Voting restrictions, medical treatment, and housing inequality are just a few issues adversely hurting Black Americans. According to Axios, the 46th edition of the National Urban League’s “State of Black America” report strives to show voter suppression, and growing income inequality will “precipitate the collapse of democracy in the U.S” according to Axios.
The 2022 edition of the report highlights while Black people have made economic and health gains, they’ve slipped further behind white people in education, social justice, and civic engagement. The 2022 Equality Index shows Black people still get only 73.9% of the American share of wealth white people enjoys. It’s also noted this data proceeds the COVID-19 pandemic.
Democracy is under siege, and there’s a plot to destroy American democracy,” National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial told reporters on a call ahead of the release.
Some key points of the “State of Black America” report are as follows:
- The median household income for Black people at $43,862, which is 37% less than that of white people, at $69,823.
- Life expectancy has declined slightly for African Americans, so a Black child born today can expect to live to 74.7, four years less than a white baby.
- Schools with more minority students are more likely to have inexperienced, less trained, and even uncertified teachers. Fewer of these students are enrolled in STEM classes, leading to higher-paying jobs.
- Black people have been more than twice as likely as white people to experience threats or uses of force during police encounters and three times more likely to be jailed if arrested. In 2020, they were 93% more likely to be victims of hate crimes.
- The report also highlights election misinformation spread during the 2020 election, which has restricted voting access in districts with large populations of Black Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans. Statistics from the Brennan Center for Justice are used to show the disparity.
To combat the growing voter disparity movement, the Urban National League urges to do the following steps; checking registration status, knowing your state’s voter ID laws, knowing where to vote, making a plan to vote, and voting in every election. This, of course, doesn’t let Congress (more so, Republican Senators) off the hook because you can’t plan through or outmaneuver voting rights restrictions.