Talk about sticker shock! African-Americans were more than twice as likely as Whites to be charged markups--higher than normal interest rates--on loans financed by General Motors Acceptance Corp. A recent study of 1.5 million GMAC loans made between 1999 and April 2003 found that Blacks paid an average of $656 in extra interest over the life of the loan, compared with an average of $244 paid by Whites. On average, 53.4 percent of Blacks were charged markups, compared with 28.2 percent of Whites. Black postal workers paid an average of $811 mere than White postal workers, and Black teachers paid $595 more than White teachers. Even Black GM employees paid $421 more than their White coworkers. Ouch.

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