Women's Research and Education Institute and the Alliance for National Defense will hold their ninth Conference on Women in the Military on October 27 and 28, 2011 at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial in Arlington, Virginia. The schedule of events includes panels on Experiences of Women in Combat Zones; a presentation by the Office of the Secretary of Defense Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office; a panel discussing Women in Combat: The Issues; and a discussion on Supporting Military Women.

Joint Center Senior Military Fellow LTC Janet Holliday will participate in a panel entitled Women in Combat: The Issues on Thursday, October 27 from 1 PM to 3 PM.

For more information, visit the Women's Research and Education Institute.

The 2011 Southern Regional Asset Building Coalition conference, Closing the Wealth Gap: Building Family and Community Economic Success, will bring together organizations whose work is dedicated to building the assets of low-income families and communities. The conference design is to educate, inform, showcase, and illuminate issues, barriers, and successes of asset development strategies in the southeast region and across the country. The conference will offer a full day and a half of plenary, strategy sessions, and small group dialogue. The conference will be held on Thursday, October 20 and Friday, October 21, 2011 at the Grand Marriott Hotel and Spa Resort in Point Clear, Alabama.

Gina Wood and Melissa Wells of the Civic Engagement and Governance Institute will hold a plenary session entitled Regional and State Policy Practices: Connecting with Legislators on Thursday, October 20 at 1 PM.

For more information, visit the Southern Regional Asset Building Coalition.

African Americans and white Americans differ in the type and magnitude of their asset holdings. Perhaps as a result of these differences, the two groups also have differing perspectives on and responses to the 2008-2009 economic downturn. Similarities of perspective exist between the groups as well. For example, both African Americans and whites report similar levels of confidence in the nation’s financial institutions and sector.

These findings are from a survey of 850 African Americans and 850 members of the general U.S. population (including 721 white Americans) that was conducted for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies by Research America between May 21 and June 9, 2009. The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies National Opinion Poll about Social Security, Retirement Savings and the Economic Downturn found many striking differences between African Americans and whites on these topics.

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African Americans are more likely than whites to expect that Social Security will be their major source of income during retirement. Th is was true in both 1998 (35 percent of African Americans versus 17 percent of whites) and 2009 (37 percent of African Americans versus 27 percent of whites). African Americans also are more likely than whites to support the Social Security system as currently structured and to believe that the system should continue to provide the same type and level of benefits. A range of views, however, is held by African Americans and whites on selected proposals for reforming the Social Security system to ensure its solvency.

These findings are from a survey of 850 African Americans and 850 members of the general U.S. population (including 721 white Americans) that was conducted for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies by Research America between May 21 and June 9, 2009. The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies National Opinion Poll about Social Security, Retirement Savings and the Economic Downturn found many striking differences between African Americans and whites on these topics.

This publication is available for download by clicking the icon below.

Researchers and financial experts alike agree that women’s post-retirement investment practices are topics worthy of exploration. But until such data and suggested best practices emerge, it’s tough choices for today’s female retirees who, with or without financial guidance, face tough decisions about how to invest their hard earned savings.

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On the topic of how women in general invest post retirement, experts say the data is limited and has to be inferred from what has been documented. That’s due in part to individuals’ reluctance to share information about their finances as well as the lack of funding to conduct such research, said Wilhelmina Leigh, Ph.D. and senior research associate in economic security for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

In 2009, the Joint Center polled 1,700 individuals in the National Opinion Poll about Social Security, Retirement Savings and the Economic Downturn. One specific question was designed to gauge how many respondents had consulted with a financial planner within the year prior to. According to the results, 16.4 percent of the 475 Black women polled and 15.9 percent of the 377 white women polled said they had consulted with a financial advisor.

Read more at The Louisiana Weekly.

When Lucille Richmond cast her ballot for Barack Obama three years ago, she, like many African-Americans, embraced the historic opportunity to help elect the nation’s first black president.

But waiting in line at the county employment security commission last week, the 52-year-old grandmother - who lost two food preparation jobs and is searching for full-time work - can’t muster the will to support Obama for a second term.

“I don’t see what he’s done,’’ said Richmond, a Democrat. “I’m not even going to waste my time and vote.’’

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Obama’s defenders say there is a disconnect between the president’s genuine efforts on behalf of urban and disadvantaged populations and perceptions in the community. The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a black think tank in Washington, said the president’s initiatives such as health care reform, the stimulus package that kept many public workers in their jobs, the extension of unemployment benefits, and grants to historically black colleges as well as increase in Pell grants benefited many African-Americans.

“If I were to criticize the Obama administration, it has a very good record with regards to African-Americans but it does not boast about it,’’ said David Bositis, senior political analyst.

Read more at The Boston Globe.

As the United States transitions to a “majority-minority” population over the next three decades, Social Security must be modernized to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse and economically insecure workforce, according to a report released today by the Commission to Modernize Social Security, made up of national policy experts representing African American, Asian American, Latino and Native American communities.

Although Social Security does not contribute to the federal deficit, Social Security benefit cuts are at the center of discussions in Congress to reduce the federal debt. The report – Plan for a New Future: The Impact of Social Security Reform on People of Color – 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 report cites U.S. Census Bureau data showing that a majority of babies born in this country are now from minority racial groups. If this trend continues, the overall U.S. population is expected to become “majority-minority” by 2042.

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The Commission to Modernize Social Security was formed in March 2011 by the Insight Center for Community Economic Development and Global Policy Solutions to identify proposals to extend Social Security’s long-term solvency while modernizing the program to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse society. The Commission is comprised of individuals from the following organizations: Center for Economic and Policy Research, Demos, Economic Policy Institute, Global Policy Solutions, Harvard University Department of Government, Insight Center for Community Economic Development, Institute for Women’s Policy Research, International Association for Indigenous Aging, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, Latinos for a Secure Retirement, National Asian Pacific Center on Aging, National Caucus and Center on Black Aged, Inc., National Council of La Raza, National Council of Negro Women, National Urban League Policy Institute, Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, The Aspen Institute, and University of Wisconsin Milwaukee.

Read more at Yahoo! News, PR Web.

Blacks who have completed high levels of education are more likely to marry Whites, according to a new study by the Journal of Marriage and Family to be published in October.

Zhenchao Qian, a sociology professor at Ohio University and lead author of the study on interracial marriages, said the interaction among Blacks and other races in college, workplace and neighborhoods may contribute to the increased likelihood of interracial marriages.

The study also found that Black-White marriages are more becoming common. In 2008, 10.7 percent of Blacks who married in the past year married Whites—compared to 3 percent in 1980.

However, experts said even the modern percentage of interracial marriages is very low. By comparison, nearly 34 percent of Asians married Whites in 2008, and 28 percent of Hispanics married Whites who were not Hispanics, USA Today reported.

“Blacks are still the least assimilated,” Roderick Harrison, a demographer at Howard University and the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington told USA Today. “It does suggest that the divide in this country remains between Blacks and everybody else.”

Read more at Afro.

As many as one-quarter of the members of the Congressional Black Caucus could face significant primary opposition in their new House districts in 2012, a development that could significantly change the face of the CBC and/or reduce its membership heading into 2013.

With nationwide redistricting slightly more than halfway done, at least 10 of the 41 members of the CBC already have well-known politicians eyeing their new districts.

As Roll Call’s Shira Toeplitz noted on Monday, a few of those members are actually facing matchups with current or former Members of Congress who are white. These members include Reps. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.), Hansen Clarke (D-Mich.), Laura Richardson (D-Calif.) and Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.).

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“Unless there’s some scandal, they’re very, very rarely successful,” said David Bositis, an expert on racial politics at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, about primaries to sitting African American members. “And they rarely have the amount of money that the CBC members have.”

Read more at The Washington Post.

Dr. David Bositis will talk about 2012 election issues before the African American Ministers Leadership Council in Washington. This meeting is part of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation 2011 Legislative Conference.