The first large public housing in St. Louis, Cochran Gardens, was completed in 1953 and intended for low-income whites.

It is increasing, disturbingly, among low-income whites and Hispanics.

The shortfall of advanced-placement courses has been found to afflict rural areas as well, putting low-income whites at a competitive disadvantage when they apply to college.

In the New York area, high-income African-Americans were four times as likely as low-income whites to have subprime loans.

So has the gap between high- and low-income whites.

In recent years the gender gap has been widening, especially among low-income whites and Hispanics.

But some admissions officers acknowledge that they make allowances for lower scores among blacks and Hispanic students and, at some colleges, for low-income whites.

Advocates say such plans provide historically disadvantaged groups (including low-income whites) with unprecedented access to elite state universities and produce a diverse student body.

Initially intended for low-income whites, the 704-unit block was desegregated in 1956.

Studies found out that high-income blacks were almost twice as likely to end up with subprime home-purchase mortgages as low-income whites.