White households in Boston have a median net worth of $247,500. African-Americans there have a median net worth of $8. And that isn’t a typo.

Why is there such a huge disparity? Dr. Art Goldsmith, Jackson T. Stephens Professor of Economics at Washington and Lee University, believes “It’s all about preserving privilege. You can discriminate against somebody,” he said, “without hating them. What you want is…