[IMC-Boston-Editorial] New report: Race gap in car ownership in hurricane zones

[Betsy Leondar-Wright]

PRESS ADVISORY FROM UNITED FOR A FAIR ECONOMY
December 21, 2005
Embargoed until January 10, 2006
Contact: Betsy Leondar-Wright, (617) 423-2148 x113,
Pressroom at faireconomy.org

NEW REPORT: 'STALLING THE DREAM" AFTER KATRINA
RACIAL DISPARITIES IN CAR OWNERSHIP ENDANGER PEOPLE OF COLOR

When Hurricane Katrina stranded primarily car-less African Americans, was
that a fluke? Or do racial disparities in vehicle ownership leave low-income
people of color at risk of both natural disasters and chronic poverty?

A new report from United for a Fair Economy (UFE), "Stalling the Dream," to
be released by January 5, will analyze vehicle ownership by race, in
particular in the eleven large cities most often hit by hurricanes in the
last 100 years: Houston, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Jacksonville, St.
Petersburg, Tampa, New York City, Providence, Boston, and New Orleans.

Many state and local evacuation plans rely on private cars as a means of
escape; and in every state white people are more likely to own cars than
people of color. 

The report also examines the crucial role of vehicle ownership plays in
increasing family income and net worth, in particular for people of color
with lower incomes. The racial wealth divide has grown since 2001.

The median net worth of white families increased about 6% after inflation
from 2001 to 2004, to $136,000, while the black median stayed unchanged at
$20,000, according to the Federal Reserve.

Stalling the Dream is the third in UFE¹s series of annual State of the Dream
reports about inequities between white families and African American,
Latino/Hispanic, Asian American and Native American families.

In addition to this report, United for a Fair Economy will have another 2006
publication on the racial wealth gap. In June, The New Press will publish
"The Color of Wealth: The Story Behind the U.S. Racial Wealth Divide."

One of the report¹s co-authors, Emma Dixon, was stranded without electricity
in her Louisiana home for a week by Hurricane Katrina. The others, Meizhu
Lui, Bárbara Robles, and Betsy Leondar-Wright, are also co-authors of "The
Color of Wealth."

In early January "Stalling the Dream" will be posted on the web as a PDF at
http://www.FairEconomy.org/Stalling, with an embargo until January 10.

United for a Fair Economy (http://www.faireconomy.org) is a national
non-partisan non-profit organization that raises awareness of the dangers of
growing economic inequality.


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