The foreclosure crisis has hit blacks harder than any other group in America

Blacks' home ownership rate has plummeted nearly 6% to 46.2% since its peak in 2004. That's more than twice that of any other racial or ethnic group, as well as the nation's rate as a whole, which fell only 2.3%, according to U.S. Census data. Also, among recent borrowers, nearly 8% of blacks have lost their homes to foreclosure, compared to 4.5% of whites, according to the Center for Responsible Lending. Latinos, who have also been pummeled by the mortgage meltdown, came in a close second behind blacks in foreclosure losses. Fewer blacks own their home now than any other racial or ethnic group. During the housing boom, nearly seven in 10 Americans owned their home, a gain of 7.8% from a decade earlier. Black Americans saw their home ownership rates rise twice as fast to 49.1%, thanks in large part to easy credit. In addition, black unemployment stood at 16.1% in September 2010, the highest of any group and 6.5 percentage points above the national average.