Research & Studies

Over the past four years, Black women's satisfaction with the direction of the United States has plummeted, dropping from a 58 percent satisfaction rate in 2021 to a current rate of just 8 percent. However, the majority of Black women are still motivated to protect their rights and improve the country's prospects.

Of the 1,244 total top house staff positions, 77 are held by Black Americans, equating to just 6.2 percent of top staffers in personal and committee offices. Over 94 percent of all Black top house staffers are employed by Democratic members.

Since the 1980s, the study authors estimate gentrification in the United States has led to the displacement of 500,000 Black Americans. Over 500 majority-Black urban neighborhoods have been impacted by gentrification, with a third undergoing full racial turnover by 2020.

Overall, Black Americans view retirement similarly to others with comparable financial means. However, they are more likely to report problematic debt, lower incomes, retiring earlier than expected, and working for pay during retirement.

A team of scholars from several partnering organizations has identified the names of 2 million Black Americans born before emancipation who were included in the 1900 census. The database opens the door for numerous future research applications and could serve as a resource for people seeking to discover their family history.

In a study of more than 2 million genetic variants in over 230,000 Americans, researchers have found subcontinental genetic ancestry, rather than self-reported race, may be a better method of understanding health disparities facing populations in the U.S.

Drug overdose deaths in the United States have decreased since 2022, but this is largely due to decreases in overdoses by White Americans. In contrast, Black Americans and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders experienced statistically significant increases in the same time period.

In an analysis of each state's education system, researchers at WalletHub have identified Wyoming, New Mexico, and West Virginia as the most racially equitable states and Wisconsin, Connecticut, and Minnesota as the least racially equitable states for Black Americans.

A new study from scholars at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has found over 82 percent of Americans are in support of diversity and inclusion initiatives in the United States, but just 55 percent think the overall American population is pro-diversity.

"That police expenditures were associated with increases in suicide and police-perpetrated killing for Black residents is alarming given the national norm for suicide and mental health crisis intervention is a police-led response," the authors write. Instead, they suggest increasing spending on social services such as housing and community development to improve Black life expectancy.

A new study from New York University has found Black, Latinx, multiracial, and Indigenous adults aged 18 to 29 are 60 percent more likely than their White peers to experience psychosis. The study authors found evidence this could be because of experiences with discrimination and police violence.

More than one in five Black and Hispanic women report experiencing some form of intimate partner violence within the past five years. Nearly half of Black women who have experienced recent IPV have been physically injured by a current or ex-partner.

According to new research presented at the recent American Society of Clinical Oncology conference, Black and Latinx patients with prostate cancer are significantly less likely than White patients to have had a novel imaging technique that has been associated with improved diagnosis and treatment capabilities.

Across all major racial groups, Black students experienced the largest growth in both undergraduate and graduate enrollment, increasing by 10.3 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively, since spring 2024. Additionally, Black student enrollment in higher education has now surpassed pre-pandemic levels.

A new study has analyzed data on emergency department visits for American children between 1997 to 2019, finding Black children had the highest rates of emergency room visits across the entire study period.

In 2022, Black Americans owned some 4.4 million nonemployer businesses in the United States, equating to 14.9 percent of all American businesses without paid employees.

Earlier this year, the National Institutes of Health terminated hundreds of grants across its institutions and centers. The National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities was particularly affected, experiencing the greatest proportion of terminated funding relative to previously active funding across all NIH institutes and centers.

Almost three-quarters of all Americans think Black people in the United States face at least some discrimination. However, this sentiment varies widely by political party, with 54 percent of Republicans and 94 percent of Democrats holding this viewpoint.

Overall, assistant professors of medicine from racial backgrounds underrepresented in the field (non-White and non-Asian), earn $0.93 for every $1 earned by their White peers. Pay disparities are even more pronounced for underrepresented women, who earn just $0.78 for every $1 earned by their White male counterparts.

Authored by Frank Harris III, professor of postsecondary education at San Diego State University, and Tina King, president of the San Diego College of Continuing Education, the report draws on data from several prior studies to shed light on how institutions and policymakers can ensure "all Black students can go to college and succeed without sacrificing or leaving their cultural assets behind."