In the News: Rising Incomes, Persistent Gaps: A Closer Look at Wealth Inequality

The Boston Globe’s Tiana Woodard spoke to President Dr. Yves Salomon- Fernández about the recent US Census Bureau data and the racial wealth gap. 

Recently released data by the US Census Bureau revealed that in the past year across the city and state, Black income rose 12% and Asian American income increased 7%, while the Hispanic median income fell 2%. However, white families in Boston are the only group with a median household income exceeding $100,000.  

This report quantified what many of the Black, Latino, and Asian American households Urban College of Boston serves feel: the racial income gap still exists despite widespread increases to their incomes, as income does not always correlate to wealth-building.   

The Boston Globe’s Tiana Woodard sought out to ask why the racial wealth gap persists in Boston and beyond and spoke to Urban College of Boston’s president Dr. Yves Salomon- Fernández about ways to address the income gaps to improve the financial health of communities of color.  

“People might look at it and say, ‘Oh, it’s just 2 percent,” she said. “But a 2 percent decrease over time can become really significant. This is a call to action.” 

As both a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI) that targets nontraditional students, Urban College is uniquely positioned to help Black, Latino, and Asian American households obtain an education to build professional careers that build generational wealth. Recognizing that college debt hampers low-income students’ ability to obtain an advanced degree and build wealth, Urban College has committed to a low- to no-debt model.  

However, the census’ limited options for demographic characters also makes it hard to pinpoint the root causes of the income gap, and as President Salomon- Fernández said, one household that is either extremely impoverished or rich could skew the data and cause readers to draw misleading conclusions about a particular community.  

“It doesn’t mean we don’t have an issue or a problem to address,” Salomon-Fernández said. “It just means we need to further disaggregate the data to understand what we can learn from the groups that are doing well, and what we know about the groups that aren’t succeeding at the same rates.” 

Through our work to educate nontraditional learners, Urban College of Boston is a facilitator helping students of color access the tools to build individual and family wealth.   

Read the full Boston Globe article here.