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WASHINGTON - Decades after the civil rights movement, racial disparities in income, education and home ownership persist and, by some measures, are growing. White households had incomes that were two-thirds higher than blacks and 40 percent higher than Hispanics last year, according to data released today by the Census Bureau. White adults were also more likely than black and Hispanic adults to have college degrees and to own their own homes. They were less likely to live in poverty. The Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury metropolitan area parallels the national trend, as do both Carolinas, the data show. "One would expect the gap would be shrinking," said Harvey Gantt, who served as Charlotte's mayor in the 1980s. "It's a disappointment, with all of the advances I thought had been made with education, job training, etc." The median white household income for the Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury area is $50,253, compared with the median black household income of $29,764. The area's Hispanic household income is $34,552. "I am not surprised by the data at all," said Jim Buie, senior editor at the N.C. Justice Center, a nonprofit anti-poverty organization based in Raleigh. "It reinforces a lot of things that we've known for a long time ... It's almost like there are two North Carolinas." Around the nation, home ownership is near an all-time high. But racial gaps have increased in the past 25 years. Home ownership grew among white middle-class families after World War II when access to credit and government programs made buying houses affordable. Black families were largely left out because of discrimination, and the effects are still being felt, said Lance Freeman, assistant professor of urban planning at Columbia University and author of "There Goes the 'Hood." Home ownership creates wealth, which enables families to live in good neighborhoods with good schools. It also helps families finance college, which leads to better-paying jobs, perpetuating the cycle, Freeman said. "If your parents own their own home they can leave it to you when they pass on or they can use the equity to help you with a down payment on yours," Freeman said. Three-fourths of white households owned their homes in 2005, compared with 46 percent of black households. The numbers are similar in the Carolinas. In North Carolina, many families have been hurt by the loss of manufacturing jobs with little or no job training to help make the transition to other careers, said Laura Hogshead, assistant director for UNC Chapel Hill's Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity. Black families have also been hurt by the decline of manufacturing jobs -- the same jobs that helped propel many white families into the middle class after World War II, said Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACP's Washington office. Among Hispanics around the country, education, income and home ownership gaps are exacerbated by recent Latin American immigrants. Hispanic immigrants have, on average, lower incomes and education levels than people born in the United States. About 40 percent of U.S. Hispanics are immigrants. Nationwide, about 48 percent of Hispanic households owned their homes compared with about 32 percent in the Charlotte metro area. Asian Americans, on average, have higher incomes and education levels than whites. However, they have higher poverty rates and lower home ownership rates. The 2005 data released today are from the American Community Survey, the Census Bureau's new annual survey of 3 million households nationwide. The Associated Press compared the figures with census data from 1980, 1990 and 2000. Among the findings: • Black adults have narrowed the gap with white adults in earning high school diplomas, but the gap has widened for college degrees. Thirty percent of white adults had at least a bachelor's degree in 2005, while 17 percent of black adults and 12 percent of Hispanic adults had degrees. • Forty-nine percent of Asian Americans had at least a bachelor's degree in 2005. • The median income for white households was $50,622 last year. It was $30,939 for black households, $36,278 for Hispanic households and $60,367 for Asian households. • Median income for black households has stayed about 60 percent of the income for white households since 1980. Thomas Shapiro, professor of law and social policy at Brandeis University, said the "easiest answer" to narrowing racial gaps is to promote home ownership, which would help minority families accumulate wealth. "The wealth gap is not just a story of merit and achievement, it's also a story of the historical legacy of race in the United Sates," said Shapiro. Shelton called for more funding for preschool programs, improving public schools and making college more affordable. "Income should not be a significant determining factor whether someone should have an opportunity to go to college," Shelton said. Racial Disparities CHARLOTTE-GASTONIA SALISBURY AREA Median IncomeWhite: $50,253 Black: $29,764 Hispanic or Latino: $34,552 Percent living in poverty: White: 6.7% Black: 21.6% Hispanic or Latino: 25% Percent owning homes: White: 76.7% Black: 47.2% Hispanic or Latino: 32.1% NORTH CAROLINA Median income White: $45,392 Black: $27,889 Hispanic or Latino: $31,773 Percent living in poverty: White: 7.6% Black: 24% Hispanic or Latino: 27.2% Percent owning homes: White:74.7% Black: 49.8% Hispanic or Latino: 35.8% SOUTH CAROLINA: Median income White: $46,074 Black: $25,704 Hispanic or Latino: $35,353 Percent living in poverty: White: 7.5% Black: 24.4% Hispanic or Latino: 24.6% Percent owning homes: White: 76.8% Black: 54.7% Hispanic or Latino: 38% Source: U.S. Census Bureau |
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