on Race and Wealth

Brenda Young
Administrative Assistant
HURB-1
Howard University

1840 Seventh Street, NW, Room 316
Washington, DC 20001

Phone: (202) 865-8582
Fax: (202) 232-6751
Email: crw@howard.edu

African Americans & Financial Hardship

At least 25% of African American families had no assets to turn to in times of economic hardship.
– Institute on Assets and Social Policy May 2010

People of Colors' Net Worth

An estimated 41.7% of Black households and 37.4% of Latino households lack enough net worth to subsist for three months at the poverty level without income, as compared to 16.4% of White households.
– United for a Fair Economy January 2011

The Wealth Gap

Median wealth for single Black women ages 36-49 was $5 compared to $42,600 for single White women in this same age group.
– Corporation for Enterprise Development Spring 2010

Housing Opportunities

Based on the Housing Opportunity Index, 80.3 % of White families could afford a home in 2010, compared to 53% of Black families and 51 % of Hispanic families.
– National Home Builders, 2011

Cash Flow During Retirement

An estimated 60.4% of White women receive retirement income from assets compared to 25.4% of Black women.
– Corporation for Enterprise Development Spring 2010

The Possibility of Foreclosure

African Americans were roughly 20% more likely to go into foreclosure than similarly situated Whites. 
– Jayasundera, Silver, Anacker, & Mantcheva 2010

Announcements

No current announcements.