Research has shown that blacks are relatively disadvantaged when compared with whites
on a host of sociological indicators including on income, education and occupational status.
Recent research has shown blacks are not all equally disadvantaged. In some cases such as
in the case of blacks in Queens County, New York, blacks surpass whites in terms of median
income, especially foreign-born blacks. Yet, blacks fare worse when compared with whites
on indicators of asset ownership. Despite that, some black ethnic groups including those
with roots in the Caribbean or from Africa have been shown to have higher rates of home
ownership and higher housing values than African-Americans. However, few studies
include measures of asset ownership beyond these indicators when assessing the extent
to which ethnicity matters for blacks. The present study examines the following research
questions: (1) What factors explain variations in the likelihood of ownership and the levels
of interest, dividends and rental income owned for blacks? (2) Is ethnicity a significant predictor
for black respondents? (3) Does education and occupation matter more for some
black ethnic groups than for others? The findings reveal that ethnicity plays a significant
role in the acquisition and accumulation of interest, dividends and rental income, but it
does not account for all of the variations observed for blacks. The findings shed further light
on the complexities associated with understanding wealth inequality and racial and ethnic
group variations.