Tagged: Census

For the first time in U.S. history, the single largest group of poor children is not white

November 23, 2011 | Parisa Ijadi-Maghsoodi | Tags: , , ,

According to a Pew Hispanic Center report, for the first time in U.S. history, the single largest group of poor children is not white.  According to the study and 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data, more Latino children are living in poverty (6.1 million) than children of any other racial or ethnic group.  As of 2010, 37.3% of the nation’s poor children were Latino, 30.5% were white and 26.6% were black.

Between 2007 and 2010, poverty rates among Latino children increased (6.4%) at a greater rate than the rates of black children (4.6%) and white children (2.3%).

Although the largest group of poor children is Latino children, the nation’s highest child poverty rate is among black children.  39.1% of black children live in poverty compared to 35% of Latino children and 12.4% of white children.

Articles and Decision of Interest

March 28, 2011 | Maya Roy | Tags: , ,

Over the course of the last few days, several articles have been published that are of interest to REP blog readers, as well as a recent Court decision, so I share them here:

  • Yesterday, The New York Times published an article, Supreme Court to Weigh Sociology Issue in Wal-Mart Discrimination Case.  As explained in the article, the Supreme Court is tasked with deciding whether or not a generalized scientific showing of how unregulated discretion can lead to discriminatory results due to implicit bias is sufficient to show that plaintiffs are similarly situated (for purposes of class certification) as opposed to a particularized and empirical scientific inquiry into the gender bias of the hundreds of Wal-Mart employees who made decisions about who would be promoted and who would not over the years.  The essay referenced in the article, A Matter of Context: Social Framework Evidence in Employment Discrimination Class Actions is available here.  The Amicus brief filed by the American Sociological Foundation and the Law and Society Association is available here.  This is an important case for advocates attempting to integrate the science explaining implicit bias into their advocacy to show intent in discrimination cases.
  • Last week, Judge Mendez of the Eastern District of California found constitutional (under the federal and state constitutions, including Proposition 209 and Title VI) the California Department of Transportation’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program, which required for a small portion of the Department’s contracts explicit consideration of and awards of contracts based on the race and gender of the business owner.  For more information on the case, click here.  Related to the first article mentioned, this is another case where expert testimony (which was not rebutted) regarding implicit bias was introduced in order to demonstrate the race-conscious selection criteria in the Department’s program was narrowly tailored and could withstand strict scrutiny.
  • Today The Los Angeles Times published an article, Poverty Often a Temporary State, U.S. Census Study Finds.  Although the central findings are known to many anti-poverty advocates, the article provides another layer of information for us to understand the cycle of poverty in today’s impoverished communities.
  • Although this is not a recent article, I became aware recently of USAToday’s interactive website dedicated to analyzing Census 2010 data.  Of particular interest to REP readers, USAToday created a Diversity Index, “a 0 to 100 score that represents the probability that two people chosen randomly from an area will have different racial or ethnic backgrounds.”  In other words, the higher an index score, the more diverse the geographic region.  Check out your community’s index score!

Census data show integration halting despite increased diversity

December 20, 2010 | Mona Tawatao | Tags: ,

American neighborhoods continue to be segregated and gains toward integration have come to a virtual standstill this decade according to a report released by Brown University sociologist John Logan and his co-author, Florida State University sociologist Brian Stults.  The report is based on comprehensive nationwide American Community Survey data recently released by the Census Bureau and marks the launch of Brown University’s US2010 project, a program that researches and analyzes changes in American society.  Among the study’s major findings is that the average white non-Hispanic person lives in a neighborhood very different from that of the average African-American, Hispanic or Asian, although the average white person’s neighborhood is now 77 percent white as compared to 88 percent in 1980.  Using an index of dissimilarity, with zero meaning that every group is proportionately represented in every neighborhood in a metro area and 100 meaning complete racial segregation,  African-Americans continue to be the most segregated from whites (62.7 on the index) followed by Hispanics (50) and then Asians (45.9).  Integration for African-Americans and Hispanics has greatly slowed over the last decade and segregation has risen for Asians such that their level of segregation is approaching that of Hispanics.  Howard University demographer Roderick Harrison opined in a December 14 USA today article that the recession might very well send segregation rates up for blacks who are being disproportionately negatively affected by unemployment and other aspects of the recession.  In the same article, Logan, who professed surprise at the result of his study, said that the cost of residential segregation for non-whites is living in neighborhoods with fewer resources than whites.