Sociological Comparisons between African-Americans and Whites

Population: as of July of 1999 Total Population 272,330,000 White 224,103,000 82.3% Black 34,997,000 12.9% Hispanic 30,461,000 11.2% Asian 10,861,000 4% American Indian 2,369,000 .9%

Information compiled by www.census.gov

Preference for Racial or Ethnic Terminology

The following data are from a survey asking different groups how they want people to recognize their racial or ethnic identity. Asian Americans go by their actual nationality (e.g., Chinese American, Japanese American).

Hispanic: Hispanic 57.88%, Spanish 12.34%, Latino 11.74%, Other 7.85%, None 10.18%

White: White 61.66%, Caucasian 16.53 %, European American 2.35%, Other 1.97%, Anglo .96%, None 16.53%

Black: Black 44.15%, African American 28.07%, Afro American 12.12%, Negro 3.28%, Other 2.19%, Colored 1.09%, none 9.11%

American Indian: American Indian 49.76%, Native American 37.35%, Other 3.66%, Alaska Native 3.51%, None 5.72%

Information compiled by www.infoplease.com under the keyword: Society and Race/ Ethnicity

Income

Income and Poverty Comparisons

Income Levels for 1997 Households Female Headed Households Males Living Alone Females Living Alone Married Couples African Amer. Whites African Amer. Whites African Amer. Whites African Amer. Whites African Amer. Whites 25,050 40,577 17,962 25,670 17,139 25,415 13,738 15,818 45,372 52,199

The median net worth in households headed by older people increased from 1984 to 1999 by 70 percent, but there is a startling disparity between races. In 1999, the median net worth in households headed by older black people was $13,000, compared with $181,000 for older white householders. www.nih.gov

Poverty Rates for 1997 Individual Family Female Headed Families African A. Whites African A. Whites African A. Whites 26.5 8.6 23.6 6.3 39.8 27.7



Education

Earnings by Education by Race

Historically Black Universities and Colleges

The following are historically Black univeristies or colleges broken down by the percentage of white and Black students attending.

Schools with High White Populations

1. Bluefield State (W. VA)- 92% white population

2. West VA. St. (W. VA)- 86%

3. Lincoln University (Mo.)- 70%

Schools with High Black Populations

1. Tougaloo College (Miss.)- 100% black population

2. Lane College (Tenn.)- 100%

3. Allen University (South Carolina)- 100% t

Information compiled by www.herald-sun.com/hbcu/docs/diversity.hml#Racenrll

Family Structure

The above data are from The Census Bureau and http://www.thuban.com/census/index.html

11.1 percent of White children are poor.

39.9 percent of Black children are poor. This information is from http://www.childrensdefense.org/keyfacts2.html

The young child poverty rate has grown twice as fast among whites as among blacks.

Although the incidence of poverty among whites is relatively low compared to blacks, the rate of white young children living in poverty grew twice as fast as that among blacks (38 percent versus 19 percent) between the late 1970s and the early 1990s. White children are the largest single ethnic group of young children in poverty. In 1994, there were over 2.2 million young white children living in poverty compared to 1.9 million young black children and 1.7 million young Hispanic children.

Whereas 6 percent of young white children were extremely poor in 1994, five times that proportion--30 percent--of young black children lived in families with incomes below 50 percent of the federal poverty threshold. This information is from http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/nccp/reports/longterm.html.

Interracial Married Couples: 1960 to the Present

(Includes all interracial married couples with at least one spouse of white or black race.)

Interracial married couples Black/white Year Total

married couples Total Total Black husband,

white wife White husband,

black wife White/

other race* Black/

other race* 1960 40,491,000 149,000 51,000 25,000 26,000 90,000 7,000 1970 44,598,000 310,000 65,000 41,000 24,000 233,000 12,000 1980 49,514,000 953,000 121,000 94,000 27,000 785,000 47,000 1990 51,718,000 1,461,000 213,000 159,000 54,000 1,173,000 75,000 1995 54,937,000 1,392,000 328,000 206,000 122,000 988,000 76,000

This information was compiled from www.infoplease.com under the keyword: Society and Race/ Ethnicity

Crime Data

Lifetime chances of a person going to prison are higher for

-- men (9%) than for women (1.1%) -- blacks (16.2%) and Hispanics (9.4%) than for whites (2.5%)

Based on current rates of first incarceration, an estimated 28% of black males will enter State or Federal prison during their lifetime, compared to 16% of Hispanic males and 4.4% of white males.

Sixty-five percent of state prison inmates belonged to racial or ethnic minorities in 1991, up from 60% in 1986.

At current levels of incarceration newborn black males in this country have a greater than a 1 in 4 chance of going to prison during their lifetimes, while Hispanic males have a 1 in 6 chance, and white males have a 1 in 23 chance of serving time. NCJ 160092

The number of drug trafficking convictions in State courts more than doubled between 1986 and1990. Of persons convicted of drug trafficking in State courts in 1990--85% were male 42% were white, 57% black, and 1% of other races

The data on crime are from

Health Data

Birth Rate for African-Americans: 70.8 births per 1,000 population (1996)

Source: Monthly Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 46, No. 1 Supplement

National Birth Rate: 14.8 live births per 1,000 population (1996)

Source: Monthly Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 46, No. 1 Supplement

Percent of Births to Teenagers: 22.9 (1996)

Source: Monthly Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 46, No. 1 Supplement

National Proportion of All Live Births to Teenagers: 12.9% (1996)

Source: Monthly Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 46, No. 1 Supplement

Life Expectancy for All Non-White Population: 71.9 years (1996)

Life Expectancy for Black Population: 70.3 years (1996)

Life Expectancy Chart

The health data above are from http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww/fastats/rolodex1.htm

29,583 babies died in 1995a rate of 7.6 for every 1,000 live births. The infant mortality rate for Black babies (15.1 for every 1,000 live births) is decreasing but remains more than twice that for White babies (6.3 for every 1,000 live births). This information is from http://www.childrensdefense.org/keyfacts2.html

HIV/AIDS

Of those who are HIV or AIDS positive, 43% are Black, 20% are Hispanic, 1% are Asian, 36% are White, and 0% are Native American.

Among women, African Americans represent 56% of those who have HIV or AIDS. Statistics compiled by http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/social/kaiser_family_found/2098.393b.html#anchor140821

The Council of Economic Advisors has released a report that lists social and economic indicators of various racial and ethnic groups. It is similar to this website and includes ethnic comparisons and racial comparisons. To view this document click here.