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The high rates of home foreclosures among African-Americans could damage the credit scores of a generation of blacks and make it harder for them to borrow money for a car, college or other expenses, the Washington Post reported this week.

“For blacks, the picture since the recession has been particularly grim. They disproportionately held subprime mortgages during the housing boom and are facing foreclosure in outsize numbers. That is raising fears among consumer advocates, academics and federal regulators that the credit scores of black Americans have been systematically damaged, haunting their financial futures,” writes the Post‘s Ylan Mui.

She adds, “Groups such as the NAACP and the National Urban League worry that stories such as Whitley’s are signs that the nation’s financial crisis has ushered in a new era of de facto economic segregation. Some community leaders are calling the rebuilding of wealthy in black communities the next frontier for civil rights.”