Race still trumps class for black Americans | Darrick Hamilton and Jennifer Cohen

A new study shows shocking inequality persists for black men and women despite their social background

A new groundbreaking study found that in the US, black boys, even those raised in the highest income households in the toniest neighborhoods, earn less later in life than white boys who grow up in similar circumstances. In other words, race matters, and race may matter even more at higher income levels.

Class does not protect black Americans from racism. Regardless of class status, black people have higher incarceration rates, lower incomes, less wealth, and worse health outcomes. Many politicians and academics continue to insist that education is the key to upward mobility, yet racial disparities persist even when black people attain high levels of education. Of course education is important in its own right, but it is not a panacea to address long-established racist structural barriers.

Black men with a college degree are nearly three times more likely to die from a stroke than white men without a high school diploma

Related: From the Green Book to Facebook, how black people still need to outwit racists in rural America

Continue reading... March 27, 2018 at 07:55PM