Why Black Capitalism Can't Overcome America's Racial Wealth Gap

Guest: Mehrsa Baradaran, JD, Professor of Contracts and Banking Law, University of Georgia, Author, “The Color of Money: Black Banks and Racial Wealth Gap” When Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, blacks held less than one percent of all the country’s wealth. And that’s not really surprising, since you slaves weren’t allowed to own anything. But more than 150 years later, the number has barely budged. Blacks still hold only about one percent of the wealth in the U.S., even though they make up 13 percent of the population. University of George Law professor Mehrsa Baradaran points out this staggering fact in the introduction to her new book, “The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap.” She argues the gap persists because US politicians and black community leaders have time and after time pinned their hopes on the wrong solution: black-owned banks serving black customers.