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

Wealth, continued

Average Household Net Worth

• The Black-white gap in average household wealth is increasing.

• White households had an average net worth of $468,200 in 2001, more than six times the $75,700 of Black households. This includes home equity. In 1989, average white wealth was five-and-a-half times Black wealth.

[image:] Graph with the following text: Average Household Net Worth, 1989 and 2001 (Adjusted for Inflation in 2001 dollars) 1989 White $317,600 1989 Black $57,000 2001 White $468,200 2001 Black $75,700 The Black-White Gap in Average Household Net Worth is increasing.

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.

Wealth is defined as net worth, or assets minus debts, "what you own minus what you owe." For most American families, and especially Black families, equity in a home is the most significant kind of wealth. Generations of slavery, segregation, disinvestment and discrimination have left African Americans well behind in asset building. Since the mid-1970s, the top 1% of households, overwhelmingly white, have doubled their share of the nation's wealth. The fact that typical Black households had just $19,000 in wealth in 2001, after the longest economic boom in the history of the richest nation on earth, is a reflection of continued deep inequality.

Assets are key to household stability and key to ending racial disparities. For example, sociologist Dalton Conley shows in his book Being Black, Living in the Red that between Black and white at any given level of wealth there are no differences in educational achievements.

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United for a Fair Economy • Racial Wealth Divide Project 9

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

Poverty

"The time has come for us to civilize ourselves by the total, direct and immediate abolition of poverty."

--Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Where Do We Go From Here?, 1967

Overall Poverty

• The Black poverty rate was three times greater than the white poverty rate in 2002.

• At the slow rate that the Black-white poverty gap has been narrowing since 1968, it would take 150 years to close the gap.

[image:] Graph with the following text: Overall Poverty Rate, 1968 and 2002 1968 White 10.0% 1968 Black 34.7% 2002 White 8.0% 2002 Black 24.1% Years to Parity: 150 Parity Year: 2152

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Historical Poverty Tables, Table 2. See Appendix for Years to Parity calculation.

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10 United for a Fair Economy • Racial Wealth Divide Project

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

Poverty, continued

Child Poverty

• Almost a third of Black children live in poverty -- 32.1% in 2002. The child poverty gap would take 210 years to disappear, not reaching parity until 2212.

[image:] Graph with the following text: Child Poverty Rate, 1968 and 2002 1968 White 10.7% 1968 Black 43.1% 2002 White 8.9% 2002 Black 32.1% Years to Parity: 210 Parity Year: 2212

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Historical Poverty Tables, Table 3. Figures are for related children in families. See Appendix for Years to Parity calculation.

In the richest nation in the world, almost one-quarter of African Americans live in poverty. The difference in poverty rates between Black and white Americans is only slowly eroding.

For people over age 65, the gap between African Americans and white Americans is actually widening. In 1968, Black seniors' poverty level, 47.7%, was just over twice that of white seniors, at 23.1%. In 2002, the poverty rate among Black seniors, 23.8%, was nearly three times the 8.3% rate among white seniors.

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United for a Fair Economy • Racial Wealth Divide Project 11

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

Health

"The rate of infant mortality (widely accepted as an accurate index of general health) among Negroes is double that of whites. . . Depressed living standards are not simply the consequence of neglect. . . They are a structural part of the economic system in the United States."

--Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Where Do We Go From Here?, 1967

Infant Mortality

• Infant mortality has dropped across the board since 1970, but Black infants are now almost two and a half times as likely as white infants to die before reaching one year of age. That gap is larger than it was in 1970, when Black infants were less than twice as likely to die as white infants.

• In 1970, the Black infant mortality rate was 32.6 deaths per 1,000 live births -- 83% higher than the white infant mortality rate of 17.8% per 1,000.

• In 2001, the Black infant mortality rate was 14.0 deaths per 1,000 live births -- 146% higher than the white infant mortality rate of 5.7 deaths per 1,000 live births.

[image:] Graph with the following text: Infant Mortality Rate, 1970 and 2001 (Deaths per 1,000 live births) 1970 White 17.8 1970 Black 32.6 2001 White 5.7 2001 Black 14.0 The Black-White Gap in Infant Mortality is increasing.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics Reports, Sept. 18, 2003. Table 31. See Appendix for Years to Parity calculation.

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12 United for a Fair Economy • Racial Wealth Divide Project

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

Health, continued

Life Expectancy

• In 1970, Blacks had a life expectancy 90% of that of whites in 1970 -- 64.1 years compared with 71.6 years.

• By 2000, Blacks' life expectancy was 93% of that of whites, 71.7 years compared with 77.4 years.

[image:] Graph with the following text: Life Expectancy at Birth, 1970 and 2000 1970 White 71.62 1970 Black 64.11 2000 White 77.4 2000 Black 71.7 Years to Parity: 71 Parity Year: 2071

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics Reports, December 19, 2002. Table II. See Appendix for Years to Parity calculation.

The Black-white gap is literally a matter of life and death. The United States spends more on health care than any other country, yet lags behind other industrialized countries in health insurance coverage, infant mortality and life expectancy for all its citizens -- and especially for African Americans.

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United for a Fair Economy • Racial Wealth Divide Project 13