Opinion: What the Great Recession stole from black America

Opinion: What the Great Recession stole from black AmericaBy William M. Rodgers III, Special to CNNMoneyOctober 20, 2010 -- Updated 1201 GMT (2001 HKT)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Gains among African Americans in the 1990s have almost been erased by the current Great Recession.

Job erosion was greatest among those aged 20 to 34.

African Americans bore the brunt of the recession, and they will bear the brunt of a slow economic recovery. William M. Rodgers III is professor of public policy and chief economist at the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University.

CNN's Soledad O'Brien looks at how some are fighting debt from the pulpit in "Almighty Debt: A Black in America Special," premiering at 9 p.m. ET on October 21.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The economic boom of the 1990s led to an historic expansion on Main Street, especially for African Americans. But in the decade that followed, a major unraveling began that pushed many blacks back onto the side streets of America.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/10/20/inam.money.great.recession/index.html