Report Examines Racial Diversity in the Nation’s Newsrooms
A new study from the Pew Research Center finds that only 6 percent of all reporting journalists in the United States are Black. Only 3 percent of all journalists whose primary beat is science are Black. Blacks are 2 percent of all reporters whose primary focus is on the environment or energy.
New ACE Report Presents Data on College Presidents Who Are Black
The American Council on Education report finds that the college presidency remains older, White, and male. But, Blacks or African Americans were 13.6 percent of college or university presidents, approximately equal to the percentage of Blacks in the U.S. population.
Racial Disparities in Working From Home Before and After the Pandemic
In 2019, Whites were 80.5 percent of all people who worked from home. Blacks made up 7.8 percent of all home-based workers. By 2021, Whites were 66.8 percent of all home-based workers and Blacks made up 9.5 percent of this group.
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.
Zillow Study Finds Racial Disparities in Rental Applications and Security Deposits
The report found that on average Blacks had a $150 higher security deposit than Whites. About 93 percent of renters of color had to pay a security deposit last year, while 85 percent of white renters had to post a security deposit.
Nursing Staff Shortages at Some Hospitals May Impact the Black Maternal Mortality Rate
A new study found that hospitals serving more patients at risk for complications during childbirth are less likely to have enough nurses to care for patients. This may be contributing to poor maternal health outcomes in the U.S. for the most vulnerable childbearing populations, including Black mothers.
How to Maintain Racial Diversity If the Supreme Court Prohibits Race-Sensitive Admissions
A new report from the Center on Education and the Workforce in the School of Public Policy at Georgetown University finds that the racial and ethnic diversity of students at the nation's most selective colleges and universities will decrease significantly unless these colleges fundamentally altered their admissions practices.
Faculty From Underrepresented Groups Come Up Short in Tenure Appointments
Half of all faculty from underrepresented groups were part-time in 2021 compared to 44 percent of White faculty and 26 percent of Asian faculty. Some 37 percent of all faculty from underrepresented groups held tenure, compared to 45 percent of White faculty and 47 percent of Asian faculty.
How the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacted Black Church Attendance
Black Protestants remain the U.S. religious group most likely to be viewing services virtually. At the height of the pandemic, two-thirds of Black Protestants reported they participated in virtual services over the past month. In the most recent survey, 54 percent of Black Protestants say they participated in services online or on TV in the last month.
Black Patients Change Their Appearance and Behavior to Avoid Bias by Healthcare Providers
A new study by the California Health Foundation finds that many Black Californians report adjusting their appearance or behavior — even minimizing questions — all to reduce the chances of discrimination and bias in hospitals, clinics, and doctors’ offices.
A Rise in Simultaneous Alcohol and Marijuana Use Among African American College Students
A new study led by researchers at Tulane University in New Orleans finds that simultaneous alcohol and marijuana use among college students is on...
Study Finds a Huge Racial Disparity in Newborn Drug Testing
A new study led by researchers at the University of Michigan finds that clinicians ordered drug tests to be performed on Black newborns at nearly four times the rate of other children. In total, 24 states and the District of Columbia consider substance use during pregnancy to be child abuse under civil child-welfare statutes.
Attending an HBCU Can Have Long-Term Mental Health Benefits for Some Students
Researchers at the University of Minnesota tracked a large group of African Americans from their high school years until many years after they attended college. They found no overall association for lower symptoms of depression for HBCU students compared to their peers who attended predominantly White schools But for some subsets of HBCU students, there was a positive impact.
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.
Police Reports on Facebook Overrepresent Black Suspects Relative to Actual Arrest Rates
Researchers analyzed 100,000 posts from nearly 14,000 Facebook pages maintained by law enforcement agencies in the United States that reported on the race of individuals suspected of or arrested for crimes. Black suspects were described in 32 percent of Facebook posts but represented just 20 percent of all people arrested.
Research Published in the Journal of the National Medical Association Is Largely Ignored
The National Medical Association was established in 1895 because physicians of color were not permitted to be members of the American Medical Association. Today, the National Medical Association has 30,000 members. A recent study finds that articles published in the association's medical journal are almost never cited in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Many Black Americans Have a Very Dim View of Capitalism
In an August 2022 survey by the Pew Research Center, 54 percent of Black adults said they had a very or somewhat negative impression of capitalism, up from 40 percent in May 2019. Four-in-ten Black adults held a very or somewhat positive view of capitalism in 2022, down from 57 percent in 2019.
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.
Boston University Study Finds Racism Is a Factor in High Rates of Heart Disease...
A team of researchers who followed more than 48,000 Black women over 22 years found those who reported experiencing interpersonal racism in employment, housing, and in interactions with the police had a 26 percent higher risk of coronary heart disease than those who did not.
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.
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.
More Than One in Five Black Students in Higher Education Say They Face Discrimination...
A new survey by the Gallup Organization for the Lumina Foundation finds that 21 percent of all Black students currently enrolled in U.S. higher education say they feel discriminated against “frequently” or “occasionally” in their program. The problem is most severe at private, for-profit institutions, according to the survey.
Yale Study Finds Racial Disparity in Uterine Cancer Testing and Diagnosis
Patients who receive an early diagnosis of uterine cancer, have a 95 percent chance to survive for at least five years. But Black patients are less likely than their White counterparts to receive diagnostic testing and for those who do receive the recommended procedures, Blacks are more likely to experience delays in testing and diagnosis.
Survey Explores Black American Adults’ Opinions on Equal Rights for Women and Feminism
A new survey by the Pew Research Center finds that among Among college-educated Black adults, 61 percent believe that the feminist movement has helped Black women. Only 45 percent of Black adults with only a high school education agree. Only 16 percent of Black adults believe that feminism has helped Black women a lot.
The Persistent Racial Gap in Educational Attainment in the United States
In 2022, 27.6 percent of African Americans over the age of 25 had obtained at least a bachelor’s degree. For non-Hispanic Whites, the figure was 48.2 percent. Some 10.1 percent of Black adults held a graduate or professional degree compared to 15.7 percent of non-Hispanic Whites.
Study Shows How High Incarcertation Rates Among Black Men Impact Their Families
More than 1.1 million African American men are imprisoned in the United States, and about 500,000 are fathers. Many of their fathers also served time in jail or prison, and studies have shown that it is likely that many of their children will as well.
How Teacher Development Initiatives Can Increase Black Students’ Pursuit of STEM Degrees
A new study led by scholars at Rice University in Houston, Texas, found that when middle and high school teachers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) pursue continuing professional development, their students benefit. The effect was particularly evident for Black girls.
African American College Students More Often Have Other Duties Compared to Their Peers
The new Lumina-Gallup Student Study finds that 22 percent of African American college students provide care to children, friends, seniors, or other relatives. One out of every five African American college students also has a full-time job. Both of these are about double the rate for bachelor's degree students as a whole.
High Levels of Depression Among College-Educated Black Americans Linked to Racial Discrimination
A study led by Darrell Hudson, an associate professor of social work at Washington University in St. Louis, finds that there is a significant association between everyday discrimination and depressive symptoms among college-educated African American young adults. More than 15 percent of the sample reported that they had been diagnosed with depression by a health care provider at some point in their lives.
University of Pennsylvania-Led Study Finds Racism in Emergency Room Care
The study found that one of every 10 Black patients at emergency rooms believed that their race impacted the quality of care that they received. Black patients reported that race most heavily affected the quality of care, respect, and communication.
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.
Racial Disparities in School Discipline: How Much Can Be Explained by Teacher Bias?
A new study by Jayanti Owens, an assistant professor of organizational behavior at the Yale School of Management, found that teachers tend to blame Black boys more than White boys for identical misbehaviors and are more likely to send them to the principal’s office.
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.
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.
Rand Corporation Reports Examines Teachers’ Response to Curriculum Restrictions on Race
Roughly one-quarter of teachers reported not knowing whether they were subject to restrictions on how they can address topics related to race or gender, and only 30 percent of teachers in states with restrictions reported them as being in place.
