[Marxism] Blacks up from 3/5ths to 73/100ths since early 1800's

["Charles Brown" <cbrown@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Subject: National Urban League releases State of Black America 2004

www.nul.org <http://www.nul.org/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Max Smith. 212-558-5371


African Americans' Status Is 73% Of Whites Says New "State Of Black
America" 2004 Report

National Urban League's Report Shows Black Progress Is On Shaky Ground

Equality Gaps Remain In Jobs, Wealth, Education, Health And Social
Justice

Wshington, DC, March 24, 2004- How much closer is America to achieving
equality between blacks and whites since the civil rights movement?
Not lose enough, and black progress is precarious at best according
to a report released today by the National Urban League, "The State
Black America 2004".  As part of The State of Black America 2004: The
Complexity of Black Progress, the League unveiled its first "Equality
Index" a statistical measurement of the disparities that exist
between blacks and whites in eco nomics, housing, education, health,
social justice and civic engagement.  (Assigning whites a weighted
index value of 1, the Equality Index value of less than 1 means
blacks are doing worse than whites in a category, while a value of 1
or more means Blacks are doing equal doing better)

The report finds that despite substantial progress, the status of
African Americans is .73, or 73%, when compared to their white
counterparts.

"African-American progress has been precarious since the civil rights
era.  While there have been increases in business formation, home
ownership and educational attainment, equality gaps remain between
blacks and whites, particularly in the area of economics,"said Marc
H. Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League. "As our
nation becomes more racially diverse, we must work together to close
these disparities. This is crucial if America is to maintain its
position as an economic power and world leader."

Highlights of the Equality Index Findings in Five Areas include:

*       Economics - Black economic status measures 56% of white
counterparts

*       Health - Blacks' health status measures 78% of whites
*       Education - Total educational performance is 76% as compared
to whites
*       Social Justice - When it comes to equality under the law,
blacks'status is 73%
*       Civic Engagement - Blacks out measure whites in the area of
civic engagement (voter registration, volunteerism, government
service at 1.08)

1. Economics: Blacks' overall economic status measures .56 of white
counterparts

*       Fewer than 50% of black families own their own homes, vs.
over 70% of whites
*       Blacks are denied mortgages and home improvement loans at
tw ice the rate of whites
*       Black males mean income is 70% of white males ($16,876 gap),
black females mean income is 83% of white counterparts ($6,370
difference)

2. Education: Blacks' overall educational status is .76 of whites

*       Teachers with less than 3 years experience teach in minority
schools at twice (2x) the rate that they teach in white schools
*       49% of black students' teachers lack a college minor in the
subject they taught vs. 40% of white students' teachers
*       Blacks attain college degrees at 63% of whites counterparts

3. Health: Black health status measures .78 vs. whites

*       On average blacks are 2X as likely to die from disease,
accident, behavior and homicide at every stage of life than whites
*       Life expectancy for blacks is 72 years vs. 78 years for
whites

4. Social Justice: Blacks conditions are .73 that of whites

*       A black person's average jail sentence is six months longer
than a white's for the same crime; that is 39 months versus 33 months
*       Blacks who are arrested are 3 times more likely to be
imprisoned than whites
*       Black felons are less likely to get probation than white
felons for the same offense

5. Civic Engagement: Blacks measure 1.08 vs. whites

*       Blacks out measure whites in terms of government service and
union membership.
*       Military volunteerism is 1.45, indicating substantially more
blacks volunteer in the military

In addition, The State of Black America 2004 features a new national
poll that surveyed comparative attitudes of African Americans,
Hispanic Americans and Asian A mericans concerning the quality of
life, education, finances, discrimination, and pertinent social
issues. (Between January 28th and February 10th, 700 African American
and 200 Hispanic American and 200 Asian American adult respondents,
respectively, were interviewed. The poll has a Margin of Error of +
or - 4 percent)

NUL Survey Results Highlights

*       52% Disagree with direction of the country: 52% of the total
respondents believe the country is headed in the wrong direction;
(62%) of African Americans; 40% of Hispanic Americans and 25% of
Asian Americans.
*       Respondents on public education- 52% of all respondents rate
public education as fair to poor, African Americans 56%, Hispanic
Americans 50% and Asian Americans 32%.
*       88% of all respondents support early childhood education
*       55% of all respondents want voting ban for ex-felons lifted,
88% believe in alternatives to imprisonment for non-violent offenders
*       40% of blacks believe "little progress" - Forty years after
the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 40% of black respondents
feel "very little/no improvement" has been achieved in economics and
social mobility

Finally, The State of Black America 2004 publication continues its
rich tradition of essays and commentaries from leading scholars and
thinkers who give their perspectives on the reasons why the
disparities exist and offer solutions to closing the gaps. For
example, African American Economic Well-Being during the Boom and
Bust by economist Samuel Myers, Jr. discusses why increases in black
income in the 90's not only didn't increase black wealth, but the
wealth gap actually widened.

Other essays and commentaries include Brown at 50: Considering the
Continuing Legal Struggle for Racial Justice by Charles J. O lgetree,
Jr., State of Education in Black America by Edmund W. Gordon, and
Health and Quality of Life Among African Americans by David R.
Williams, Security Must Never Trump Liberty, by Dennis Archer, The
Empowerment Movement and the Black Male by James Lanier, PhD, The
Transformation of the Welfare Caseload by Kenya L Covington, Gaps,
Traps and Lies: African-American Students and Test Scores by Ronald
O. Ross, and Five Things You Must have to Run a Business by Melinda
F. Emerson.

The Urban League is committed to filling the equality gaps through
measures such as job training and housing development assistance. Mr.
Morial envisions an America that has achieved true equality. "The
point is to keep our eyes on the prize of African Americans and all
people of color striving to achieve their full measure of American
citizenship and opportunity. That is the ultimate purpose of the work
here," Morial added. "It is time to dream bigger dreams".

-####-

To downlownd a copy of the Executive Report, book abstracts or to
order a copy of the Urban League's State of Black America please
click here <http://www.nul.org/publications/index.htm  to visit the
Publications section of our website.

The Urban League is the nation's oldest and largest community-based
movement empowering African Americans to enter the economic and
social mainstream.  The National Urban League, headquartered in New
York City, spearheads the nonprofit, nonpartisan movement, while
Urban League affiliates operate in more than 100 cities in 34 states
and the District of Columbia.





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