Experts examine racial inequalities between Black and white Americans

By Nigell Moses
Contributing Writer

After an overwhelming year of loss, turmoil, a global pandemic and a relentless need for social change, 2020 proved to challenge not only individuals in America, but lawmakers and policy leaders alike.

Now in 2021, African Americans continue to fight for equal rights, and to end racial discrimination and segregation in the United States today. In an effort to shed light on the racial inequalities experienced by minority communities, experts released a report measuring states with the most racial progress.

“The study was prompted by Martin Luther King Jr. Day coming up and the fact that about half of Americans believe that the U.S. hasn’t done enough to give Black people equal rights to white people,” said Jill Gonzalez, an analyst with the personal-finance website WalletHub. “The purpose of the report is to inform communities about racial integration and progress in each state. Some states have managed to achieve a better racial harmony than others, and we developed this ranking with that in mind.”

With the focus to push unity and harmony at the forefront of creating social change between Black and white populations, experts acknowledged Martin Luther King Jr. as an important figure.

“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. played a prominent role in the Civil Rights Movement to end segregation and discrimination against Black people,” an analyst with WalletHub said. “Since the report measures the country’s progress in harmonizing racial groups, we considered it was important for it to be released before MLK day,” they added.

The data set uses over 20 important indicators to measure the differences in Black and white populations, ranging from average annual household income, social and civic engagement, education and voter turnout. States such as Wyoming, Texas, Mississippi, Georgia and New Jersey rank in the top five of those with the most racial progress. The data also measures states with the most racial integration, with Montana, Texas, New Mexico, Kentucky and Alaska leading the country. Experts recognize the level of racial inequalities are different depending on the state.

“To begin with, not all states started in the same place when it comes to racial disparities. In addition, some states can be more successful in addressing education gaps, others can do better in decreasing healthcare disparities and so on, said Gonzalez. “That being said, the most important factor that determines the success of eliminating racial disparities is admitting that this is a problem that concerns everyone,” she added.

One of the main inequalities is the racial wealth gap. With a gap of 72 percent between white and Black people in unemployment rates, Alaska has the lowest gap in the United States. Hawaii also suffers, with their poverty rate gap being seven percent and annual household income rates at 16.71 percent for minority communities.

“There could be many reasons behind the racial wealth gap. One of the main causes would be the legacies that have affected wealth accumulation across generations. Other reasons could include disparities in education and employment,” analysts said. “To decrease the gap, local authorities should implement policies that directly address these discrepancies in wealth, as well as in the education and labor market. Focusing on high quality education and training programs for minority communities is very important.”

Experts also offered solutions to eliminating the housing disparities within Black communities, suggesting policy leaders create policies inclusive of minorities and investing in residential spaces for disadvantaged residents.

With a new year ahead, experts hope the report highlights the discrepancies and show improvements that the United States is heading towards a more racially progressive and integrated society.

“A good way to start moving forward and erase the gaps between Black and white people in America is to acknowledge there is inequality in various areas. It’s important that each of us contribute to eliminate discrimination,” Gonzalez said.

This article originally published in the January 18, 2021 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.