Racial Discrimination in Finance Unit

Students will be able to

• Define net worth, distinguish it from income, and identify assets and liabilities
• Calculate how long savings can cover costs that unemployment insurance doesn’t, and explain how the money available to workers affects their choices
• Compare wealth and unemployment data across racial and ethnic groups to describe how a downturn can affect them differently
• Evaluate what historical records and data can and cannot show about why racial wealth and unemployment gaps exist, and use them as evidence to support a conclusion

Students will be able to:

• Explain why wages may vary among workers
• Analyze earnings data to identify disparities and evaluate possible explanations
• Evaluate what kinds of evidence may support a conclusion of racial discrimination, rather than only a racial disparity, in employment
• Distinguish legal reasons for pay differences from pay discrimination, and identify where workers may get help if they suspect discrimination
• Explain how sustained earnings differences may affect net worth

Students will be able to

• Explain why people may borrow for major purchases and how access to credit shapes those decisions
• Identify the protections the Equal Credit Opportunity Act gives borrowers
• Describe the steps a borrower can take if they suspect lending discrimination
• Analyze differences in credit denial rates across demographic groups

Students will be able to

• Explain how homeownership may help build wealth
• Define and investigate the practice of redlining and its impact on lending and access to homeownership
• Identify the federal laws that prohibit discrimination and recommend appropriate sources of help for a consumer who suspects or experiences housing discrimination

Students will be able to:

• Explain what can make traditional banking easier or harder to access
• Analyze how race, income, and other factors may relate to banking access
• Explain how higher costs or limited access to financial services may make it harder to build net worth
• Identify steps a customer can take if they believe a bank treated them unfairly, including where to file a complaint