An overwhelming allegiance to the Democratic Party has left black lawmakers in the South without power in Republican-controlled state legislatures, according to a new report.

The nonpartisan Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies said in a report issued Friday that despite Barack Obama’s election as president, black voters and elected officials in the South have less influence now than at any other time since the civil rights era.

“Since conservative whites control all the power in the region, they are enacting legislation both neglectful of the needs of African-Americans and other communities of color,” the senior research associate, David A. Bositis, wrote in a paper titled “Resegregation in Southern Politics?” The center, based in Washington, conducts research and policy analysis, particularly on issues that affect blacks and other minorities.

Read more at The New York Times.

It was previously available at The Washington Post, ABC News, and MSNBC.

(WASHINGTON, DC)— Building on its 41-year legacy of promoting African American engagement in our democratic system, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies today unveiled a new institute to focus on information, research and analysis on civic and political participation among people of color.

In addition to carrying on the Joint Center's work of supporting networks of black elected and appointed officials, as well as tracking the voting habits of African Americans, the new Civic Engagement and Governance Institute will coordinate efforts to better understand how people of color can more effectively participate in the public institutions that are critical to their future.  To that end, it will conduct research on issues of inequality, provide expert analysis and advance policy solutions through published research papers, issue briefings and discussion forums.

"At a time when so many African Americans are exposed to the consequences of the recent economic downtown and their government's efforts to address fiscal challenges, we need to explore ways to more fully participate in our institutions of democracy," said Ralph B. Everett, the Joint Center's President and CEO. "The work of this new Institute will bring greater focus and urgency to the task of connecting people with our system of governance."

Download the Agenda here.

Following the election of President Barack Obama, many political observers – especially conservative ones — suggested that the United States is now a post-racial society. Three years later, in the region of the country where most African Americans live, the South, there is strong statistical evidence that politics is resegregating, with African Americans once again excluded from power and representation. Black voters and elected officials have less influence now than at any time since the civil rights era. And since conservative whites control all the power in the region, they are enacting legislation both neglectful of the needs of African Americans and other communities of color (in health care, in education, in criminal justice policy) as well as outright hostile to them, as in the assault on voting rights through photo identification laws and other means.

The racially polarized voting that defines much of southern politics at this time, is in certain ways recreating the segregated system of the Old South, albeit a de facto
system with minimal violence rather than the de jure system of before. If the political parties in the South are now a substitute for racial labels, then black aspirations there will continue to be limited. All this is reminiscent of the white primaries and poll taxes of days gone by.

This fact sheet provides information on the history of the Joint Center's Black Elected Officials (BEOs) Roster, its importance, and its transition to an electronic format.

To enhance its efforts to encourage greater participation in public affairs, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies is establishing a Civic Engagement and Governance Institute, which intends to be a key source of information, research and analysis on civic and political participation among people of color.

While America has made significant progress in racial equality in the four decades since the Joint Center was founded, and while African Americans have vastly increased their representation in elected and appointed positions across most levels of government, a closer look at life in communities of color still finds enduring disparities in areas such as housing, employment, health, income, criminal justice and voting rights.  The new Institute will explore how people of color perceive the world around them and how they exercise their voice in our society, as well as how they can more effectively participate in the democratic institutions that are critical to their future.

While a number of organizations regularly assess governance issues, there is a lack of research regarding the quality and quantity of the interaction between citizens and their government – outcomes that should be monitored as we seek to preserve and enhance our commitment to democratic ideals and creating more opportunity for all.  One particular area of focus, in cooperation with the Joint Center Media and Technology Institute, will be the new online technologies and the potential they offer for enabling more people of color to participate in the nation’s civic and political life.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 -- The National Council of La Raza issued the following news release:

As the United States transitions to a "majority-minority" population over the next three decades, prominent health and income security groups say the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction and other members of Congress must take into account how changes to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid will affect communities of color, a population that is growing and increasingly economically insecure.

Two new reports show the importance of programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid to communities of color. Plan for a New Future: The Impact of Social Security Reform on Communities of Color, released by the Commission to Modernize Social Security, argues that changes to the program must consider the impact on workers and families of color who are more vulnerable to economic instability and far less likely to have generational wealth than White families. The importance of Medicaid to the Black and Latino communities, as well as the heavy burden of chronic disease borne by these groups, is documented in a detailed report, Medicaid: A Lifeline for Blacks and Latinos With Serious Health Care Needs, which was recently released by Families USA.

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"Social Security is the only source of income for two of every five African American retiree households age 65 and older," said Commission member Dr. Wilhelmina Leigh, Senior Research Associate at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. "So any proposals to guarantee system solvency should also guarantee the adequacy of benefits going forward."

Read the full story at Insurance News.

WASHINGTON, DC – The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, one of the nation’s leading research and public policy institutions, has announced the election of Robert R. Hagans, Jr., Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at AARP, to a three-year term on its Board of Governors.

Mr. Hagans has more than 30 years of experience in financial management, largely in government and non-profit agencies.   He currently directs a range of AARP’s financial, administrative and support services and provides strategic guidance and expertise in all areas of the association’s fiscal management, strategy implementation and policy formulation.  This includes oversight of approximately $8 billion in annual cash flow for AARP and related entities, a $1.4 billion operating budget, and the $0.5 billion AARP pension plan.  He joined the organization in 2001.

The Southern Economic Association will hold its 8th annual meetings from November 19 to November 21, 2011 at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, DC.

Dr. Wilhelmina Leigh of the Joint Center will be a discussant at a session entitled Health Outcomes and Occupational Advancement on Sunday, November 20 at 2:00 PM.

For more information on the meetings, please visit the Southern Economic Association.

Building on its legacy of advancing the nation’s political system as the primary means to achieve racial equality – and particularly in encouraging black participation in public affairs and supporting networks of black elected and appointed officials – the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies invites you to join us for the launch of our Civic Engagement and Governance Institute, to be followed by the African American Economic Summit.

The new Institute will serve as a key source of information and analysis regarding civic and political participation among people of color. To that end, it will conduct research on issues of equality and opportunity, provide expert analysis on economic and social issues and advance policy solutions through published research papers, issue briefings and public forums. The Institute blends the Joint Center’s historic mission with a renewed political and economic research agenda to address current issues, and to ultimately leverage synergies between our existing “centers of excellence” – the Health Policy Institute and the Media and Technology Institute.

The two programs will be held on Friday, November 18, 2011 from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Featured speakers include:

• Ralph B. Everett, Esq., President and CEO, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
• Barbara L. Johnson, Partner, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky, and Walker LLP
• Robert L. Mallett, Esq., Member, Joint Center Board of Governors
• Dr. Diane M. Pinderhughes, Professor, Department of Africana Studies and Department of Political Science, University of Notre Dame
• Kurt L. Schmoke, Esq., Dean, Howard University School of Law
• Sonya Ross, Race/Ethnicity/Demographics Editor, Associated Press
• Dr. David A. Bositis, Senior Political Analyst, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
• Wade Henderson, Esq., President and CEO, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
• Dr. William Darity, Jr., Professor and Director, Network on Racial and Ethnic Inequality at Duke University
• Dr. William E. Spriggs, Assistant Secretary of Policy, United States Department of Labor
• Dr. Nicol Turner-Lee, Vice President and Director, Media and Technology Institute, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
• Gina E. Wood, Director of Policy and Planning, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
• Dr. Darrick Hamilton, Associate Professor of Economics, The Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy, The New School
• Chanelle Hardy, Esq., Senior Vice President for Policy and Executive Director, National Urban League Policy Institute

Seating is limited. Please register by November 16. Click here for registration and program information.

Social researchers and financial experts agree that women investing for retirement--especially those from African-American, Latino and other ethnic communities--are facing tough choices in the wake of the last decade’s financial downturns.

Today’s tough economy leaves female retirees—regardless of whether they’ve had financial guidance—to grapple with decisions about how to invest their hard earned savings. Although retirement research and best-practice recommendations may be sparse, one thing many working women have going for them is their resilience.

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Experts say that data is limited on how women invest for their post-retirement years, partly because of individuals’ reluctance to share information about their finances, said Wilhelmina Leigh, a senior research associate in economic security for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, in Washington, D.C.

Read more at New America Media.