Research Material for Speech- "The Broken Promise of 'Brown v Board of Education' ", 2004

The State of the Dream 2004: Enduring Disparities in Black and White

Unemployment

"When there is massive unemployment in the black community, it is called a social problem. But when there is massive unemployment in the white community, it is called a depression."

--Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Local 1199 Salute to Freedom March, 1968

• Currently, one out of nine African Americans cannot find a job.

• In 1972, Blacks had just over twice the unemployment rate of whites - 10.4% versus 5.1%. In 2003 Blacks had more than twice the unemployment rate of whites - 10.8% versus 5.2%.

• Except for 1973 and the years 1998-2001, the annual Black unemployment rate has been at least 10.0% since 1972.

[image:] Graph titled: Unemployment Rate, 1972 and 2003. Contains the following text: The Black-White Gap in Unemployment Rates has increased since 1972.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Situation Historical Table A-2 (1972 is the first year with unemployment data for African Americans). See Appendix for Years to Parity calculation.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4 United for a Fair Economy • Racial Wealth Divide Project

The State of the Dream 2004: Enduring Disparities in Black and White

Unemployment, continued

The official unemployment rate only counts people who are actively looking for work and cannot find a job. People who are considered "discouraged" and are no longer searching for work, prisoners, and those in the underground economy are not counted as unemployed. Thus real unemployment is much higher than the official unemployment rate. A substantial portion of the Black population is outside the workforce, with little indication that the job market will have a place for them.

Discrimination in hiring is still a significant cause of Black unemployment. A 2003 study of job applications showed continuing employer discrimination. Researchers at the University of Chicago and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology sent fictitious responses to help-wanted ads, with either white-sounding names (Emily Walsh, Brendan Baker) or black-sounding names (Lakisha Washington, Jamal Jones). The white-sounding names were 50% more likely to be invited for an intitial interview than applicants with black-sounding names. Black resumes weren't helped much by stronger credentials.¹ Similarly, in 2003 a sociologist at Northwestern University, Devah Pager, sent white and Black men with and without criminal records to job interviews, and found that white applicants with prison records were more likely to be hired than Black applicants without one.²

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

United for a Fair Economy • Racial Wealth Divide Project 5

The State of the Dream 2004: Enduring Disparities in Black and White

Income

"We called our demonstration a campaign for jobs and income because we felt that the economic question was the most crucial that black people, and poor people generally, were confronting."

--Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Look Magazine, 1968

Per Capita Income

• For every dollar of white income, African-Americans had 55 cents in 1968.

• In 2001, African-Americans had 57 cents for every dollar of white income.

• It's taken more than three decades for Blacks to close the gap by two cents.

• At this pace, it would take 581 years for Blacks to gain the other 43 cents, which would bring them to parity with white per capita income.

[image:] Graph with the following text: Per Capita Income, 1968 and 2001 (Adjusted for Inflation in 2001 dollars) 1968 White $12,454 1968 Black $6,823 2001 White $26,134 2001 Black $14,953 Years to Parity: 581 Parity Year: 2582

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Historical Income Tables, Tables P-1a (White 1968), P-1b (African-American 1968 and 2001), and P-1e (White 2001). See Appendix for Years to Parity calculation.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6 United for a Fair Economy • Racial Wealth Divide Project

The State of the Dream 2004: Enduring Disparities in Black and White

Income, continued

Median Family Income

• The Black-white gap in median family income has actually grown since 1968. The typical Black family had 60% as much income as a white family in 1968, but only 58% as much in 2002.

[image:] Graph with the following text: Median Family Income, 1968 and 2002 (Adjusted for Inflation in 2002 dollars) 1968 White $39,206 1968 Black $23,514 2002 White $58,270 2002 Black $33,525 The Black-White Gap in Family Income is increasing.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Historical Income Tables, Table F-5. See Appendix for Years to Parity calculation.

The differences in pay between white and Black employees add up to large amounts over a person's lifetime. A Black high school graduate working full time from age 25 through age 64 will earn $300,000 less than their white counterpart during their working years. A Black college graduate will earn $500,000 less on average. A Black worker with an advanced degree will earn $600,000 less on average. Imagine the difference those missing hundreds of thousands of dollars would make for Black families in housing, higher education, starting businesses and retirement.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

United for a Fair Economy • Racial Wealth Divide Project 7

The State of the Dream 2004: Enduring Disparities in Black and White

Wealth

"They tell me that one tenth of one percent of the population controls more than forty percent of the wealth. Oh America, how often have you taken necessities from the masses to give luxuries to the classes ... You can work within the framework of democracy to bring about a better distribution of wealth."

--Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama November 4, 1956

Median Household Net Worth

• In 2001, the typical Black household had a net worth of just $19,000 (including home equity), compared with $121,000 for whites. Blacks had 16% of the median wealth of whites, up from 5% in 1989. At this rate it will take until 2099 to reach parity in median wealth.

• African-Americans were 13% of the population in 2001, but owned 3% of the assets.³

[image:] Graph with the following text: Median Household Net Worth, 1989 and 2001 (Adjusted for Inflation in 2001 dollars) 1989 White $97,800 1989 Black $5,300 2001 White $121,000 2001 Black $19,000 Years to Parity: 98 Parity Year: 2099

Source: Arthur B. Kennickell, "A Rolling Tide: Changes in the Distribution of Wealth in the U.S., 1989-2001," Levy Economics Institute, Nov. 2003. See Appendix for Years to Parity calculation. Note: 1989 is the first year for available methodologically consistent data.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8 United for a Fair Economy • Racial Wealth Divide Project