Black Stats: African Americans by the Numbers in the Twenty-first Century

225 Pages·2014·2.92 MB·English

by  Monique W. Morris

Monique W. Morris is co-founder of the National Black Women’s Justice
Institute and formerly served as Vice President for Economic Programs,
Advocacy, and Research for the NAACP. The author of the novel Too Beautiful
for Words, she lives in the Bay Area with her husband and two daughters.
Khalil Gibran Muhammad is the director of the Schomburg Center for
Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library and the author of The
Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime, and the Making of Modern Urban
America.
Also by Monique W. Morris
Too Beautiful for Words: A Novel

© 2014 by Monique W. Morris Introduction © 2014 by Khalil Gibran Muhammad All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, in any form, without written permission from the publisher.
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Department, The New Press, 120 Wall Street, 31st floor, New York, NY 10005.
Published in the United States by The New Press, New York, 2014
Distributed by Perseus Distribution LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION
DATA
Morris, Monique W., 1972-
Black stats : African Americans by the numbers in the twenty-first century / Monique W. Morris.
pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-59558-926-2 (e-book) 1. African Americans--Social life and customs--21st century--
Statistics. 2. African Americans--Social life and customs--21st century--Statistics. 3. African Americans-
-Statistics. 4. African Americans--Statistics. I. Title.
E185.86.M637 2014
305.896’0730905--dc23
2013035282
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In memory of Dr. William Manning Marable
(1950–2011)
CONTENTS
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
The Basics
Education
Environment
Entertainment and Sports
Health
Justice
Lifestyle and Identity
Military Service
Money and Jobs
Politics, Voting, and Civic Engagement
Science and Technology
Coda: African Americans by Gender
Black Females
Black Males
Afterword
Resources for Additional Information
Notes
Index
PREFACE
T
he United States is home to more than 40 million people of African
descent—a diverse community whose primary ancestry derives from the Black
racial and ethnic groups of Africa. They came to the United States not only from
the “mother continent” but also from Caribbean islands, Europe, Asia, and South
America. Scholars often interpret race as a socially constructed phenomenon, its
divisions shaped by common social norms, understandings, and perceptions. As
legal scholar Ian Haney López wrote, “Human fate still rides upon ancestry and
appearance. The characteristics of our hair, complexion and facial features still
influence whether we are free or enslaved. . . . Human interaction rather than
natural differentiation must be seen as the source and continued basis for racial
1
categorization.” Race, as a social construct, continues to play an important role
in shaping the life outcomes of individuals in the United States. The complexity,
versatility, and diversity of life among Black Americans have been documented
and widely discussed for more than four centuries.
This book is designed to provide a statistical snapshot of the lives of Black
Americans, juxtaposing where possible their conditions with those of other racial
and ethnic groups. The use of data is a powerful tool for understanding how
these conditions may have changed or where they have remained the same. Data
track specific points along the “color line” that W.E.B. Du Bois famously
declared would dominate the modern public discourse—and consciousness—
2
about human relations in the United States. Because data are able to highlight
both equality and disparity, they remain an essential component in evaluating
progress on racial equity, building a more inclusive democracy, illustrating our
narratives, and deciding where to intensify our advocacy for racial justice.
The data in this book were collected from a variety of secondary sources,
including, but not limited to, federal agencies, foundations, journals, nonprofit
organizations, and corporate surveys. Where appropriate, figures presented here
have been rounded to the nearest whole number or nearest tenth. Where political
or research concepts are introduced, I have offered additional information on the
context or framework that informs the statistics included in that section.
“Black” and “African American” are used interchangeably in this book to
refer to people of African descent. “African American” always refers to people
of African descent who are nationally identified with the United States. “Black”
is a larger umbrella term that describes individuals throughout the African
diaspora, including Caribbean and Latino Americans.
Every day Black Americans are the subject of memes that do little more than
caricature their life experiences for public consumption. While the election of
President Barack Obama delivered an image more powerful than many could
have imagined, we must not lose sight of the more general narrative, and that can
be constructed through data.
Throughout his work, social scientist Manning Marable reminded us that
history is not only about the times long past: understanding contemporary Black
history is crucial to understanding our collective experiences and our interactions
with public policies. Each of us has the ability to record a unique story that adds
to this rich and inclusive tradition. Examining the information in these pages can
inform and develop our thinking about the historic and contemporary conditions
and contributions of Black people in America.
Monique W. Morris
August 2013
Oakland, California