Special Education Teacher Shortage Has Huge Impact on Black Students
A new study finds that special education is the No. 1 teacher shortage area in 48 states. At the same time, a growing number of students of color have been identified as having a disability.
The Racial Disparity in Incarceration Rates Has Declined but Remains Large
In 2020, Black adults were imprisoned at 4.9 times the rate of White adults, down from 8.2 times in 2000. Much of the decline was due to a reduction in prison time for drug-related offenses. However, in 2020, Black individuals comprised approximately 13 percent of U.S. residents but accounted for 56 percent of homicide victims and 39 percent of those arrested for homicide.
New Study May Help Reduce the Vast Racial Disparity in Prostate Cancer
Black men are more than twice as likely as other men to die from prostate cancer. A new study led by researchers at the University of Southern California identified nine new genetic risk factors for prostate cancer, seven of which are found either largely or exclusively in men of African ancestry. This new information can help patients understand their cancer risk and decide how early and often to get screened.
Blacks Are Less Likely Than Whites to Be Referred to Home Health Care After...
According to a new study at the University of Michigan, about 22 percent of Black patients are referred by discharge nurses to home health care compared to 27 percent of White patients.
Blacks Are Making Progress in Leadership Positions at Athletic Powerhouse Universities
But the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at the University of Central Florida notes that Blacks are only 9.9. percent of the head football coaches at the 131 colleges and universities that make up the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. African Americans made up 49 percent of the football players at these schools.
New Center at the University of Pennsylvania to Address Racial Gap in Maternal Health
Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than White women in the United States, which has the highest maternal mortality rate of any developed country and the problem is getting worse.
The Generational Damage From the Unequal Incarceration Rates of African Americans
Overall, 40 percent of American adults have ever had immediate family incarcerated, 34 percent have ever had extended family incarcerated, and more than half of adults have ever had any family incarcerated. For Blacks, 60 percent of adults have experienced an immediate family member’s incarceration, 53 percent have experienced extended family incarceration, and 74 percent have experienced either of those events.
African Americans Making Progress in STEM Fields, But a Large Racial Gap Remains
A National Science Foundation report finds that blacks were 14 percent of the U.S. population between the ages of 18 and 34 in 2020. They earned 10 percent of the associate's degrees awarded in science and engineering fields, 9 percent of the bachelor's degrees, 11 percent of the master's degrees, and just 7 percent of the doctoral degrees.
Addressing the Very Low Numbers of African Americans Earning Doctorates in Geography
A study by researchers at Michigan State University found that between 1997 and 2019, 4,918 doctoral degrees were awarded by U.S. universities in the discipline of geography. Only 86 of these doctorates, or 1.64 percent, were awarded to African Americans. The differential awarding of degrees was related to the differential funding by race to support the completion of doctoral degrees in the field.
Harvard-Led Study Finds Racial Disparities in Opioid Relief for Dying Cancer Patients
In a study of 318,549 Medicare patients over the age of 65, researchers found that Black patients were 4.3 percentage points less likely to receive any opioid and 3.2 percentage points less likely to receive long-acting opioids near the end of life than White patients. Researchers also found that when Black patients received opioids, they tended to receive lower doses.
New Study Documents the Racial Gap in Student Loan Debt of Medical Residents
A new study led by Louisa W. Holaday, an assistant professor of internal medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, finds that nearly 90 percent of all Black medical residents had accumulated debt from their medical training. A majority of Black residents (59.9 percent) had debt from premedical education loans.
Black-Owned Businesses Are Still a Small Fraction of the American Economy
In 2020, there were 140,918 U.S. Black- or African American-owned businesses across all sectors of the economy. They had annual sales of $141.1 billion and employed 1.3 million people. Thus, Black-owned businesses accounted for only 2.4 percent of all firms in the nation with paid employees. They employed just 1 percent of all employees.
The Black Percentage of School Principals Has Declined in Recent Years
Overall, during the 2020-21 school year, 78.4 percent of school principals were non-Hispanic White and 9.5 percent were Black or African American. In the 2017-18 school year, Blacks were 11 percent of all school principals.
Higher Education Gifts or Grants of Interest to African Americans
Here is this week’s news of grants or gifts to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.
Racial Disparities Found Among Veterans’ Experiences With VA-Funded Community Care
"Community care" provides veterans with an streamlined option to receive VA-funded healthcare through non-VA providers. A new study has found Black Americans are more likely to report negative experiences with community care providers and administrators.
Study Finds Increase in School Segregation Linked to Racial Health Disparities Among Black Americans
According to a new study from Tufts University, U.S. counties with particularly high levels of school segregation experience significant health disparities in life expectancy, early mortality, homicides, and teen births among Black Americans.
Study Reveals Racial Disparities in Use of Social Security Disability Insurance
According to the report, Black Americans are 1.5 to 2 times more likely to receive Social Security Disability Insurance, and spend roughly 40 percent more on medical care than White Americans.
City of Hope Partners with Charles R. Drew University of Medicine to Advance Diversity...
“By working together, City of Hope and the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science aim to address health disparities and promote diversity in specialized medical fields, ultimately improving health care outcomes for the communities we serve," said David Carlisle, president of CDU.
Black Women in Texas Are Twice as Likely to Experience Severe Maternal Morbidity Than...
Severe maternal morbidity cases are considered "near misses" for maternal death because they could have resulted in maternal mortality if they were not properly identified and treated. A large majority of the Black-White SMM gap can be attributed to disparities in untreated preexisting health conditions.
Study Finds Significant Benefit of Unlimited Data Plans on Disadvantaged Households
In the new study led by researchers at Southern Methodist University, the authors partnered with a large telecommunications provider to examine what would happen if their customers from low socioeconomic households upgraded to an unlimited data plan. The results uncovered a significant increase in internet usage for educational purposes.
Most Black Americans Believe U.S. Institutions Are Purposefully Holding Them Back
According to the report, the majority of Black adults believe American criminal justice systems, governments, big business, media outlets, and healthcare systems were purposefully designed to prevent the success and well-being of Black Americans.
Study Analyzes Effect of Racial Discrimination on Black Adolescent Brain Activity
The study analyzed a sample of Black adolescents' neural response to negative stimuli, cross-referenced with survey responses regarding the participants' internal and external emotional symptoms.
Black American Households Are Less Likely to Own a Computer Than Other Racial Groups
According to the report, Black households are the least likely racial group to own a personal computer, smartphone, or tablet. However, they are the most likely group to be a "smartphone-only" household, suggesting a racial gap in not only computer ownership, but reliable internet access as well.
The Rate of Workplace Fatalities for Black Americans Reaches an All-Time High
In 2021, 653 African Americans died from work-related injuries. This was up 20.7 percent from 2020. African Americans made up 12.6 percent of all work-related fatalities due to injury. This was the highest percentage recorded since statistics on workplace fatalities have been collected.
Higher Education Gifts or Grants of Interest to African Americans
Here is this week’s news of grants or gifts to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.
Nurses in Black-Serving Hospitals Experienced Increased Levels of “Moral Distress” During the Pandemic
Moral distress is defined as a feeling of being prevented from making a morally-ethical action, which contributes to mental health challenges. Nurses under moral distress are more likely to experience burnout and quit their jobs.
Duke University Finds the Racial Wealth Gap Between Black and White Americans is Growing
From 2019 to 2022, the average net worth gap between Black and White Americans grew by 38 percent. The study authors believe this increasing wealth gap can be attributed to the country's history with racism and inequities in intergenerational wealth.
Census Bureau Finds White Households Were Ten Times Wealthier Than Black Households in 2021
In 2021, White households represented 65.3 percent of all American homes, but owned 80 percent of all wealth. In comparison, Black households represented 13.6 percent of all households, but held only 4.7 percent of all wealth.
Report Finds Racial Disparities in Educational Attainment and Access in the United States
Over the past 20 years, Black Americans have made significant progress in educational attainment, but racial disparities remain in certain areas of postsecondary education.
How High School Graduation Rates Impact Life Expectancy of Black Male Students
The report found that graduating from high school was a key factor in improving average life expectancy. For each standard increase in educational attainment, Black male life expectancy increased by 10 months.
UCLA Releases the State of Black California 2024 Report
While some progress has been made in the socioeconomic outcomes for Black Californians, the rate of progress is so slow that it would take nearly 248 years to close the gap between Black and White Californians, according to a new study.by the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Report Reveals Black Students Significantly More Likely to Drop Out of Postsecondary Education
In analyzing data of postsecondary education among students who were in ninth-grade in 2009, the study found Black students were significantly less likely than their White peers to enroll in and complete all levels of postsecondary education.
The Number of Black Americans Who Died After Suffering Injuries at Work Is at...
The number of African American deaths due to injuries suffered on the job had been increasing. In 2015, 495 African Americans died as a result of work-related injuries. In 2022, the figure was 734, an increase of 48.2 percent.
The Persisting Racial Gap in College Student Graduation Rates
In 2013 the graduation rate for Black students at the nation's largest universities that participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I is 44 percent. This is 22 percentage points below the rate for Whites.
University of Utah Project to Provide Prenatal Care to African Refugees
Aster Tecle, an assistant professor of social work, will co-lead The Perinatal Community Health Workers to Support African Refugee Women and Families that will train other African women to provide appropriate information, assistance, and prenatal care.
Black Degree Attainments in Engineering: Long Way to Go to Reach Parity
In 2005, Black earned 5.3 percent of all bachelor's degree awarded in engineering. In 2012, Blacks earned only 4.2 percent of all bachelor's degrees awarded in the discipline. Blacks did slightly better in graduate degrees in engineering.
