Research & Studies

Research Finds Neighborhood Integration Does Not Lead to Higher Black-White Marriage Rates

Although economically-mixed neighborhoods lead to higher rates of marriage between high-income and low-income adults, racially-mixed neighborhoods do not result in higher rates of Black-White marriages.

Study Finds Gender Stereotypes in STEM May Not Exist Among Black Women and Men

“What we found was that Black men and Black women were viewed similarly on scientist-related traits. This suggests that racial stereotypes may be a particularly important factor shaping perceptions of who is seen as belonging in science,” said lead author Sheba Aikawa, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Half of Black Americans Describe Themselves as “Working Class”

About 54 percent of Black adults in the U.S. say the term “working class” describes them well. Notably, college-educated Black adults are more likely than Black adults without a college degree to identity with the term (58 percent versus 53 percent).

Study Finds People Often Don’t Notice the Absence of Black People in a Group

A new study finds that people are significantly more likely to notice the absence of White people in a group than they are the absence of Black people. This bias in perception can mask inequality and make our environments appear more diverse than they truly are.

How Appropriated Racial Oppression Impacts Black Parent-Child Discussions on Race

The study found that parents’ own racialized worldview can impact their ability to transmit positive messages to the younger generation that are empirically found to promote well-being.

Study Connects Psychosocial Stressors With Heart Failure Risk in Black Women

Black women who have experienced racial discrimination in employment, housing, and police interactions have a higher risk of heart failure. A similar risk was found among Black women who had experienced frequent abuse in childhood or adolescence.

UNCF Report Shows HBCUs’ Success in Awarding STEM Bachelor’s Degrees to Black Students

Although HBCUs represent 9 percent of all four-year bachelor-degree-granting institutions in the 21 states and U.S. territories where they are located, these colleges and universities awarded 28 percent of all STEM bachelor's degrees earned by Black students in the 2022–2023 academic year.

Counties That Historically Relied on Slave Labor Have Larger Present-Day Racial Mortality Gaps

Using census data from 1860 and mortality data from 2010–2020, scholars from the University of California, Berkeley and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that U.S. counties with higher proportions of enslaved Black Americans in 1860 have higher contemporary Black mortality rates and lower contemporary White mortality rates.

Black Teens Are More Susceptible to Unhealthy Food Marketing by Black Social Media Influencers

“Adolescence is a critical period for social modeling,” said lead author Emily Balcetis, associate professor of psychology at NYU. “When influencers share those identities, they grab attention, and as a result, signal what people like their followers do, value, and eat.”

Report Examines the Labor Market Disadvantages Facing Young Black Women

“Black women incur some of the highest student debt burdens while pursuing higher education, which, when combined with a lack of job opportunities, deepens existing economic inequities and exacerbates the racial wealth gap,” the report authors write.

Why New Savings Programs Will Not Close the Racial Retirement Gap

In a new article, Cantrell Dumas of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies argues that while new state and federal savings policies will likely increase Black retirement savings, the policies themselves are not enough to close the persistent Black-White retirement divide.

Black Communities May Face Higher Exposure to Extreme Heat Over the Next Century

A new multi-university study has projected some 66 percent of U.S. counties will be at-risk for extreme heat exposure by 2100, with older adults, Black people, and residents living in the Southeast facing the highest risk.

Black Students Earned Less than Five Percent of Physics Bachelor’s Degrees Awarded in 2024–2025

New data from the American Institute of Physics has revealed Black students represented about 4.7 percent of all recipients of physics bachelor's degrees awarded by U.S. institutions during the 2024–2025 academic year. Black students' representation among physics undergraduate degree recipients has gradually increased over the past two decades.

Virginia State University Report Examines the Economic State of Black American Men and Boys

A new report from Virginia State University's Wes Bellamy analyzes the current economic conditions facing Black men and boys in the United States, including insights regarding K-12 education, postsecondary education, employment, income, and wealth disparities.

Rutgers Study Connects Gun Violence Exposure to Racial Health Disparities

The findings from a new study from scholars at Rutgers University suggests greater exposure to gun violence is a direct contributor to the persistent health disparities facing Black and Hispanic communities.

National Urban League Releases Its 2026 State of Black America Report

In recognition of the country's 250th anniversary, the National Urban League's 2026 State of Black America report examines the status of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness for Black Americans and discusses how to protect the American Dream for all.

Study Finds Non-White School Districts Spend More Per Student Than Other Districts

Since the early 2000s, high-poverty, predominately non-White districts spend more money per pupil than their counterparts. However, urban, predominantly non-White school districts often have higher labor costs, which explains much of the discrepancy.

Research Finds Historical Racial Inequities in Federal Mortgage Lending

During the 1935 to 1947 period, foreign-born U.S. residents appeared to have benefited significantly more from these federal lending programs than native-born Black borrowers.

Report Finds Major Lack of Private Foundation Funding to HBCUs

Between 2015 and 2019, the average Ivy League school received $110 million per year in private foundation funding, while the average HBCU received just $618,588. Thus, the average Ivy League university received 178 times more foundation funding than the average HBCU.

Study Examines Black Students’ Experiences With Racism at Hispanic-Serving Research Universities

“The inclusion of intentional support for Black students should not be considered in conflict with a 'Hispanic-serving' mission, but rather a more inclusive, equitable, and interconnected approach to expanding belonging, access, and resources to all students in which the university is responsible for serving,” the study authors write.
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