Report: Race Gap In U.S. Persists

(AP)  Decades after the civil rights movement, racial disparities in income, education and home ownership persist and, by some measurements, are growing in the United States.

White households had incomes that were two-thirds higher than blacks and 40 percent higher than Hispanics last year, according to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

White adults were also more likely than black and Hispanic adults to have college degrees and to own their own homes. They were less likely to live in poverty.

"Race is so associated with class in the United States that it may not be direct discrimination, but it still matters indirectly," said Dalton Conley, a sociology professor at New York University and the author of "Being Black, Living in the Red."

"It doesn't mean it's any less powerful just because it's indirect," he said.

Home ownership grew among white middle-class families after World War II when access to credit and government programs made buying houses affordable. Black families were largely left out because of discrimination, and the effects are still being felt today, said Lance Freeman, assistant professor of urban planning at Columbia University and author of "There Goes the 'Hood."

Home ownership creates wealth, which enables families to live in good neighborhoods with good schools. It also helps families finance college, which leads to better-paying jobs, perpetuating the cycle, Freeman said.

"If your parents own their own home they can leave it to you when they pass on or they can use the equity to help you with a down payment on yours," Freeman said.

Three-fourths of white households owned their homes in 2005, compared with 46 percent of black households and 48 percent of Hispanic households. Home ownership is near an all-time high in the United States, but racial gaps have increased in the past 25 years.

Black families have also been hurt by the decline of manufacturing jobs — the same jobs that helped propel many white families into the middle class after World War II, said Hilary Shelton, director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's Washington office.

Among Hispanics, education, income and home ownership gaps are exacerbated by recent Latin American immigrants. Hispanic immigrants have, on average, lower incomes and education levels than people born in the United States. About 40 percent of U.S. Hispanics are immigrants.

Asian Americans, on average, have higher incomes and education levels than whites. However, they have higher poverty rates and lower home ownership rates.

The Census Bureau released 2005 racial data on incomes, education levels, home ownership rates and poverty rates Tuesday. The data are from the American Community Survey, the bureau's new annual survey of 3 million households nationwide. The Associated Press compared the figures with census data from 1980, 1990 and 2000.

Among the findings:

Black adults have narrowed the gap with white adults in earning high school diplomas, but the gap has widened for college degrees. Thirty percent of white adults had at least a bachelor's degree in 2005, while 17 percent of black adults and 12 percent of Hispanic adults had degrees.

Forty-nine percent of Asian Americans had at least a bachelor's degree in 2005.

The median income for white households was $50,622 last year. It was $30,939 for black households, $36,278 for Hispanic households and $60,367 for Asian households.

Median income for black households has stayed about 60 percent of the income for white households since 1980. In dollar terms, the gap has grown from $18,123 to $19,683.

Hispanic households made about 76 percent as much as white households in 1980. In 2005, it was 72 percent.

The gap in poverty rates has narrowed since 1980, but it remains substantial. The poverty rate for white residents was 8.3 percent on 2005. It was 24.9 percent for black residents, 21.8 percent for Hispanic residents and 11.1 percent for Asian residents.

Thomas Shapiro, professor of law and social policy at Brandeis University, said the "easiest answer" to narrowing racial gaps is to promote home ownership, which would help minority families accumulate wealth.

"The wealth gap is not just a story of merit and achievement, it's also a story of the historical legacy of race in the United Sates," said Shapiro, author of "The Hidden Cost of Being African American."

Shelton, of the NAACP, called for more government funding for preschool programs, improving public schools and making college more affordable.

"Income should not be a significant determining factor whether someone should have an opportunity to go to college," Shelton said.

[corellan]

My point of view on this subject is this:

We are all HUMANS! Our genetic codes map nearly the same. The differences explain mostly physical features. It's up to science to say, "We are all one race, the human race". Would this change anything? Probably not. Simply because we as HUMANS somewhat feel the need to be "superior" above anything that LOOKS different. This futile way of thinking affects us on all aspects of life as long as we persist.

Can we WAKE UP and accept the fact? There is only ONE RACE as far as we are concerned? WE ARE ALL HUMANS!!!!

Our society is constantly bombarded with subliminal suggestions that steer us toward being concerned with how one looks, rather than with how can we make life better for us, and all work together toward a common goal.

When severe drought and famine hit us, and they will hit us hard, will we segregate, separate, and commune based on color when it comes time to decide who should eat? If so then I already mourn the millions of Africans that will be displaced because of costal flooding, drought, disease, starvation, and total chaos.

Take my post as a wake up call.

[seteras06]

I have looked at all of the comments here.Im shocked at the number of people displaying all this racist stuff on here.All people have a equal right to Education,Housing,and Employment.Sadly,most people are turned down because of skin color and not because of other factors such as a credit report,background check,and other things etc.As the mother of a biracial daughter who will be here in a few weeks I would hate to think that she would not have a chance in this world to not succeed because she is half white and half black.We live in a society where we judge everyone on color and not content of character.We're quick to put the blame on other people when we could make all the difference.Think about this.If you want to succeed but have no transportation except city buses which dont always come by where you live and the areas you live in are consumed with negative things all the time.HOW ARE YOU ABLE TO MAKE IT BETTER?Simple have someone give you a chance by seeing what it would be like to walk in their shoes for a day.Also if there had never been slavery things would have probably been a whole lot better but we have our ancestors to thank for that because now their actions reflect what our world has come to.The black race as a whole feels degraded and put down by every other race and they even sometimes put themselves down because they wonder if they can ever get ahead when 95 percent of the nation has hate against them.Wake up people.They dont want a hand out they want a chance.

[whatithink-2009]

Cbgb31, I'm not sure what part you think is anti-white racism? I'm not saying there isn't anti-white racism, but I think some people are a little misguided. When black people state facts about what has happened to them, do you consider this anti-white racism? Is it anti-white racism to discuss slavery, lynchings, black codes, being denied a good education because of your color, etc.? To me, this is stating facts. It has nothing to do with being anti-white but being honest about history. I'm trying to understand as many times people make comments without saying much of anything to explain themselves.

Why do you assume people are young white men? Do you think black people don't have access to a computer?

Finally, life is not as easy as you try to make it out to be. I'm not sure if you have children, but if you do, I guess you are concerned about what school district these children go to. I guess you want them to get a good education someplace where the education system is good. What if someone doesn't have that option? Is it just as easy for them to make it as someone who has options?

Do you have problems living in a drug-infested area of the U.S.? If you think you can make it anywhere, I guess you would not. If not, what do you think of the children who don't have the options but to grow up around crime, drugs, guns, poor schools, no jobs, no hope? Of course some are still making it despite the odds.

[radiostar3]

I'm generally view the asian numbers with suspicion. They tend to congregate in high cost of living areas (NYC, San Fran, CA, etc), and their population distribution is not quite the same as whites. Overall, then I'd guess the income advantage isn't as great as the report shows.

on the other hand, this is also true of other minority groups, which makes the white/black/hispanic income gap even more disturbing.

[cbgb31]

There's more anti-white racism on this site than anything else. The funny thing is most of the posts are probably from young white men. What a joke. Listen, if they wanted to succeed they could. There is absolutely NOTHING to stop them unless it would be a disability or illness.

[sharncedar]

"sharncedar, i had to knock myself out with a tape despenser to keep myself from gouging my eyes out and jumping through our 6th story window after reading your trash. diaf "

thnks, i try. Can't remember my post though - oh yeah it was about genocide of the poor white people, well its a historical fact, there are fewer and fewer white americans every day, we are not really relevant anymore, you won't have us to kick around my friends

nothing to get despondent about, things change, races die out, if I worried about it i couldn't go on with my own little pathetic life, seeing my culture and race are gone from earth, only a matter of time now

so, if u are black, rather than whining, at least be glad you have some kind of a future, perhaps it will be bright. We know only there is no white future, we were the people of the last 400 years, but things change

dont cry about it, eh, lets go out with a smile and a laugh, no regrets, and good luck to you all the survivors

[agnim]

kalatur

Chinese-Americans are descended from the long history of Chinese CULTURE that I outlined.

The Chinese came to America in relative FREEDOM compared to Africans.

The Chinese-Americans were able to maintain useful cultural elements that would allow them to CONTINUE their long history of advancement, compared to the relatively shorter cultural history of whites.

Blacks were never allowed to advance in America for many generations to present.
So we are trying to compare Black progress today to the progress of other relatively free people (whites and Asians) who have been advancing almost unencumbered.

The Asians do better than whites because the way the society is structured is pretty much inline with what the Asians have been accustomed for thousands of years before white could read and write.

Blacks who have been pretty much enslaved/colonized by evil forces have not been allowed to blossom; but this is going to change.
Evil can't reign forever.

[whatithink-2009]

Karanjasan and Kemetorigin,

Great posts from the two of you. I have to say that I've always tried to use what my ancestors have gone through as a means to make me stronger. Whenever I'm having a tough day, I always think back to what they had to go through and it gives me a bit of courage.

I still think as a black woman, I have not had it as difficult as many black men. I'm not so threatening. My brother who has a medical degree still gets pulled over regularly by police. It's a constant battle to take the negative and use it to your advantage. But as my grandmother always said, "If it doesn't kill you, it will make you stronger."

[karanjasan]

I have to say that I am extremely heartened to see that the majority of black opinion on this blog concurs with mine, that while some of us have made it in spite of this system, not because of it, and that while our holocaust is devastating, we still are the only ones who can help ourselves. I should point out, just for the record, that I am an African immigrant, who is not unaware of some of the advantages that gives me in America, the most paramount being that, despite colonialism, we still have the advantage of not having had our families broken apart to quite the same extent. These heartening views in my opinion are the only ones that really matter to us people of African origin. The racist rhetoric, will continue to pour in, but as long as we Africans are aware of our responsibilities in this uphill struggle, for compassion to our fellows who have not had the same luck, opportunities or wherewithal to pick themselves up, then we will continue to thrive as we have already done. The percentage of black millionaires compared to the total black population in America is actually very high, and far higher than that of any group other than whites, but of course this is not as interesting a statistic as the number of felons, and let%u2019s not even get into the sentencing laws and arrest records that lead to this statistic!

[kemetorigin]

Whatithink
I wrote my thesis on this very issue, specifically affirmative action. During my research I uncovered facts which are unsettling to say the least. Blacks who committ identical if not similar crimes as whites are 22 times more likely to receive the death penalty. 2020 aired a special on resumes and names in which they determined that resumes with black sounding names received fewer call backs than resumes with white sounding names with identical credentials. They also asked preschoolers who was more likely to steal Cody or Darius, even the black children said Darius. It demonstrates how our culture permeates even the thoughts of our youngest children. Again I do not condone excuses, but minorities have it three times as hard or 22 time if you go by stats.