Report | Wages, Incomes, and Wealth

Reversal of fortune: Economic gains of 1990s overturned for African Americans from 2000-07

Briefing Paper #220

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On all major economic indicators—income, wages, employment, and poverty—African Americans were worse off in 2007 than they were in 2000. Although the American economy has grown significantly since 2000, African Americans have not shared in America’s prosperity. The current economic downturn and the subprime mortgage crisis bode ill for the immediate future for African Americans.