Democracy Now! interviews former chief of racial statistics at the Census Bureau Roderick Harrison on growing wealth gap between minorities and whites after the recession.

This paper presents a synthesis of findings and themes from a set of background papers commissioned by the Joint Center and from a convening of California-based stakeholders. It concludes with a set of core principles that should form a framework for disaster preparedness planning in the future.

Date Published: May 2008
 

This document summarizes a forum convened by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies on April 11, 2006, in collaboration with the National Policy Alliance (NPA). It is part of a broader Joint Center Never Again effort designed to help ensure that the tragedies that befell Gulf Coast residents, particularly low-income residents and African Americans, in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita never again occur.

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Date Published: April 2006

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In this paper, James Carr and his co-authors provide a
thorough examination of the many factors that have delayed
or continue to serve as persistent barriers to rebuilding
housing stock in New Orleans.

Date Published: May 2008
 

More blacks than whites believe their local public schools are getting worse, according to the 1999 National Opinion Poll results on education. Overall, both blacks and whites identified education as the most important national problem, but there were differences in views across age, income, and ideological lines. Both blacks and whites supported school vouchers and raising school spending, and both groups reported fewer incidents of violence at their local schools than the previous year. Both groups also supported statewide standards and tests, but more blacks than whites believed that such standards and tests are unfair to minorities.

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In an era when financial security during retirement depends largely on personal savings and investments, African American and Hispanic employees of companies that offer 401(k) plans risk financial insecurity during their "golden years." Compared to Asian and white employees, African American and Hispanic workers are less likely to participate in 401(k) plans, and when they participate they are likely to contribute less; they also are more likely to deplete their savings by taking loans and withdrawals from their accounts. The report 401(k) Plans in Living Color: A Study of 401(k) Savings Disparities Across Racial and Ethnic Groups--The Ariel/Hewitt Study features details about these savings disparities, based on information collected for 2007 for nearly three million employees of 57 of the largest U.S. companies across a variety of industries and sectors. Recommendations to narrow the savings disparities are provided in the report as well.

This study was conducted by the Ariel Education Initiative (the nonprofit affiliate of Ariel Investments) and Hewitt Associates (a global human resources consulting and outsourcing company), in collaboration with the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, the National Council of La Raza, the National Urban League, the Chicago Urban League, and the Raben Group.

Examines how three of the largest federal programs for workforce training and job placement are affecting racial and ethnic disparities in today's labor market. Conrad finds that the Wagner-Peyser Employment Service, the Workforce Investment Act, and the Adult and WIA Dislocated Workers program have a mixed record in their impact on black and Latino workers in particular. She attributes this to race-indifference in the design and operation of these programs. Concludes with a set of recommendations for making these systems work better for all job seekers.

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Date Published: May 2005
 

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This brief provides a primer on subprime lending and how it has affected homeownership among African Americans. Its story begins in the mid-1990s with the increase in subprime lending for home purchases, home improvement, and refinancing. How the primary and secondary markets for subprime loans operate and how African Americans and households belonging to other racial/ethnic subpopulations have been served by them are detailed. This brief concludes with a discussion of principles and recommendations for enhancing the operation of the subprime market to better meet the needs of African Americans and other disproportionately low-income populations.

SEE ALSO AFRICAN AMERICANS AND HOMEOWNERSHIP: SEPARATE AND UNEQUAL, 1940 - 2006 - NOVEMBER 2007 - BRIEF #1[CLICK HERE]

Date Published: March 2008
 

This report by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies presents findings from the second year of an initiative to assess what works to enable low-income communities of color to build assets. It highlights predisposing factors and promising practices in 10 states that received low rankings on asset building for low-income people in the 2007-2008 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard. The featured states are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Texas. This report not only examines asset building in these 10 states-most with sizable communities of color-but also compares these findings with those for states with high rankings on asset building for low-income people (Delaware, Hawai'i, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin). The states with high rankings on asset building-and small communities of color in general-are analyzed separately in the first year project report entitled Asset Building in Low-Income Communities of Color, Part 1: Predisposing Factors and Promising Practices in States Effective at Building Assets for Low-Income Residents (Executive Summary).

Also, see the Fact Sheet "Confronting and Closing the Wealth Gap".

This report by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies presents findings from the first year of an initiative to assess what works to enable low-income communities of color build assets. The executive summary highlights predisposing factors and promising practices in ten states, highly rated in the 2007-2008 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard for asset building among low-income people. The featured states include: Delaware, Hawai'i, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. A companion report Asset Building in Low-Income Communities of Color, Part 2: State Comparisons (Executive Summary) analyzes similar factors and practices in another set of states with large percentages of people of color (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Texas).

Also, see the Fact Sheet "Confronting and Closing the Wealth Gap".