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VOLUME 88-NUMBER 17
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, MAY 2, 2009
TELEPHONE (919) 682-2913 PRICE: 30
Racial disparities persist
in higher-paying jobs
By Hope Yen
WASHINGTON (AP) - Blacks and Hispanics lag behind whiles for higher-paying jobs at the largest rates in
about a decade as einpio; mem opportunities dwindled during the nation's economic woes and housing slump.
Census data released April 27 show an increasingly educated U.S. work force whose earnings didn t alway s
seem to match up with its potential.
"The lesson of most economic downturns is minorities are the last hired, first fired. They lose jobs more quick
ly. and the\ w ill be the last lo o- - >ver.'' said Roderick Harrison, a demographer at the Joint Center for Political
and Tconomic Studies, a tliink tank that studies minority issues.
.Amone those 2.s and older last year. 86.6 percent had graduated from high school, up from 85.7 percent the
previous \ear. It w as the biggest increase since 1992. y\ ith record percentages of people earning diplomas across
all racial and Hispanic categories.
The share of people with at least a bachelor's degree from college also increased, from 28.7 percent to 29.4
percent, continuing a decades-long rise.
Blacks overall slightly narrowed the gap in 2007 with w bites in average salary, but the pay disparity w idened
for blacks w ith college degrees. Blacks who had a four-year bachelor's degree earned $46,502. or about 78 per
cent of the salaiy for comparably educated w hites.
It w as the biggest disparity between professional blacks and w hites since the 77 percent rate in 2001. w hen the
U.S. fell into a recession due to the collapse of the tech bubble and the Sept. 11 terror attacks. College-educated
blacks had prev iously earned as much as 83 percent of the average salaiy of w hites in 2005.
Hispanics saw similar trends.
Those w ith high school diplomas earned about 83 cents for w hites' eveiy dollar, largely unchanged front a de
cade asio. But Hispanics w ith bachelor's degrees had an average salaiy of $44,696. amounting to roughly 75 cents
for every dollar made by whites w ith bachelor's degrees - the lowest ratio in more than a decade - after hitting a
peak of 87 cents to eveiy dollar in 2000.
The numbers highlight some of the barriers for minorities, said Mark Mather, a demographer for the Popula
tion Reference Bureau.'l-le said the pay disparities could widen further since blacks and Hispanics tend to be rela
tive latecomers to the professional world and thus more vulnerable to lay offs in the current recession.
In 2008. a record number of workers filed federal job discrimination complaints, with allegations of race dis
crimination makimi up the greatest portion at more than one-third of the 95.000 total claims.
"It's clear education alone is not the full reason for the pay gaps." said Sarah Crissey. a housing and economic
statistician for the Census Bureau.
• Other —
-for the second vear in a row. the number of women with bachelor's degrees e.vceeded that of men. The share
of women with the decrees - 29 perceni - was also nearlv equal to men. Still, women with at least a bachelor's
N t~^ I M 4-t-i I no Inrtliieinn aeerec earned an average salary of $43.127. about 60 perceni the amount earned by comparably educated men.
OlSCK rrGSS WallTS olimUIUS lllClUMUIl “-About 92 percent ofwhite adults had at least a high school diploma, compared with 89 percent for Asians. 83
Gqv. Perdue’s
Statement on
Swine Flu
Contagion
1 am monitoring the
world health situation
closely. I am confident that
North Carolina is prepared
to respond to any suspected
cases of swine flu. North
Carolina is equipped with
a full supply of antiviral
medications and personal
protective supplies such as
face masks. We have pub
lic health teams ready- to
deploy to any community-
in our state that needs as
sistance.
At this time it is impor
tant that North Carolinians
continue to be vigilant and
to take precautions. The
steps you can take to pro
tect y ourself are simple:
Wash your hands fre
quently
Cover your mouth and
nose when sneezing or
coughing
Stay- at home from school
or work if y ou are sick
N
27. See story on page 8.
By Cash Michaels
THE CAROLIiNIAN
NC black newspaper publishers of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) are concerned
that there is nothing "designed" in President Barack Obama's S787 billion stimulus package to help struggling
African-Amerieah papers in the state Slid naltottfs flailing economy.
-".Atrv tani:ibleijcononiic slimulus.to Africail-American cOhimu'nities a'cross'our nation should begin with the
institution that has carried the torch for these communities throughout our nation's history." Paul R. Jervay. Jr.
publisher of The Carolinian Newspaper in Raleigh, an NNPA member, said.
The NNPA. afso known as the Black Press of America, is a 67 year-old federation of more than 200 black com
munity newspapers across the United States.
Many of those papers are fighting for their very lives amid massive bankruptcies and closings overall in the
newspaper industrv, Ihough the W liite House has pointedly indicated that tunding trom the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act is designed to help low-wealth communities of color, black publishers are bew ildered that
their businesses, which stand ready to help further educate the African-American community about stimulus
package opportunities for employ ment and business, have been overlooked.
"While we publishers wholeheartedly applaud the president's efforts of making certain economically devas
tated comniLinities of color are able to benefit from the billions of dollars w ithin the stimulus package, it is unclear
whether anv of the money has been earmarked to otherw ise lielp educate the v ery communities serv iced by the
black media, as well as how they are to access the my riad of opportunities." NNPA Board Chairman John B.
Smith. Sr. w rote in an April 23 letter to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel: President Obama Special
Advisor Valerie Jarrett, and US Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA). chairperson of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Chairman Smith, the publisher of the Atlanta inquirer, added that the omission of the Black Press from
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was "most disheartening and perple.ving." He made reference to
remarks made at a recent W hite House Black Press teleconference w ith Van Jones, special adv isor to the president
on green jobs.
Jones told black reporters that officials with the US Commerce Dept, were "very enthusiastic and e.\-
cited" about using "their evisting mechanisms to make sure that there is outreach to those parts of the country that
may need more information" about the American Recovery and Investment Act.
But he also made clear that for now that doesn't include advertising in African-American newspapers.
"There is nothing in the recovery package as designed to accomplish advertising [in black media]." Jones
replied w hen asked by a journalist.
That's not sitting well w ith NNPA publishers, all of w horn, during an NNPA Region 2 meeting hosted by
the NC Black Publishers Association in Raleigh April 17, echoed Chairman Smith's concerns that none of those
stimulus dollars are earmarked to help educate economically devastated communities of color through their media
about how to access those opportunities.
"Our collective pliaht remains on floundering terrain, in general, w ithout the leverage available to com
pete equally for federal dollars toward various recovery availabilities nationwide to benefit our community as a
whole beyond reporting." Chairman Smith stated.
At that meeting. NNPA black publishers from Alabama. Virginia. Georgia and South Carolina, led by both
Chairman Smith and Dorothy R. Leavell. chairwoman of the NNPA Foundation and publisher of the Crusader
Newspapers in Chicago. Illinois and Gary. Indiana: joined publishers from The Carolina Peacemaker in Greens
boro. The Countv News in Statesville. Greater Diversity News and The Wilmington Journal in Wilmington, and
The Carolinian of Raleigh, in agreement that their dire concerns about the economic future of the Black Press
must be made clear to both the Obama Administration and the Congressional Black Caucus.
"It is unclear in the Black community w here to go and w hat is available to help Black families and Black busi
nesses. the very communities that we serve." Ms. Leavell said. "The Black Press has participated in teleconfer
ences and sought information locally, y et there are no clear answers."
"Saving the Black Press is paramount to all communities we serve." Fran Farrar, publisher of The County
News in Statesville, added.
Newspapers everywhere are in such dire crisis that both Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Congressman John
Cony ers (D-Mich.) are conducting congressional hearings next w eek to "address the economic recession s impact
on media and discuss the future of journalism."
"An independent news media is vital to our democracy." Sen. Keny. who spent $2 million w ith Black newspa
pers. radio and Black Entertainment Television during his 2004 presidential campaign, said in the statement. "It
holds pow er accountable w hile giving voice to the people and interests who might otherw ise never be heard.
Given the critical role Black newspapers are play ing in monitoring how. where and when stimulus reaches
their respective communities. NNPA publishers say black leadership must also advocate for that same fairness to
be extended to the Black Press.
In North Carolina, for example, the NC NAACP has already begun advocating for black newspapers in talks
"ith top state officials concerning the stimulus package.
During a civil riahts roundtable session with NC Gov. Beverly Perdue April 20. NC NAACP Pres. Rev. Wil
liam Barber presented the governor with a 14-point stimulus agenda for the African-American community to
assure not only fair and equal access, but state enforcement of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to protect
applicants.
On that NC NAACP stimulus agenda was the recommendation that the state engage African-American and
other newspapers of color "in outreach for contract and job notices to facilitate awareness, answers, access, and
action in all communities."
perc
percent for blacks and 62 percent for Hispanics.
-Black adults in recent years.narrowed the gap with white adults in earning high school diplomas, but the gap
has generally w idened for college degrees. About 33 percent of white adults had at least a bachelor's degree in
2008. compared with 20 percent for blacks and 13 percent for Hispanics,
-More than half, or 53 percent, of Asian adults had at least a bachelor's degree.
- Vforkers w ith a high-school degree earned an average of S31.286 in 2007. w hile those with a bachelor's de
gree earned an av erage of S5 7.181.
-Foreign-born U.S. residents, which include illegal immigrants, were three times more likely than native-born
to lack a high school diploma.
The census data came from the Current Population Survey as of April 2008. The figures tor "white refer to
those who are not of Hispanic ethnicity. Since the government considers "Hispanic" an ethnicity and not a race,
people of Hispanic descent can be of any race.
On the Net:
Census Bureau: vvwvv.census.gov
Iranslation - not evervone in the black community can access a state or federal Recoveiy Act website tor timely
information, so government must proactively purchase inserts or spot advertising in Bladk newspapers to ensure
that disadvantaged communities of color are fully informed. Such advertising efforts can be modeled after the
digital TV conversion caifTpaign which is ongoing in print and electronic media.
" fhat is why it is paramount that sustainable stimulus begin in the African American community with the
Black newspaper." says Carolinian Publisher Paul Jervay.
Ironicallv. the fact that the Recovery Act omits African-American newspapers seems to violate a campaign
commitment that President Obama made directly to the Black Press exactly one year ago this week in North
Carolina.
It was April 29. 2008 during the hot Democratic primary race for the presidency when then front-runner Sen.
Barack Obama, during an exclusive NC Black Press Presidential Roundtable in Winston-Salem, assured black
newspaper publishers that he was well aware of the struggles of African-American newspapers, and if elected,
would do what he could to assure more access to federal contracts and advertising,
"One thiim specifically we can do in terms of federal procurement is just to break up some of these con
tracts. Thev are iusl too large. " a video of the session shows Obama telling black publishers, noting .hat when it
came to legal advertising, tiie federal government traditionally does business with large newspaper chains, but not
small independent enterprises.
"When it comes to legal advertising - legal notices many [black newspapers] would be interested in. I do
not think it's sav ing a vv hole lot of money to simply do it with one big [newspaper] chain, .as opposed to break up
some of that work and make sure that everybody is able to access it." the future president said.
If Obama needed any assurance th.at the W'hite House has historically worked to help sustain the strug
gling Black Press, his Democratic opponent. Sen. Hillary Clinton, would have obliged.
The day before in Greensboro. Sen. Clinton told members of the NC Black Press Association that her
husband, former President Bill Clinton, made sure that the Black Press was an essential part of his outreach to
African-Americans.
"I would push very hard to get back to women and minority-owned businesses getting more set-asides
and more business from the federal government." Obama's future secretary of State told black publishers and
reporters on April 28. 2008.
"When Bill was president, he had an Executive Order [to] .actually advertise in black newspapers, be
cause how are you going to get to the population that you want if you ignore the vehicles that actually communi
cate vv ith peopie?" Sen. Clinton, during the videotaped session, is seen saying.
Indeed, during his eight y ears in office. President Bill Clinton issued .at least three Executive Orders instructing
various federal agencies to'- assist SDBs (socially dis.advantaged businesses). HBCUs (historically black colleges
and universities), and Mis (minority institutions), as applicable, to develop viable, self-sustaining businesses
capable ofeompeting on an equal basis in the mainstream of the American
economy."
Black-owned newspapers qualify not only .as "minority institutions." but "socially disadvantaged busi
nesses" as well.
"Since 1827. the Bl.ack Press has shared the plight of the African American community that has been left out
and distorted bv majority owned dailies, or minimized at best," said Fran Farrar, publisher ot The County News in
Statesville. "Informing communities of businesses and corpor.ations that [overtly and covertly ] demean the worth
of citizens of African decent h.as rested on the shoulders of the Black Press."
Based on the Clinton Administration history, black publishers say. the question now is whether President
Obama will at least meet that standard through the stimulus package when it comes to the Black Press.
In a March 6 White House teleconference with black reporters. Valerie Jarrett, Obama's Senior Advisor on
Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Liaison, inadvertently made the case for the Black Press to expect more,
"[Pres. Obama's) base within the African-American community came out wholeheartedly [during the
2008 presidential election], and the agenda that he's set forth is one which will benefit the population as a whole,
but also, because all of these [economic] problems, as I've said from the onset, have a disparate affect on the
African-American community," Jarrett said.