Racial Wealth Gap Affects Children
Real Reason for the US-Viet Nam War
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2d & 4th Saturdays each month, by 9 a.m. East Coast US time. These editions focus on unrebutted facts about US racism, shown in The 1619 Project book (16 Nov. 2021). For, as some prior editions of this newsletter show, a common pattern of greed and racism appeared in the US colonial activity in Viet Nam and in life in the US. Knowing about racism in the US, thus, is part of understanding US leaders’ reliance on violence against Viet Nam.[i]
1st & 3rd Saturdays each month, by 9 a.m. East Coast US time. These editions focus on the real reason for the 1954–75 US-Viet Nam War.
Prior issues may be viewed at https://briandroesch.substack.com/ Click “See all” to view the earliest issues.
Wealth Gap Effects
A 10-to-1 gap in average wealth exists between white families and black families. It is caused by centuries of discrimination.[ii]
That wealth gap affects children. As The 1619 Project book (2021) states:[iii]
Wealth, not simply securing equal rights, is the means to security in America. Wealth—assets and investments minus debt—is what enables you to buy a home in a safer neighborhood with better amenities and better-funded schools. It is what enables you to send your children to college without saddling them with tens of thousands of dollars of debt and what provides money for a down payment on a house. It is what prevents family emergencies or unexpected job losses from turning into catastrophes that leave you homeless and destitute. It is what ensures what every parent wants: that your children will have fewer struggles than you did. Wealth is security and peace of mind. It’s not incidental that wealthier people are healthier and live longer. Wealth is, as a 2019 Yale study titled “The Misperception of Racial Economic Inequality” states, “the most consequential index of economic well-being” for most Americans. But wealth is not something most people create solely by themselves; it is accumulated across generations. While unchecked discrimination still plays a significant role in circumscribing opportunities for Black Americans, it is white Americans’ centuries-long economic head start that most effectively maintains racial caste today.
Conclusion. Some of those effects of the wealth gap are noticeable to schoolchildren. Without an explanation, in age-appropriate curriculum, some children would think that the gap is caused by racial superiority and inferiority, rather than being caused by longtime discrimination.
[i] Hannah-Jones, N., Roper, Caitlin, Silverman, Ilena, Silverstein, Jake, & New York Times Company. (2021). The 1619 Project: A new origin story (First ed.). New York: One World.
[ii] Wealth gap. The 1619 Project, pp. 456–71.
[iii] Effects on children. The 1619 Project, p. 456.