Atlanta – The National Urban League released its annual report on the state of Black America on Tuesday, and its conclusions are unpleasant. This year’s equality index shows that blacks still receive only 73.9 percent of the American pie that whites enjoy.
While blacks have made economic and health gains, they have fallen behind whites in education, social justice, and civic engagement since the index was launched in 2005. The compendium of average results per race in many aspects of Life shows how difficult it is for people of color to overcome systemic racism, says the civil rights organization.
“These numbers change so little and so slowly. What it tells me is that this racial-based institutional disparity seems to be embedded in American society,” National Urban League President Marc Morial said in an interview.
The index shows that the average family income of black people, $ 43,862, is 37% less than that of whites, $ 69,823. Blacks are also less likely to benefit from home ownership, the engine of generational wealth in the United States. Census data show that white couples are more than twice as likely as white couples to receive a mortgage or home improvement loan, which is only 59% of the average white household they have. and only 13% of its wealth.
“In this area of wealth, we have seen almost no change, none, since the civil rights era,” Morial said. “The wealth gap has widened.”
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Among dozens of health measures, one stands out: life expectancy has declined slightly for African Americans, so a black child born today can expect to live to 74.7, four years younger than a white baby. And lifelong inequalities are rising: Black women are 59% more likely to die as a result of having a child and 31% more likely to die of breast cancer. Black men are 52% more likely to die from prostate cancer.
Overdoses affect races equally, while whites are 55% more likely to die from drinking from cirrhosis or chronic liver disease. Among 15- to 24-year-olds, whites are more than twice as likely to commit suicide, while black men are nine times more likely to die homicide.
Educational gaps abound: black and white preschoolers are roughly equally prepared, but the classrooms they enter are completely different. Schools with more minority students are more likely to have inexperienced, less trained, and even unqualified teachers. Fewer of these students are enrolled in STEM classes which can lead to better paid jobs. Black students are less likely to graduate from college.
The index uses U.S. Department of Justice statistics to track differences in social justice, noting that blacks are more than twice as likely as whites to suffer threats or use of force during police meetings, and three times as likely. more likely to be imprisoned if arrested. In 2020, they were 93% more likely to be victims of hate crimes.
To measure civic engagement, the index cites 2020 census data showing that whites are about 5% more likely to be registered and actually vote than blacks.
Morial chose to publish the report in Atlanta, where a rally of historically black universities has long been a big hit among African Americans, in part because his poll shows declining faith among young people that voting can mark the difference. The Urban League responds by launching a “Let’s get your vote back” campaign.
“Georgia is the zero point for the suppression of voters. The actions of the legislature after January 6 have been devastating in their aggression to suppress the vote,” Morial said. “We have to stay determined, to step back against that. We can’t give in. We can’t give up.”
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