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Announcement :: Civil & Human Rights : Education : Health : Housing : Labor : Political-Economy : Urban Development |
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State of the Dream: New Report Finds Black-white Gap still Huge |
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by United for a Fair Economy
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07 Jan 2004
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The report looks at the divide between African American and white Americans on more than a dozen indicators and concludes that the United States has failed to reach Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.¹s vision. |
WASHINGTON - January 6 - "When the Constitution was written, a strange formula to determine taxes and representation declared that the Negro was 60% of a person. Today another curious formula seems to declare he is 50% of a person. Of the good things in life he has approximately one-half those of whites; of the bad he has twice those of whites."Â Dr. Martin Luther King, "Where Do We Go from Here?"
Today¹s black-white divide is strikingly similar to when Dr. King wrote those words in 1967, according to a new report from United for a Fair Economy entitled "The State of the Dream: Enduring Disparities in Black and White," by Dedrick Muhammad, Attieno Davis and Meizhu Lui, to be released on January 15.
The report looks at the divide between African American and white Americans on more than a dozen indicators and concludes that the United States has failed to reach Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.¹s vision.
Some progress has been made in narrowing the gap over the last 35 years, in areas such as education, poverty, homeownership, and income. But the gap has narrowed at such a slow rate that it would take black Americans centuries to reach complete parity with whites.
In some areas, such as infant mortality and imprisonment, the black-white gap is actually wider than in 1968, when Dr. King was killed. In other areas, such as unemployment, the gap has not narrowed.
"As President Bush prepares his State of the Union address, we hope he takes into account the disunion between the lives of black and white Americans," said Dedrick Muhammad, Racial Wealth Divide Coordinator at United for a Fair Economy.
Meizhu Lui is Executive Director of United for a Fair Economy, a national nonprofit that raises awareness of growing economic inequality. Attieno Davis coordinates UFE¹s Racial Wealth Divide education work. |
See also:
http://www.FairEconomy.org
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This work is in the public domain |
