Richest members of society now taking greater share of the national mean
By many measures, the U.S. has made important strides when it comes to Civil Rights: The racial gaps in educational achievement, life expectancy, and wages, though still considerable, have all narrowed measurably in the past 50 years. Yet in one marker of fundamental importance — family income — disparities between black and white have remained virtually unchanged since 1968. “Despite concerted efforts to close racial gaps, the median African-American today has a family income about 56 percent that of the median white person,” says Robert Manduca, a doctoral student in sociology and social policy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. “That ratio hasn’t changed much since 1968, when it was 57 percent. So the question is why, 50 years later, when racial gaps in other areas have narrowed, why aren’t we seeing a corresponding narrowing for income?” In a study published in Sociological Science, Manduca argues that a major reason that...