Washington, DC, March 24, 2004— How much closer is America to achieving equality between blacks and whites since the civil rights movement? Not close enough, and black progress is precarious at best according to a report released today by the National Urban League, “The State of 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 economics, 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 twice 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 Americans 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. Olgetree, 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”.