History Matters
Differences in owning homes across generations come from big gaps in wealth between white people and communities of color. [] One reason for this wealth gap in the U.S. is due to historical policies like the Serviceman’s Readjustment Act of 1944, also known as the GI Bill. This bill helped veterans from World War II get mortgages. But, in places like New York and northern New Jersey, out of 67,000 mortgages backed by the GI Bill, fewer than 100 went to non-white veterans. []
[H18] Shapiro, T., Meschede, T., Osoro, S. (2013). The Roots of the Widening Racial Wealth Gap: Explaining the Black-White Economic Divide. Institute on Assets and Social Policy. https://heller.brandeis.edu/iere/pdfs/racial-wealth-equity/racial-wealth-gap/roots-widening-racial-wealth-gap.pdf
[H19] Katznelson, I. (2005). When Affirmative Action was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America. WW Norton & Company. https://wwnorton.com/books/When-Affirmative-Action-Was-White/