Black women heavier and happier with their bodies

Like many black women, Gibson describes her 5-foot-4, size 14-plus physique as “thick,” and considers herself ultra-feminine — no matter what the mainstream culture has to say about it.

She’s one of the most full-figured women in the gym, but she’s in love with her body. And it’s a sentiment that syncs perfectly with a recent survey conducted by The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation that focused on African American women. [Read more]

Black Job Seekers are Still at the Back of the Bus

At this time of year, when we celebrate the birthday of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Black History Month, we often celebrate the successes of the Civil Rights Movement. But I never hear anyone speak of the many goals that the Movement did not achieve. One such goal is the goal of full employment for African Americans.

The 1963 March in which King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech was not simply a "march on Washington" as many people call it. The full title of the march was the "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom." The truly important part of the title is the "jobs and freedom" part. If we are going to abbreviate the title of the march, let's call it the "March for Jobs and Freedom." When we say "the 1963 March for Jobs and Freedom" we remind ourselves that jobs was a fundamental part of the African American civil rights movement.

One demand of the March for Jobs and Freedom was for "a massive Federal program to train and place unemployed workers." When Martin Luther King died, he was still planning the Poor People's Campaign. The number one goal of the Poor People's Campaign was full employment. In a full-employment economy everyone who wants a job can get one. In his book, I've Got the Light of Freedom, the civil rights historian Charles Payne points out that for Mississippians involved in the civil rights movement, civil rights included the right to a "decent job."

Jobs was such an important issue to civil rights activists because in the 1960s the black unemployment rate was about twice the white rate. Civil rights activists also recognized that without jobs, blacks would never conquer poverty and all of the problems that stem from poverty. Fifty years later, the black unemployment rate continues to run at about twice the white unemployment rate, and blacks have failed to conquer poverty and all of the problems that stem from poverty.

Many times over the last 50 years, the American economy has provided a job for nearly every white American who has wanted one. But the American economy has never succeeded in doing the same for African Americans. We need to create an American economy where not only every white person who wants to work can find a job, but also where every black person who wants to work can find a job.

In the past 50 years, the highest unemployment rates that white America has experienced are about the level of the lowest unemployment rates that black America has experienced. This means that if African Americans were to give up the struggle for equality and were to just obtain enough jobs to have the worst unemployment rate that whites have experienced over the last 50 years, this change would be a tremendous improvement over the status quo. When it comes to unemployment, African Americans are still second-class citizens, sitting at the back of the bus.

Pretty much all of the major social problems faced by African Americans are connected to the problem of the persistent high levels of joblessness. Of course, black poverty rates are linked to high black unemployment rates. We also know that poor children do worse in school [PDF] than middle-class children. A significant part of the achievement gap stems from the high rate of black poverty. If you are interested in reducing crime in black communities, then it is important to reduce black unemployment rates. Economic disadvantage is correlated with crime rates. The wealth gap is also connected to the unemployment gap. People who are unemployed do not build wealth; they spend down their savings, and if they have no savings, they go into debt. If you are interested in increasing the black marriage rate, again, you should be concerned about the high rate of joblessness among blacks. Economic insecurity is linked to lower marriage rates. Greater rates of steady employment in good jobs for blacks, and particularly for black men, would lead to an increase in the black marriage rate.

The civil rights activists of the 1960s marched on Washington to fight for job opportunities for blacks. They succeeded in obtaining anti-discrimination policies, but they did not succeed in obtaining "a massive Federal program to train and place unemployed workers," nor did they obtain a real federal commitment for full employment. If we truly want to honor Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement, we need to continue the work that they did not complete.

Lending Discrimination against Blacks

In a study of loans created on Prosper.com, a peer-to-peer lending website where applicants are encouraged to include a personal photo, researchers found that black borrowers are 25 to 35 percent less likely to receive funding than a white borrower with similar credit. [Read more]

Blacks Suffer Biggest Decline in Health Insurance Coverage

Read the report.

For African Americans, 50 years of high unemployment

In 2011, the African American unemployment rate averaged 15.8 percent – twice the white average of 7.9 percent. This disparity has persisted for the last half-century. In fact, the black unemployment rate has consistently been roughly twice the white rate. Data from the Census Bureau indicates this 2-to-1 relationship dates back to at least 1960 (Fairlie and Sundstrom 1999). [Read more]

No relief in 2012 from high unemployment for African Americans and Latinos

Even though the U.S. recession officially ended in June 2009, the country’s unemployment rate remains devastatingly high. The situation is particularly dire for many African Americans and Latinos—and is not predicted to improve any time soon. [Read more]

EVENT: Achieving Full Employment for Black Workers (Updated)

You are invited to attend a February 16th forum sponsored by EPI's Program on Race, Ethnicity and the Economy. Hit hard by the recession, left behind in the recovery: achieving full employment for black workers While all demographic groups have endured high rates of unemployment in the wake of the Great Recession, African Americans have seen the highest levels.  In 2011, the black unemployment rate averaged 15.8 percent—twice the white average of 7.9 percent.  Even during good economic times, the black unemployment rate is typically about twice the white rate.  In 2007, when the white unemployment rate averaged 4.1 percent, the black rate averaged 8.3 percent. During 2011, the overall reduction in the unemployment rate was reflected in declining rates for both whites and Latinos, yet the unemployment rate for African Americans was the same at the beginning of 2011 as it was at year’s end. Join us for a panel that explores about what should be done to reduce high black unemployment today, and what should be done to break the 2-to-1 black-to-white unemployment rate ratio that persists even in good economic times. Agenda Keynote Introduction Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), confirmed Panelists Algernon Austin, Director, Program on Race, Ethnicity and the Economy Valerie Rawlston Wilson, Vice President of Research & Economist, National Urban League Policy Institute Tanya Clay House, Director of Public Policy, Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Brandon Garrett, Policy Director, Congressional Black Caucus Thursday, February 16, 2012 9:00 - 11:00 am (Registration opens at 8:45 am) Continental breakfast will be available This event is free, but we ask that you register HERE. Location Economic Policy Institute 1333 H Street, NW Suite 300 Washington, DC 20005

Many With Only High School Degree Laid Off During Weak Recovery

For many in the United States, the two years since the end of the recession have been worse than the downturn itself.

Among those Americans with only a high school degree who have lost a job since 2007, a third became unemployed after the official end of the recession, according to The Washington Post. [Read more]

EVENT: Achieving Full Employment for Black Workers

Hit Hard by the Recession, Left Behind in the Recovery: achieving full employment for black workers (EPI Forums)

While all demographic groups have endured high rates of unemployment in the wake of the Great Recession, African Americans have seen the highest levels.  In 2011, the black unemployment rate averaged 15.8 percenttwice the white average of 7.9 percent.  Even during good economic times, the black unemployment rate is typically about twice the white rate.  In 2007, when the white unemployment rate averaged 4.1 percent, the black rate averaged 8.3 percent.

During 2011, the overall reduction in the unemployment rate was reflected in declining rates for both whites and Latinos, yet the unemployment rate for African Americans was the same at the beginning of 2011 as it was at years end.

Join us for a panel that explores about what should be done to reduce high black unemployment today, and what should be done to break the 2-to-1 black-to-white unemployment rate ratio that persists even in good economic times.

Panelists

Algernon Austin, Director, Program on Race, Ethnicity and the Economy

Tanya Clay House, Director of Public Policy, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

Brandon Garrett, Policy Director, Congressional Black Caucus

Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) (invited)

Register

Are Your Hair Treatments Making You Sick?

Terry’s study, “Racial/Ethnic Differences in Hormonally-Active Hair Product Use: A Plausible Risk Factor for Health Disparities,” published in the Journal of Immigrant Health, found that the African-American African Caribbean women surveyed used products that contained chemicals -- commonly referred to as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) -- linked to various reproductive and birth defects, breast cancer and heart disease.


Most recently, a team of researchers led by Dr. Lauren Wise of Boston University’s Slone Epidemiology Center found strong evidence indicating that African-American womens’ hair relaxer use increases the risk for uterine fibroid tumors by exposing Black women to various chemicals through scalp lesions and burns from the products. [Read more]

Foreclosure Crisis Erases Hard-Won Wealth, Dreams Even In Center Of Black Affluence

A Nigerian immigrant who runs an executive car service, Otigba learned over burgers and potato salad that his new neighbors, all of them black, included a White House staffer, a Grammy-winning producer, a lawyer, a nurse, an engineer and a fellow business owner. That's an impressive lineup in most any community, but here in Prince George's County, the most affluent majority-black county in the United States, the Otigbas and their neighbors were just part of the wave of well-to-do families who arrived in the years before the financial collapse to stake their claim on a 5,000-square-foot version of the American dream.


Outside the cul-de-sac's seven brandy-colored brick neocolonials, party conversation quickly turned to typical middle-class concerns, from the quality of area schools to guidelines for the local homeowners association. By the time the Otigbas cleaned up and helped the hired DJ pack his equipment, several of their new neighbors had made something else clear. Most planned to spend the coming decades living in Balk Hill.
"I found that refreshing," said Otigba, 43. "When we moved here, I told my wife, 'This is it. I'm never moving again.' We were planting our roots."


That was then. Today, the Otigbas and five of their six immediate neighbors are underwater on their mortgages, that is, they owe more than their homes are worth. The lawyer's house sits vacant after a failed short sale. The engineer fears the house he shares with his family will become unaffordable when their mortgage resets in about a year. And having attempted once unsuccessfully to cut a new deal with their bank, the Otigbas are waiting to hear the results of a second effort. For months they've lived in fear that an official foreclosure notice will arrive with an order to vacate. [Read more]