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

Housing

"Let us march on segregated housing until every ghetto or social and economic depression dissolves, and Negroes and whites live side by side in decent, safe, and sanitary housing."

--Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Speech in Montgomery, Alabama March 25, 1965

• The homeownership gap has barely budged since 1970.

• In 2002, almost three-quarters of white Americans owned their own home, compared with fewer than half of African Americans.

• Black homeownership has risen from 42% to 48% of families in the last 32 years, while white homeownership has jumped from 65% to 75%. If the homeownership gap continues to close at this rate, it would take 1,664 years, or approximately 55 generations, before the gap is closed completely.

[image:] Graph with the following text: Homeownership Rate, 1970 and 2002 1970 White 65.4% 1970 Black 41.6% 2002 White 74.5% 2002 Black 47.9% Years to Parity: 1,664 Parity Year: 3666

Source: 1970: U.S. Census Bureau, Historical Census of Housing Tables, Ownership Rates (for African-American). U.S. Census Bureau, Phone Inquiry, Jan. 8, 2004 (for White). 2002: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, as reported in Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Housing Market Conditions, 3rd Quarter 2003, Nov. 2003. See Appendix for Years to Parity calculation.

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14 United for a Fair Economy • Racial Wealth Divide Project

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

Housing, continued

Today "decent, safe, sanitary" and affordable housing is still out of reach for far too many Americans, regardless of race. Affordable housing (defined as costing 30% of the median income) has declined by four million units over the past 30 years. 5.3 million US families spend half or more of their income on housing.⁴

African Americans often face more barriers than white Americans in attaining decent housing. African Americans are often restricted to neighborhoods of color and to the least desirable homes. Blacks are two and a half times more likely to live in substandard housing as whites.⁵

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United for a Fair Economy • Racial Wealth Divide Project 15

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

Education

"As Negroes have struggled to be free they have had to fight for the opportunity for a decent education."

--Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Speech, March 14, 1964

High School Education

• The dropout rate for Black high school students has declined 44% since the murder of Dr. King in 1968, while the white dropout rate has risen slightly.

[image:] Graph with the following text: Annual High School Dropout Rate, 1968 and 2001 For Students in Grades 10-12 1968 White 4.5% 1968 Black 10.1% 2001 White 4.6% 2001 Black 5.7% Years to Parity: 8 Parity Year: 2009

Source: 1970: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, School Enrollment Historical Tables, Table A-4. See Appendix for Years to Parity calculation.

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16 United for a Fair Economy • Racial Wealth Divide Project

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

High School Education, continued

• In 1968, 30% of Blacks age 25 and older were high school graduates, compared with 55% of whites.

• In 2002, 79% of Blacks age 25 and older had graduated from high school, compared with 89% of whites.

• At the current pace, Blacks and whites will reach high school graduation parity in 2013, six decades after the Brown v. Board of Education school desegregation case.

[image:] Graph with the following text: Percentage of People Age 25 and Over Who Have Completed High School, 1968 and 2002 1968 White 54.9% 1968 Black 30.1% 2002 White 88.7% 2002 Black 79.2% Years to Parity: 11 Parity Year: 2013

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

Black students are making great strides in education despite tremendous obstacles. The educational disparities Jonathan Kozol termed "savage inequalities" persist today. In most states, the school districts with the most minority students have less state and local dollars than districts with the fewest minority students. The nationwide gap reported by the Education Trust is $1,030 per student. That translates into a gap of $412,000 for a typical elementary school of 400 students. ⁶

Dr. King would be outraged to learn that in the 50th anniversary year of Brown v. Board of Education, resegregation is rampant. As the Harvard University Civil Rights Project reports, "American public schools are now twelve years into the process of continuous resegregation. The desegregation of Black students, which increased continuously from the 1950s to the late 1980s, has now receded to levels not seen in three decades." ⁷

The bottom line is this: Black students are doing their part, Government, school districts and employers must do theirs.

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United for a Fair Economy • Racial Wealth Divide Project 17

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

Education, continued

College Education

• In 1968, just 4.3% of Blacks age 25 and older had completed at least four years of college, compared with 11.0% of whites.

• In 2002, 17.2% of Blacks ages 25 and older were college graduates, compared with 29.4% of whites.

• At the current pace, Blacks and whites will not reach college graduation parity until 2075, more than 200 years after the end of slavery.

[image:] Graph with the following text: Percentage of People Age 25 and Over Who Have Completed College, 1968 and 2002 1968 White 11.0% 1968 Black 4.3% 2002 White 29.4% 2002 Black 17.2% Years to Parity: 73 Parity Year: 2075

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

Black students have made substantial progress when it comes to college enrollment and graduation. The gap between whites and Blacks under age 24 enrolled in or completing some college has narrowed greatly, with the Black rate up to 62% in 2002, and the white rate at 70%. In 1968 the figures were 38% and 53%, respectively. Yet, in 2004 obstacles to further progress remain -- while college costs have skyrocketed, financial aid has been cut. That makes it harder for low-income students, disproportionately Black, to afford four-year college degrees.

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18 United for a Fair Economy • Racial Wealth Divide Project