This report presents an overview of the economic and educational status of black Americans. In addition to summarizing blacks' current economic condition, long-term trends are also presented. The purpose of this report is to highlight information that will accentuate the magnitude of the black socioeconomic disadvantage. My goal is to generate discussion about policies in which people have an awareness of the scale and time it will take to address racial inequality. Therefore, this report is more descriptive than prescriptive. To help facilitate thinking about potential policy directions, economic patterns are shown across various presidential administrations.
AndersonD., ShapiroD.Racial differences in access to high-paying jobs and the wage gap between black and white women. Ind Labor Relat Rev.1996; 49: 273–86.
2.
BaldiS., McBrierD.B.Do the determinants of promotion differ for blacks and whites?Work Occup.1997; 24: 478–97.
3.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unemployed persons by marital status, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, age, and sex, Table 24; 2009.
4.
ElliottJ.R., SmithR.A.Race, gender, and workplace power. Am Sociol Rev.2004; 69: 365–86.
5.
EspenshadeT.J., RadfordA.W.No longer separate, not yet equal.Princeton University Press; 2009.
6.
FarkasG., VicknairK.Appropriate tests of racial wage discrimination require controls for cognitive skills. Am Sociol Rev.1996; 61: 557–660.
7.
FergusonR.F.A diagnostic analysis of black-white GPA disparities in shaker heights, Ohio. Brookings papers on educational policy. Washington: Brookings Institution; 2001.
8.
GrissmerD., FlanaganA., WilliamsonS.Why did the black–white test score gap converge in the 1970 s and 1980 s? In: JencksC., PhillipsM., editors. The black-white test score gap.Washington, D.C: Brookings Institution; 1998. p. 182–226.
9.
HarrisA., TiendaM.Minority higher education pipeline: consequences of changes in college admissions policy in Texas. Forthcoming in Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science; 2010.
10.
HedgesL.V., NowellA.Black-white test score convergence since 1965. In: JencksC., PhillipsM., editors. The black-white test score gap.Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press; 1998. p. 149–81.
11.
HedgesL.V., NowellA.Changes in the black-white gap in achievement test scores. Sociol Educ.1999; 72: 111–35.
12.
IsaacsJ.B.Economic mobility of black and white families. Economic Mobility Project, Pew Charitable Trust; 2007.
13.
JencksC., PhillipsM.The black-white test score gap: an introduction. In: JencksC., PhillipsM., editors. The black-white test score gap.Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press; 1998. p. 1–51.
14.
KaneT.J.Racial and ethnic preferences in college admissions. In: JencksC., PhillipsM., editors. The black-white test score gap.Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press; 1998. p. 431–56.
15.
LouryL.D., GarmanD.College selectivity and earnings. J Labor Econ.1995; 13: 289–308.
16.
NealD.A., JohnsonW.R.The role of premarket factors in black-white wage differences. J Polit Econ.1996; 104: 869–95.
17.
OettingerG.S.Statistical discrimination and the early career evolution of the black-white wage gap. J Labor Econ.1996; 14: 52–78.
18.
O'NeillJ.The role of human capital in earnings differences between black and white men. J Econ Perspect.1990; 4: 25–45.
19.
SmithR.A.Race, income, and authority at work: a cross-temporal analysis of black and white men (1972–1994). Soc Probl.1997; 44: 19–37.
20.
SmithM.S.Assessment trends in a contemporary policy context. In: GrissmerD.W., RossJ.M., editors. Analytic essays in the assessment of student achievement (NCES 2000–050).Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics; 2000. p. 264–72.
21.
SmithR.A.Particularism in control over monetary resources at work: an analysis of racial ethnic differences in the authority outcomes of black, white, and latino men. Work Occup.2001; 28: 447–68.
22.
SmithR.A.Do the determinants of promotion differ for white men versus women and minorities?: an exploration of intersectionalism through sponsored and contest mobility processes. Am Behav Sci.2005; 48: 1157–81.
23.
SwainC.M.Affirmative action: legislative history, judicial interpretations, public consensus. In: SmelserN.J., WilsonW.J., MitchellF., editors. America becoming: racial trends and their consequences, vol. I. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 2001. p. 318–47.
24.
ThernstromA., ThernstromS.No excuses: closing the racial gap in learning.New York: Simon and Schuster; 2003.
25.
Tomaskovic-DeveyD., ThomasM., JohnsonK.Race and the accumulation of human capital across the career: a theoretical model and fixed-effects application. Am J Sociol.2005; 111: 58–89.
26.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. Percent Distribution of the Projected Population by Sex, Race and Hispanic Origin for the United States: 2010 to 2050 (NP2008-T4).Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division; 2008.
27.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. Income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the United States: 2008; 2009a.
28.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. Table 1. Median value of assets for households, by type of asset owned and selected characteristics:2002; 2009b.
29.
VarsF.E., BowenW.G.Scholastic aptitude test scores, race, and academic performance in selective colleges and universities. In: JencksC., PhillipsM., editors. The black-white test score gap.Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press; 1998. p. 457–79.
30.
WilsonG., Sakura-LemessyI., WestJ.P.Reaching the top: racial differences in mobility paths to upper-tier occupations. Work Occup.1999; 26: 165–86.
