A core part of my argument is that wealth, as distinct from income, offers the key to understanding racial stratification.... The difference between the two is often muddled in the public mind, and only recently have the social sciences begun to treat wealth as an intrinsically important indication of family well-being that is quite different from income.... Wealth represents a more permanent capacity to secure advantages in both the short and long term, and it is transferred across generations.

pp. 32-33 - The Hidden Cost of Being African American: How Wealth Perpetuates Inequality (2005)