[jmyeet]

People really do get all up in their feelings on this issue and end up making emotional arguments based on anecdotes. Oprah Winfrey is an anecdote. Somebody's grandfather starting a business in an 8x8 shack is an anecdote.

What isn't an anecdote is slavery, the politcal and economic disenfranchisement of the Reconstruction Era, segregation, redlining, HOAs (which were started to keep black people out [1]), access to free college education (with the GI Bill), access to cheap mortgages to create generational wealth through property, the resulting decay in infrastructure and education thanks to the resultant "White Flight", over-policing and disproportionate outcomes in the criminal justice system.

There are over 1000 billionaires in the US now, most of them homegrown most likely. There are about 14 black billionaires (27 globally, apparently). This includes Oprah, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and LeBron James. 15% of the US population is black.

The "just invest in stocks" pseudo-advice is this generation's "let them eat cake" A large percentage of the US population do not have disposable income. They are often working several jobs just to live. The "Millionaire Next Door" is more often than not just some guy who bought a house in the 1980s and sat on it.

[1]: https://www.homesweetheadache.com/post/the-true-origins-of-h...