Reasons to Cheer King’s Legacy - KIRBYONPOLITICS
Reasons to Cheer King’s Legacy
Today, America celebrates the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth, but to view the political discourse, one would think the civil rights leader’s dream is little closer to fulfillment than when he enunciated it.
Everywhere, America is told, African-Americans are under attack.
Black America has its share of problems, and racism has not been extinguished. But the data show that blacks have made significant strides since the 1960s. Consider:
Voting. In 1964, some states effectively disenfranchised black voters. The gap between black voter participation and overall voter participation was 10.8 percentage points, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. By 2016, blacks voted in slightly higher numbers – outpacing overall participation by a tenth of a percentage point.
Education. The share of blacks finishing high school jumped from 25.7 percent in 1964 to 87.1 percent in 2016.
Advanced education. African-Americans have seen similar gains in higher education. Fewer than 5 percent of blacks ages 25 or older had bachelor’s degrees or better in 1964. By 2015, that had increased to 22.5 percent.
Income. Black families still earn less than white families, but the gap has narrowed since the civil rights movement. The Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey showed that the median income for black families in 1963 was 53 percent of white families. By 2017, that gap had narrowed to 63 percent. And it was narrower, still, among younger families. Families headed by African-Americans ages 25 through 34 earned 80 percent of what their white counterparts did.
In addition to education and income outcomes, racial attitudes clearly have changed. A recent report by the University of Illinois chronicles that change over the decades. Only 32 percent of whites in 1942 believed whites and blacks should attend school together. By 1995, 96 percent of whites agreed.
In 1944, 45 percent of whites thought blacks should have “as good a chance as white people to get any kind of job.” Almost all whites – 97 percent – agreed with that statement by 1972.
Whites overwhelmingly supported laws against interracial marriage; in 1963, 38 percent of whites opposed such laws. By 2002, 90 percent of whites opposed them.
In 1958, just 37 percent of whites said they would vote for a black presidential candidate, according to Gallup. In 1997, 95 percent said they would. (And then, of course, a black candidate actually won the office a decade later).
Support for racial equality, measured by those questions, is so universal that most pollsters do not even bother asking them anymore.
In 1963, only 22 percent of whites disagreed with the notion that “blacks shouldn’t push themselves where they’re not wanted.” That figure had nearly tripled by 2002.
Whites also increasingly reject racial stereotypes. As recently as 1990, nearly two-thirds of whites believed whites worked harder than blacks. That has dropped to 37 percent in 2004 and to 34 percent in 2014.
Belief among whites that black people are less intelligent than whites declined from 57 percent in 1990 to between 23 percent and 27 percent since 2004.
There is more division over the question of whether the federal government should intervene to ensure fair treatment in areas like jobs and housing. For instance, asked whether the federal government should see to it that blacks receive fair treatment in employment, support among whites fell from 40 percent in 1972 to 23 percent in 2008.
Interestingly, support among blacks also has fallen – from 92 percent in 1964 to 59 percent in 2008.
Perhaps that indicates that many blacks and whites agree such federal invention no longer is as necessary as it once was?
This is not to minimize the obstacles black Americans still face. Black households tend to have less wealth, in part because African-American families in previous generations had less to bequeath their children and grandchildren. This means that blacks, on average, have less of a personal safety net to cushion against the shock of a job loss or death of a breadwinner.
This is one of the reasons why, according to studies, black children born to middle-class parents are more likely than their white counterparts to fall out of the middle class as adults.
Still, from racial attitudes to actual outcomes, the arrow is pointed up. That is in large measure due to King’s legacy – of convincing courts and legislatures to repeal discriminatory laws, and more importantly, changing hearts and minds.
Reasons to Cheer King’s Legacy - KIRBYONPOLITICS
Reasons to Cheer King’s Legacy
Today, America celebrates the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth, but to view the political discourse, one would think the civil rights leader’s dream is little closer to fulfillment than when he enunciated it.
Everywhere, America is told, African-Americans are under attack.
Black America has its share of problems, and racism has not been extinguished. But the data show that blacks have made significant strides since the 1960s. Consider:
Voting. In 1964, some states effectively disenfranchised black voters. The gap between black voter participation and overall voter participation was 10.8 percentage points, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. By 2016, blacks voted in slightly higher numbers – outpacing overall participation by a tenth of a percentage point.
Education. The share of blacks finishing high school jumped from 25.7 percent in 1964 to 87.1 percent in 2016.
Advanced education. African-Americans have seen similar gains in higher education. Fewer than 5 percent of blacks ages 25 or older had bachelor’s degrees or better in 1964. By 2015, that had increased to 22.5 percent.
Income. Black families still earn less than white families, but the gap has narrowed since the civil rights movement. The Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey showed that the median income for black families in 1963 was 53 percent of white families. By 2017, that gap had narrowed to 63 percent. And it was narrower, still, among younger families. Families headed by African-Americans ages 25 through 34 earned 80 percent of what their white counterparts did.
In addition to education and income outcomes, racial attitudes clearly have changed. A recent report by the University of Illinois chronicles that change over the decades. Only 32 percent of whites in 1942 believed whites and blacks should attend school together. By 1995, 96 percent of whites agreed.
In 1944, 45 percent of whites thought blacks should have “as good a chance as white people to get any kind of job.” Almost all whites – 97 percent – agreed with that statement by 1972.
Whites overwhelmingly supported laws against interracial marriage; in 1963, 38 percent of whites opposed such laws. By 2002, 90 percent of whi
tes opposed them.
In 1958, just 37 percent of whites said they would vote for a black presidential candidate, according to Gallup. In 1997, 95 percent said they would. (And then, of course, a black candidate actually won the office a decade later).
Support for racial equality, measured by those questions, is so universal that most pollsters do not even bother asking them anymore.
In 1963, only 22 percent of whites disagreed with the notion that “blacks shouldn’t push themselves where they’re not wanted.” That figure had nearly tripled by 2002.
Whites also increasingly reject racial stereotypes. As recently as 1990, nearly two-thirds of whites believed whites worked harder than blacks. That has dropped to 37 percent in 2004 and to 34 percent in 2014.
Belief among whites that black people are less intelligent than whites declined from 57 percent in 1990 to between 23 percent and 27 percent since 2004.
There is more division over the question of whether the federal government should intervene to ensure fair treatment in areas like jobs and housing. For instance, asked whether the federal government should see to it that blacks receive fair treatment in employment, support among whites fell from 40 percent in 1972 to 23 percent in 2008.
Interestingly, support among blacks also has fallen – from 92 percent in 1964 to 59 percent in 2008.
Perhaps that indicates that many blacks and whites agree such federal invention no longer is as necessary as it once was?
This is not to minimize the obstacles black Americans still face. Black households tend to have less wealth, in part because African-American families in previous generations had less to bequeath their children and grandchildren. This means that blacks, on average, have less of a personal safety net to cushion against the shock of a job loss or death of a breadwinner.
This is one of the reasons why, according to studies, black children born to middle-class parents are more likely than their white counterparts to fall out of the middle class as adults.
Still, from racial attitudes to actual outcomes, the arrow is pointed up. That is in large measure due to King’s legacy – of convincing courts and legislatures to repeal discriminatory laws, and more importantly, changing hearts and minds.