This focus upon disparity misses the point . One group was free and subsidized, the whites; while the other group was enslaved and penalized, the blacks! What's to compare, how far blacks have come or how fast whites have fallen since 1789 or 1865?
http://www.psmag.com/business-economics/why-small-debts-matter-so-much-to-black-lives?utm_source=Pacific%20Standard%20Newsletter&utm_campaign=16fed730c9-daily-rss-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_a4fd1bcb7e-16fed730c9-80439749