Black Meccas are cities where it appears that Black people are thriving more compared to other places in the US. However, the housing values of Black residents living in these areas are substantially lower compared to their white counterparts, which reveals the presence of wealth inequality even in cities where Black people are supposed to experience a better economic well-being. In this episode Dr. Maretta McDonald discusses the recent paper she co-authored titled, “Wealth Matters: Home Ownership, Housing Values, and the Model Minority Myth of Black Meccas in the New South.” 

Maretta McDonald is a 2022-2024 IRP National Poverty Fellow and an Affiliate Faculty of Sociology at Virginia Tech. Her teaching and research focus on racial inequality, criminology, family, gender, and public policy.