Race relations in the United States: education and wealth disparity remain a key impediment

This is especially true today for Blacks and Hispanics living in the larger cities which now have fewer well-paid job opportunities for less skilled workers as many clerical, administrative and sales work with higher wages and union benefits have been lost and replaced by lower paid jobs with fewer benefits such as cleaners, security guards, and health aides, thus offsetting any city advantage that comes from the availability of non-profits and social services, training programs, or better access to health care and public transit.

A 2021 report by the McKinsey Global Institute, noting that the annual median wage of all US  workers is about $42,000, indicated that 43 per cent of Black workers earn less than $30,000 per year, including around one-third of all security guards and school bus drivers with median wages of $26,000 and $26,500 respectively, and over 35 per cent of all nursing assistants with a median wage of $23,000.

Not surprisingly, as wage growth for White and Hispanic workers from 2000 to 2018 increased  faster at every decile of income than for Black workers, it was estimated that 14.3 per cent of Black workers in 2017 earned poverty-level wages less than the federal poverty line for their family size, compared to just 8.6 per cent of White workers.

With less wealth creating opportunities, Blacks remain disadvantaged on a number of other measures when compared to Whites.   

As of 2018, only 55.4 per cent of Blacks had private health insurance, compared with 74.8 percent of Whites, albeit the Affordable Care Act (or “Obamacare”) provided new coverage options for low- and moderate-income individuals that reduced the uninsured rate for Blacks from 19 per cent to 11 per cent from 2013 to 2016 while rates for Whites were cut from 12 per cent to 7 per cent.  

In 2020, only 44 per cent of Black households owned their homes compared with nearly 74 per cent of Whites,after Black homeownership peaked at 49 per cent in 2004 before the collapse of the housing market in 2008 hit Black homeowners hardest.  

Although based on 2014 data, it was reported that Blacks also retire with a lower median income of $16,863 when compared to $23,292 for Whites, although higher than $13,560 for Hispanics, while the proportion of Blacks relying on social security for retirement income was 44.8 per cent compared to 39.2 per cent for Whites and 45.9 per cent for Hispanics.

Blacks continue to have the highest rates of arrests, as seen by recent data which found that Blacks were arrested at a rate five times higher than Whites in 2018 when assessing 800 jurisdictions and accounting for the demographics of the cities and counties those police departments serve.

With regard to the high rate of Blacks and Hispanics being arrested in New York City, experts (including former police) point to “overreaching laws” passed by legislatures that end up being biased against residents of economically disadvantaged communities where there is a higher minority representation; a lack of educational, health and social service resources to solve problems (often domestic) which leaves them with a reliance on 911; and the need of police to respond to state law requiring arrest for harassment, assault, and narcotic possession and/or use.

Despite greater interaction between the races in recent decades, with the 2020 census noting that 33.8 million Americans now identify as multiracial (including 13.5 million non-Hispanic Americans and 20.3 million Hispanic Americans), the average segregation index by 2020 of Blacks and Whites living together was still nearly 60 (0 full integration and 100 complete separation) across 51 metropolitan areas with at least 1 million residents, although vastly more integrated than in 1960 when 199 US cities scored over 70.

Finally, and despite Hispanics continuing to have marriage patterns more similar to Whites, perhaps reflecting the reality of the large Hispanic population consisting of many first or second generation immigrants who come from countries “where the imperative to marry remains strong”, the above factors citing economic disadvantage may help explain a lower marriage rate for Blacks that can  diminish future prospects for family stability and wealth creation.  

Despite higher divorce rates for all races in recent decades, as of 2019 only 30 per cent of Blacks were married compared to 43 per cent of Hispanics, 52 per cent of Whites, and 58 per cent of Asians (48 per cent of all Americans).