DISPROPORTIONALITY IN THE U.S.
The Starting Line: Wealth or Poverty
If you’re
White, you’re at least ten times more likely to be wealthy.
As of 2014, the wealth of White
households was 13 times greater than that of Black households and 10 times
greater than that of Latino households. This wealth gap has grown since the end
of the Great Recession.
If you’re not White, you’re twice as likely to be poor.
For the period 2007-2011, just over
10% of White Households were below the poverty line, while American Indians and
Alaska Natives had a poverty rate of 27%, Blacks had a poverty rate of 25.8%,
and Latinos had a poverty rate of more than 20%.[1]
The Ladder: Education
If you’re
White, you’re about twice as likely to earn a Bachelor’s Degree.
In 2013, 94.1% of White students
graduated from high school compared with 90.3% of Black students and 75.8% of
Latino/Latina students. 40.4% of White students earned a Bachelor’s degree or
higher, while only 20.5% of Black students and 15.7% of Latino/Latina students
earned a Bachelor’s.[2]
The Workplace: Providing for Your Family
If you’re
not White, you will probably earn less than your White counterparts.
For the period of 1995 - 2012, Black
and Latino/Latina workers aged 25 to 34 could expect to earn substantially less
than their White counterparts. The median income from employment of White
workers in this age group was $40,960. The median income of Black workers was
$31,790, and the median income of Latino and Latina workers was 29,900. Even
those who earned Mater’s Degrees experienced some salary discrimination. Whites
with Master’s Degrees earned a median $56,950, while Blacks earned $54,660 and
Latinos and Latinas earned $50,000.[3]
If you’re Black, you’re more than twice as likely to be unemployed as is a White person.
In 2014, Black people had an
unemployment rate more than twice that of Whites--12.2% versus 5.4%. Latinos
were unemployed at a rate of 7.4%.[4]
[1] Pew Research Center, http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/12/12/racial-wealth-gaps-great-recession/
[2] National Center for Education Statistics, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d13/tables/dt13_104.20.asp
[3] National Center for Education Statistics, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d13/tables/dt13_502.30.asp
[4] Bureau of Labor Statistics, http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat05.pdf, http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat06.pdf
The Toll: Health, Mortality, Inadequate Housing, and Imprisonment
If you’re
Black or Latino/Latina, you’re more likely to be sick.
- In 2006, Black people died from heart disease and stroke at far higher rates than did White people. 19.4% of White women died compared to 37.9% of Black women, and 61.5% of black men died compared to 41.5% of White men.[1]
- In 2010, nearly twice as many Black adults had diabetes than did White adults, and as of 2008, rates of diabetes among Latinos/Latinas was significantly higher than among White people.
- In 2010, Black adults had had the highest HIV infection rate. As of 2008, 73.7 per 100,000 Black people and 25 per 100,000 Latino/Latina people were infected with HIV as compared with 8.2 per 100,000 White people.[2] (http://www.cdc.gov/minorityhealth/populations/REMP/black.html)
If you’re
Black, you probably won’t live as long as you would if you were White.
- In 2009, White men lived an average of nearly six years longer than did Black men. White women lived nearly four years longer than did Black women. Latinos and Latinas of all races lived longer than Whites--a little more than two years for both men and women.[3]
- In 2010, more than twice as many Black infants than White infants died.[4]
If you’re
Black or Latino/Latina, you’re more likely to live in inadequate or unsafe
housing.
In 2009, Black people were 2.3
times more likely to live in inadequate housing than White people.
Latinos/Latinas were two times more likely, and American Indians/Alaska Natives
were 1.9 times more likely.[5]
If you’re
Latino/Latina, you’re two and a half times as likely to be incarcerated as a
White person. If you’re Black, you’re nearly six times as likely to be
incarcerated as a White person.
- In 2010, 380 out of every thousand White people were incarcerated, while 966 out of every thousand Latinos and 2,207 out of every thousand Blacks were incarcerated.[6]
- While 14 million Whites and 2.6 million Blacks report using illicit drugs, Blacks are imprisoned for drug offenses at 5 times the rate of Whites.[7]
[1]
Centers for Disease Control, http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su6001a13.htm?s_cid=su6001a13_w
[2]
Centers for Disease Control, http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su6001a19.htm?s_cid=su6001a19_w#tab
[3]
Centers for Disease Control, http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr62/nvsr62_07.pdf
[4]
Centers for Disease Control, http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su6001a19.htm?s_cid=su6001a19_w#tab
[5]
Centers for Disease Control, http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su6001a4.htm?s_cid=su6001a4_w
[6]
Prison Policy Initiative, http://www.prisonpolicy.org/graphs/raceinc.html
[7]
NAACP, http://www.naacp.org/pages/criminal-justice-fact-sheet
