ABSTRACT
The Great Recession of 2007–2009 is among the 13 economic downturns that have hit the United States (US) economy since the Great Depression that lasted for 43 months from 1929 to 1933. The housing debacle, although devastating for African American families, cannot be accused of being the sole cause for the wealth gap between Blacks and Whites. Economic disparities were a fact of American life long before the foreclosure issues and the Great Recession. The racial wealth gap between white and black families in the United States makes itself more and more apparent each fiscal year. An illustration of the contribution the racial divide made to these disparities is mortgage brokers intentionally promoting and selling subprime mortgages specifically to black families and individuals. Stratification economics presumes a rationality of discrimination – that discrimination serves a functional role in maintaining social hierarchy and promoting the privileged group’s relative class status.
