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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
How the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacted the Racial Gap in Unemployment
In 2020, when the pandemic struck, 19.4 percent of the Black civilian workforce (those who were employed or seeking work) experienced unemployment at some point during the year. More than 4.2 million Black workers were unemployed at some point during the year.
Black Scholars Are Underrepresented Among “Super Principal Investigators” on NIH Grants
Super principal investigators have three or more concurrent grants from the National Institutes of Health. In 2020, just 1 percent of all Black principal investigators were super principal investigators. For Whites, 4.1 percent of all principal investigators were super principal investigators.
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.
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.
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.
Brookings Institution Study Examines the High School Graduation Rate Gap by Race and Gender
In some states, the on-time high school graduation rates for specific sub-groups are quite low. In Michigan, for example, only 61 percent of Black boys graduate high school on time, compared to 75 percent of Black girls, 81 percent of White boys, and 87 percent of White girls.
The Small Racial Gap in College Aspirations
A new survey by YouthTruth looks at the college plans of the high school class of 2023. They found very little difference in the college aspirations of Black and White high school seniors. But aspirations and reality do not always meet. Also, the report found that In 2019, 79 percent of Black high school graduates said they wanted to go to college. This year, the figure has dropped to 74 percent.
A Snapshot of Racial Disparities in Legal Education
Some 78 percent of White applicants who applied to law school were accepted to at least one law school. In contrast, only 48 percent of Black or African American applicants were accepted to a law school.
Twenty Years After Law School, Many Black Attorneys Still Face Overwhelming Student Debt
A study of students who graduated from law school between 1998 and 2000 found that some 73 percent of Black law school graduates still held student loan debt, 20 years after earning their law degree. Twenty years later, the average debt outstanding for Black law school graduates was more than $74,000.
Study Finds That African Americans Are Only Small Percentage of Sperm Donors
Donors who identified as Hispanic (10.9 percent) or Black (3.3 percent) were significantly underrepresented as compared to the U.S. population. Hispanics are 22 percent of the population and Blacks are 13.3 percent. Asian donors were overrepresented, making up 21.9 percent of the donors but only 6.5 percent of the U.S. population.
The University of Pennsylvania’s Major Effort to Boost Faculty Diversity
Since the year 2000, the percentage of all faculty at Penn who were racial or ethnic minorities increased from 12.8 percent to 20.5 percent. But President Amy Gutmann says, "We still have more work to do."
New Data on the Racial Gap in College Graduation Rates
The U.S. Department of Education recently released data on the success rate of the cohort of students who entered higher education in the fall of 2003.
A Check-Up of Blacks in U.S. Medical Schools
Over the first decade of the 21st century, the Black percentage of all U.S. medical school graduates has declined.
A College Education Provides Major Economic Benefits for Blacks in California
The report found that lifetime earnings for African Americans with a four-year college degree in California have grown 85 percent, after adjusting for inflation, over the past 30 years.
Addressing the Racial Divide in STEM Education
The data suggests that attracting Black students to STEM fields is not the problem but keeping them there is a major concern.
Black First-Year Students at the Nation’s Leading Research Universities
For the sixth year in a row, Columbia University in New York City has the highest percentage of Black first-year students among the 30 highest-ranking universities in the nation.
A Check-Up on Black Progress in Nursing Degree Programs
According to data from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, Black have made tremendous progress over the past decade in increasing their percentage of students in bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs in nursing.
How the Ban on Race-Sensitive Admissions Impacts Black Enrollments at the University of Michigan
In order for racial parity to prevail in Michigan, the number of Black students in the entering class at the University of Michigan would have to nearly triple.
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.
Making Racial Health Disparities an Issue of Social Justice
The Social Equity Leadership Mobilization Alliance is a consortium established to mobilize the next generation of leaders in the public health field. Harvard, Brown, and Morehouse are members of the alliance.
No Progress in Closing the Racial Gap in Doctoral Degrees
In 2012, African Americans earned 2,079 doctoral degrees. This was 6.3 percent of all doctoral degrees awarded to U.S. citizens and permanent residents. In 2002, African Americans also earned 6.3 percent of all doctoral degrees.
The Racial Wealth Gap Is Growing: College Access for African Americans at Risk
A new study from the Pew Research Center shows that during the recent recession, the wealth gap has grown even wider.
Racial Differences in Educational Debt Levels for Doctoral Students
Blacks who earned doctorates in 2012 had an average of $54,132 in debt from educational loans. Whites who earned doctorates had average educational debts of $25,992.
The Racial Gap in College Graduation Rates
At publicly operated colleges and universities, 39.7 percent of Blacks earned their bachelor's degrees within six years from the same institution at which they enrolled in 2006 compared to 60.2 percent of Whites.
A Call to President Obama to Include Girls of Color in “My Brother’s Keeper”...
In an open letter to President Obama, a group of 1,000 women of color state that "the crisis facing young boys of color should not come at the expense of girls who live in the same households, suffer in the same schools, and endure the same struggles."
Ten Universities to Tackle the Problem of K-12 Teacher Diversity
The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education has selected 10 universities to participate in a program with the goal of increasing the number of Black and other minority men who teach in the nation's public schools. Only 2 percent of public school teachers are Black males.
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.
