How do we close the racial wealth gap? Are people afraid to talk about race? Is the distinction between race and racism often blurred?
These were some of the topics discussed at the Aspen Institute Symposium on the State of Race in America last month in Washington, DC. The seventh annual Symposium, hosted by the Communications and Society Program in association with Comcast Corporation, focused on the racial wealth gap and the future dialogue on race.
Conversations throughout the day-long event touched on issues of structural racism in housing and education, differences between income and net wealth, and how to change the narrative surrounding race, among others. Participants in the live audience at the Newseum and viewers of the live stream took to social media to engage in the discussion. The event hashtag, #stateofrace, trending nationally on Twitter the morning of the Symposium, is a clear indicator that the state of race in America is a topic at the forefront.
Here are five takeaways from the event and also why one Symposium attendee believes the racial wealth gap is getting worse.
