Brown at 50: Still Separate and Unequal, Part 2a

[See the Introduction to this series.]

POVERTY

The US Census Bureau data on poverty are complete only through 2002 (2003 data are still being compiled / analyzed). Most significantly, the method of indicating race changed between 2001 and 2002: for the first time, in 2002 a respondent could indicate more than one race/ethnicity. Some of the highlights from the Census Bureau report "Poverty in the United States: 2002" are as follows:

• The official poverty rate in 2002 was 12.1 percent, up from 11.7 percent in 2001.
  
• In 2002, people below the official poverty thresholds numbered 34.6 million, a figure 1.7 million higher than the 32.9 million in poverty in 2001.
  
• At 16.7 percent, the poverty rate for children did not change between 2001 and 2002, but remained higher than that of 18-to-64-year-olds and seniors aged 65 and over. However, the number of children in poverty increased to 12.1 million in 2002, up from 11.7 million in 2001.
  
• In 2002, 7.2 million families (9.6 percent) were in poverty, up from 6.8 million (9.2 percent) in 2001.
  
• The poverty rates in 2002 for non-Hispanic Whites (8.0 percent for those who identified with no other race groups) and Asians (10.0 percent to 10.3 percent, depending on the race definition) were not different from the rates for the closest groups available in 2001.
  
• Among people who reported Black in 2002, 23.9 percent to 24.1 percent were in poverty, depending on the race definition. Both figures were higher than the 22.7 percent for those who reported Black in 2001.
  
• For Hispanics (who may be of any race), the poverty rate was 21.8 percent in 2002, unchanged from 2001.
  
• The number of female householder families with no husband present in poverty increased to 3.6 million in 2002 from 3.5 million in 2001. The poverty rate for these families was unchanged from 2001, at 26.5 percent.

Going from the main table for comparison by race/ethnicity, one finds the following information:

• Whites make up 68%-80% of the total US population (depending on race definitions), but only 45%-70% of the total poor population in the US.
  
• Blacks make up only 12%-13% of the total US population, but 25%-26% of the total poor population in the US.
  
• Hispanics (who may identify in any race in Census procedures) constitute only 14% of the total US population, but 25% of the total poor population in the US.
  
• And while Asians/Pacific Islanders make up 4%-5% of the total US population, they constitute only 3%-4% of the total poor population in the US.
  
• Under whatever definitions of race are applied, the poverty rates for both Blacks and Hispanics are more than two times the rates for Whites and Asians/Pacific Islanders.

Another approach to the matter is to consult historical tables, which gather data from 1959-2002. There one sees disturbing trends with respect to age differences, gender differences, racial differences, native/immigrant differences, regional differences, and metropolitan/non-metropolitan differences. Looking at the historical tables, it might be tempting to grow comfortable with the fact that an overall improvement seems to be occurring - the percentages of poverty in all categories is much lower than 45 years ago. But this comfort should be punctured by the fact that such disparities between related categories have both persisted and in many cases worsened.

(Continues...)