Unemployment For Blacks Remains High at 16.5%: Latest Report

Persistently high black unemployment remains a problem here in the United States, as the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that African Americans have an unemployment rate of 16.5 percent, compared to 9 percent for white Americans. This rate remains the same as last month, even though the economy created 290,000 jobs during the month of April.

White unemployment rose slightly from last month's rate of 8.8 percent, but black unemployment is still over 80 percent higher than that of White Americans.
Black women saw their unemployment number rise to 13.7 percent from 12.4 percent last month. This number is 85 percent higher than the unemployment rate for white women, which is at 7.4 percent. Black males are at the bottom of the barrel, with an unemployment rate of 18 percent, which is 95 percent higher than that for white men.

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10 Ways Black People Have A Long Way To Go

Institutional racism
The decrease in race-based scholarships, rollbacks in affirmative action plans, and the persistent inequality in salaries between whites and blacks continue to show how the glass ceiling remains above the head of African Americans.

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10 Ways Black People Have A Long Way To Go

Breakdown of the Black Family
The low marriage rate in the black community has a detrimental effect on today's youth. Nearly 65% percent of black kids are born to single parent homes. Lacking either a mother or a father leaves a gap in a child's psyche that is usually replaced by a more negative factor. While one parent is better than none, a single working mother or father usually doesn't have enough time to parent their children as effectively as they should, which could cause trouble in the household.

10 Ways Black People Have A Long Way To Go

Black Health Issues
While African American are only 13% of the U.S. population, blacks account for more HIV and AIDS cases and HIV-related deaths than any other racial/ethnic group. The rate of obesity is also a huge factor in the community, with over one-third of blacks being obese. The result is a higher risk of pancreatic cancer among blacks than among whites, particularly for women. It also leads to a high prevalence of obesity-related conditions such as hypertension and type 2 diabetes, factors reported to contribute to a high death rate from coronary heart disease.

10 Ways Black People Have A Long Way To Go

Light-Skinned vs. Dark-Skinned
The color complex is an issue in the black community that has existed for centuries. It has divided families, communities and marital relationships, etc. It is a system of discrimination by black people against other African Americans based on skin tone, pitting light versus dark--even though the reality is that no matter what the shade, we are still black.

10 Ways Black People Have A Long Way To Go

Use of the N-word
Much has been said and published over the use of the word "nigger." Political figures and celebrities have argued over its power and prevalence in the black community. No matter how you spin it, this word, whether you love it or hate it, will most likely be a part of the black vernacular for years to come.

10 Ways Black People Have A Long Way To Go

Crack Epidemic
Starting in the early 1980s, a cheap, portable and highly addictive form of cocaine hit America's streets. Crack ravaged many inner cities populated by African Americans with a flood of addiction, a proliferation of border babies (abandoned children in hospitals born addicted to crack), astronomical murder rates, and a general blight that had never been seen before. Even in 2008, the effects crack has had on black families still remain.

10 Ways Black People Have A Long Way To Go

Hurricane Katrina
Race in America came into focus in August 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit the nation's Gulf coast. The fact that many news outlets referred to survivors as "refugees" in addition to the government's slow reaction time for largely black communities hardest hit left many wondering if black people "matter." Socio-economic class and segregation in the U.S. were put on television for the world to see. Although Katrina was a natural disaster, some say it exemplified this country's disregard for the condition of poor people and black folks.

10 Ways Black People Have A Long Way To Go

Black Leaders
Who are they? Who appoints them? Do people still respect what Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have to say? Does the NAACP have any power today? The future and current state of black leadership has been highly debated in recent weeks, but with the emergence of the Barack Obama presidential campaign, there is hope for a brighter day with black leadership.

10 Ways Black People Have A Long Way To Go

Hip-Hop's Portrayal of Women
Rap music has been criticized for its negative portrayal of women, glorification of "thug life," and violence since its inception. However, these days, the future of the genre is less clear as fewer artists top the charts and remain there. Also, opinions differ on who is to blame for women being used as stage props and negatively portrayed in music videos and lyrics. Regardless, the negative effects of hip-hop continue to linger.

10 Ways Black People Have A Long Way To Go

Police Brutality
The brutality cases of Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell and Rodney King have only increased an already cold relationship between the African-American community and police throughout the country. Police brutality has always been prevalent in the black community, but these cases shed light on the often violent encounters between African-Americans and cops.

10 Ways Black People Have A Long Way To Go

Black teen unemployment also continues to be a problem. African American teenagers saw their unemployment rate drop from 41.1 percent to 37.3 percent. But this number is 58 percent higher than a white teen unemployment rate of 23.5 percent.

Some argue that President Obama and Congress must do something to help with the black unemployment situation. The Congressional Black Caucus is urging the passage of a $1.5 billion dollar jobs bill to reduce black teen unemployment in order to curb youth violence. Violence among teens tends to increase during the summer months, when kids are out of school.

There are some who argue that persistently high black unemployment is a human rights issue that should be addressed by The United Nations. Monique Morris of the NAACP makes this point, and I have written that I agree with her. The idea that we live in a nation that should accept persistently high black unemployment as a simple fact of life is fundamentally problematic. High black unemployment is a remnant of our nation's Jim Crow past, and exists in concert with disparities in the criminal justice system, education system and nearly every other indicator of quality of life.

What's most interesting about this recession is that once it's over, black unemployment will probably still be in the double digits. We will be expected to be happy after the recovery, since according to President Obama, "The rising tide will have lifted all boats." But the truth will be that our unemployment rate after the recovery will still be nearly as high or higher than the unemployment rate of whites during the recession. If they are complaining at the top of their lungs about 9 percent unemployment, then we have a right to be just as outspoken.

Black suffering should not be something that we've come to expect and accept. We deserve true equality.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and the author of the new book, "Black American Money." To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.

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