evidence: Boosting homeownership among Black people in America begins with owning up to a history of racial discrimination in the real estate and mortgage industries, say GW researchers studying the homeownership gap. [...] The latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that for nearly three-quarters of non-Hispanic white households in this country, homeownership is a reality. For Black Americans, however, it remains a dream for the majority; only 43 percent of Black households live in a home they own. This homeownership gap—a 30 percentage point difference between non-Hispanic white and Black homeownership rates—is as large as it has been in 120 years. It is also intrinsically linked to the growing wealth gap between Black and white Americans, says Vanessa Perry, a professor at the GW School of Business. White households have a median net worth at least 10 times that of Black households, according to a report she co-authored in 2020 for the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB). [...] Since then, numerous policies and initiatives have aimed to boost Black homeownership rates; most notably, the Fair Housing Act, signed into law in 1968, prohibited discrimination in the sale, rental and financing of housing.