For Blacks, Bad Credit Will Outlast Financial Crisis
Blacks disproportionately held sub-prime mortgages and were, therefore, disproportionately impacted when the financial crisis hit. This not only means that more blacks 
have been foreclosed on, it also means that blacks will have a harder time rebuilding their credit, according to The Washington Post:
Lenders also say it is not a factor when deciding who qualifies for a loan; federal laws prohibit the practice. Still, studies have shown a persistent gap between the credit scores of white and black Americans, and many worry that it is only getting wider.
Chicago resident Ida Mae Whitley, 62, used to have stellar credit.
That was before the African American laid eyes on her dream home in Chicago’s Scottsdale neighborhood, where she and her husband hoped to retire — before she said she was steered into a mortgage with more fees and a higher interest rate, putting her in danger of losing her home.
And since blacks were having a harder time before the boom and bust, the coming years may prove even harder:
And for black Americans, that means they are starting at a disadvantage. Even near the height of the country’s economic boom, blacks had lower credit scores than whites. Data collected by the Federal Reserve from 2003 — in the most comprehensive study on race and credit scoring to date — showed that less than a quarter of blacks had prime credit scores. Meanwhile, about 65 percent of whites were in this top tier.
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