CNN's Black in America Gets it Wrong on Black White Wealth Gap

I was recently checking out some of CNN's special, "Black in America," the show they seem to do once a year. In the series, African Americans are analyzed like lab rats in a cage, with producers highlighting every dysfunction imaginable, as if we have a monopoly on counter productive behavior. Although I've always had a good relationship with CNN, I can barely stomach some of what I see. This is not to say that black folks are perfect: but the idea that we are somehow less perfect than whites is nothing short of paternalistic, White Supremacist thinking.

The segment that threw me through the roof was one covering the wealth gap between blacks and whites. In this particular Black in America segment, CNN shows that the wealth gap between blacks and whites is $28,000 to $140,000, with whites being the leaders. They then go on to state that African Americans save and invest less than whites. I give a "check" on most of these numbers, I have no problem with the data.

Where CNN was missing the entire bus was on the reasons for the wealth gap. I was surprised to see them fall into the simple-minded notion that black people are poor relative to whites because we just haven't learned to be financially responsible like white folks. That's a bunch of bull, because white Americans are financially irresponsible too.

The dominant reason for the black white wealth gap is simple: For 400 years, America built itself into a multi-trillion dollar empire on the backs of black people without paying them hardly a penny for their labor. That, my friends, is called slavery. Most wealth in America is inherited wealth, and if there is nothing to pass on to our children, they won't have much when they are adults. Our wealth was stolen from us and passed through the white community from one generation to the next. Now, white families are far wealthier than black ones.

So, here's a note to CNN's Black in America from a Finance Professor who also happens to be an African American male: While you might be tempted to think that black people are poor because we all choose to spend our money on gold chains and Nike sneakers, you might want to go deeper than that. Had slavery not occurred, the wealth gap would not exist. Had reparations for slavery been paid, the wealth gap would not exist. To cite poor choices by some members of our community as the dominant cause for the wealth gap is like blowing up someone's home and saying that the mess was caused by the eight-year old not cleaning up his room. It might be easy to argue that the child isn't cleaning his room, but his decisions cannot alleviate the bomb maker's responsibility in creating the bulk of the mess.

With that said, we can all agree that most Americans manage their money poorly. Whites and blacks are both poor savers and heavy consumers. As I mention in my book, "Black American Money," there is every reason to hold black America accountable for our inability to save and invest the way we should. But if we are going to get to the truth, we must start from a foundation of honesty. By pointing to Rush Limbaugh-like stereotypes to explain the wealth gap between blacks and whites, CNN's Black in America is completely missing the mark.

I hope they go a little deeper next time.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.