Racial Disparity in the Ownership and Value of Particular Assets

While the overall wealth gap between Blacks and Whites is expanding, there are huge differences in the percentage of Black and White families who own their home, have money in the bank, have retirement savings, and who own stock or mutual fund shares. For those who own such assets, there is a huge racial gap in their value.

Wells Fargo Report Details Black Economic Progress

Wells Fargo, the large financial firm, recently released a new report detailing significant economic progress that the Black community has achieved in recent years in employment, lowering the unemployment rate, income, and entrepreneurship.

The Impact of a Lack of African Americans in the Hollywood Executive Suite

There were no Black CEOs or members of the senior management team at the major Hollywood studios in early 2020, and only 3.9 percent of major studio unit heads were Black.

The Growing Racial Wealth Gap and Its Impact on Higher Education

If we exclude home equity, the median net worth of non-Hispanic White households in 2019 was $79,010. For Blacks, the median net worth - excluding home equity - was $3,630. Thus, Whites had nearly 22 times as much wealth as Blacks when we exclude the value of homes. Four year earlier, Whites held only a 12-to-1 advantage.

Grading the Schools With the Largest Athletic Programs on Their Diversity in Leadership Posts

The latest report on the status of women and racial and ethnic minorities in leadership positions at the 130 educational institutions in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the NCCA has been released by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at the University of Central Florida. These are generally the schools with the nation's largest athletic programs.

Study Finds Racial Differences in Approvals for U.S. Citizenship

A new study led by Emily Ryo, a professor of law and sociology at the University of Southern California, finds that there are racial disparities in who is approved for citizenship during the naturalization process.

The Racial Gap in Educational Attainment in the United States

In 2021, nearly 42 percent of non-Hispanic Whites over the age of 25 had obtained at least a bachelor's degree compared to 28.1 percent of Blacks over the age of 25. Black women hold a large lead over Black men in degree attainments at all levels. For Black Americans, the gender gap is most apparent at the master's degree level.

Ohio State University Study Examines the Reasons for the Racial Gap in Vaccination Rates

A new study led by researchers at Ohio State University finds that Black Americans who were initially hesitant about receiving a COVID-19 vaccine were more likely than Whites who were against taking the vaccine to come to the conclusion at a later date that getting vaccinated was the right thing to do.

Mentioning Racial or Ethnic Identity Can Increase Chances of Obtaining Career Help

In a new study, researchers at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania found that people are significantly more likely to offer career help to people from underrepresented groups when help seekers mention their racial or ethnic identity in requests.

Survey Shows How Students at HBCUs Were Impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic

The report from the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice at Temple University in Philadelphia in conjunction with the Center for the Study of Historically Black Colleges and Universities at Virginia Union University, found that during the pandemic two-thirds of all HBCU students experienced basic needs insecurity.

Age, Race, and Early-Life Disadvantage Among College-Educated Mothers Impacts Birth Weights

According to a new study by researchers at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, Black infants experience disproportionately high risks of low birth weight compared with non-Hispanic White infants, particularly among mothers with high educational attainment and greater socioeconomic advantage.

Study Finds That Hypertension Is a Major Factor in the Rise of Black Maternal...

Chronic hypertension is contributing substantially to maternal deaths in the United States, with particular risk among Black women, according to new research led by scholars at Rutgers University in New Jersey. The study found a 15-fold increase over the past 40 years in maternal mortality rates as a result of the condition.

A Snapshot of the Status of Black Teachers in the Nation’s K-12 Schools

New data from the U.S. Department of Education examines the background and school settings of Black or African American teachers in public and private schools in the United States before the coronavirus pandemic. During the 2017-18 school year, 7 percent of all teachers were Black or African American.

Researchers Find That El Niño Impacted the Volume of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

El Niño, an oceanic phenomenon that affects worldwide weather patterns, significantly affected the number of enslaved Africans transported from West Africa to the Americas between the mid-1600s and mid-1800s, according to an interesting new study from the University of California, Davis.

Black Patients More Likely Than Whites to Be Described by Physicians in Negative Terms

Researchers at the University of Chicago searched the electronic health records of over 18,000 adult patients, including over 40,000 history and physical notes. They found that Black patients were 2.54 times as likely to have at least one negative descriptor in their medical records compared to White patients.

Study Finds That Black Male Teachers May Face Bias From Classroom Evaluators

A new study finds that when comparing similarly credentialed teachers whose pupils achieved at about the same level, White and female teachers were rated higher than Black men. Poor evaluations may lead to lower job satisfaction, fewer promotions, and more Black men leaving the teaching profession.

Census Report Details Racial Differences in Family Makeup in the United States

Living arrangements can impact a child's education. Single parents may have less opportunity to read to their children, attend school functions, or offer help with homework. Single-parent families tend to have lower incomes and as a result, may be less able to afford educational resources.

Harvard Study Documents the Persisting Problem of Environmental Racism

The term "environmental racism" was first used about 40 years ago and brought attention to the fact that African Americans are more likely than their White peers to be exposed to air, water, and other types of pollution. New research shows that environmental racism is still very much an issue.

Higher Education Benefits Heart Health for All, But Less So for Blacks

A new study led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh finds that individuals with a college degree were 4.12 times more likely to have an ideal cardiovascular health rating compared to those who did not have a high school degree. For Blacks, the benefit of higher education on heart health was far less.

University of Houston Law Center Study Examines Racial Disparity in Marketing by Lenders

A new study by researchers at the University of Houston Law Center found the payday lending industry often targets Black and Latino communities in advertising their products, while the mainstream banking industry targets White consumers.

The Long-Term Effects of Redlining on Public Health in Black Neighborhoods

A new study by researchers at the University of Maryland shows that people in areas long ago labeled as “red” (hazardous) or “yellow” (definitely declining) on infamous government housing maps in the 1930s, today have about a five-year shorter life expectancy than those living in areas that had been categorized as favorable for home mortgage lending.

How the COVID-19 Pandemic Influenced College Enrollment Rates

A new report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center finds that college enrollment rates for 2020 high schools graduates have fallen significantly, especially for students from schools with a large percentage of students from low-income or underrepresented groups.

The Extent of Racial and Gender Bias in Academic Research

A new study of more than 5 million articles published between 2008 and 2019 — primarily by U.S.-based researchers found that Black, Latino, and women authors are underrepresented in many STEM fields and often appear as authors only in less-cited fields.

Telemedicine Could Be a Major Factor in Eliminating Racial Health Care Disparities

A new study from the Univerity of Pennsylvania medical school finds that attendance or “show” rates at follow-up appointments after hospitalization climbed among Black patients from 52 to 70 percent during the pandemic. The boost effectively eliminated the historical racial gap in show rates to follow-up appointments.

Comparing the Black Population to the Number of Black Doctors by State

Blacks are 10 percent or more of all practicing physicians in the District of Columbia, Georgia, Mississippi, and Maryland. Georgia fares far better than most southern states. Blacks make up 31 percent of the population and 16.3 percent of the doctors.

Indiana University Study Finds Lack of Diversity in Images in Sex Education Textbooks

Researchers in the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at the Indiana University School of Public Health analyzed skin tone and skin color diversity in 182 anatomical diagrams and images from eight contemporary, college-level human sexuality textbooks. They found that only 1.1 percent of all images showed dark skin tones.

The Persisting Racial Gap in Homeownership and Mortgage Approval Rates

A new report from Zillow, the online real estate broker, finds that Black applicants are denied a mortgage at a rate 84 percent higher than White applicants, an increase of 10 percentage points since 2019. Black homeownership is at 44 percent, far below the peak of 49.7 percent set in 2004.

The Teacher Workforce Is Becoming More Diverse But Is Not Keeping Up With Student...

At the high school level, 52 percent of the students were White but 78.2 percent of all teachers were White. Blacks were 14.3 percent of all high school students but Blacks were just 7.8 percent of all high school teachers.

Study Finds Black Students Are Underrepresented in Dual Enrollment Programs

Dual enrollment is an opportunity that allows high school students to take college courses for credit and can reduce the time and money needed to obtain a degree. But a study by The Education Trust-West finds that Black students are unlikely to be taking advantage of such programs.

Racial Differences in the Age of Doctoral Degree Recipients in the United States

On average, Whites who earned doctorates in 2020 were 31.6 years old when they received their doctoral degrees. For African Americans, the average age was 36.6. On average, Whites took 8.8 years to earn their degree from the time they graduated from college, compared to 12.1 years for African Americans.

Black or African American? Labels Can Impact People’s Perceptions of Ideology

A new study led by researchers at Emory University in Atlanta, the University of Southern California, and Columbia Business School shows that White Americans associate the label “Blacks” with being targets of racial bias more than the label “African Americans.”

Study Finds Americans Are Less Likely to Respond to Emails If the Sender is...

The researchers sent emails to a random list of 250,000 Americans. When the sender had a White-sounding name, they were 15 percent more likely to receive a response than emails where the sender had a Black-sounding name.

Vast Racial Differences in the Financing of Doctoral Education

Only 19.4 percent of all African Americans who earned doctorates in 2020 had no education-related debt when they earned their terminal degree. For Whites, 50.2 percent had no education-related debt.

African Americans Are the Most Likely to Be Impacted by the Lack of Adequate...

About five million U.S. households had a child who was unable to attend childcare as a result of it being closed, unavailable, unaffordable, or because parents were concerned about the child’s safety during the pandemic. Black families were impacted more than any other racial or ethnic group, according to a University of New Hampshire study.

Research Finds Continuing Racial Disparities in Exposure to Air Pollutants

A new study led by researchers at the University of Washington finds that while overall pollutant concentrations have decreased since 1990, people of color are still more likely to be exposed to six pollutants than White people, regardless of income level, across the continental United States.

Academic Fields Where No African Americans Earned Doctorates in 2020

African Americans earned just 2.1 percent of all doctorates awarded to U.S. citizens and permanent residents in the physical and earth sciences and 3.2 percent of all doctorates in mathematics and computer science. There were 17 fields where no African Americans earned doctorates.

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