12 charts that show how Black Americans face alarming economic inequality — and suggest it could worsen due to the coronavirus pandemic

A demonstrator holds up a sign during a rally north of Lafayette Square near the White House to protest police brutality and racism, on June 6, 2020 in Washington, DC.Jose Luis Magana/AFP via Getty Images

• The recent wave of Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality are also serving to highlight gaping economic inequality between white and Black Americans.
• These gaps have served to stagnate the financial wellbeing of Black people for generations, experts say.
• "Racism generates exclusion, discrimination, oppression, exploitation in a number of ways," Valerie Wilson, a director at the Economic Policy Institute, told Business Insider.
• Twelve charts show racial disparities in unemployment rates, household wealth, earnings, and other economic indicators.

In recent weeks, protests against police brutality have swept American cities large and small. They come in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic that killed Black people at disproportionately higher rates.

But the wave of Black Lives Matter demonstrations is also shedding renewed light on the persistent inequality between whites and Blacks that has formed a cornerstone of American life for generations.

Black Americans have borne the brunt of the economic fallout of the pandemic, losing jobs at a faster pace compared to whites. Experts say these gaps have served to stagnate the finances and reduce the economic security of Black people, setting back their chances for upward mobility and, as a result, a fair shot at prosperity.

Valerie Wilson, the director of the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute's program on race, ethnicity, and the economy, says the existence of racism erects systemic barriers within the economy that harm the financial wellbeing of Black people.

"Racism generates exclusion, discrimination, oppression, exploitation in a number of ways," Wilson told Business Insider. "It's not just physical violence."

Wilson said the pandemic could further accelerate inequality between white and Black Americans.

As a group, Black Americans are significantly less likely to have wealth and savings to fall back on after a job loss. And they often lose work early on when the economy craters, which has prompted economists to characterize the issue as "first fired, last hired."

Here are 12 charts that illustrate the alarming inequality between white and Black Americans across the economy.