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The State of the Dream 2004: Enduring Disparities in Black and White

High School Education, continued

• In 1968, 30% of Blacks age 25 and older were high school graduates, compared with 55% of whites.

• In 2002, 79% of Blacks age 25 and older had graduated from high school, compared with 89% of whites.

• At the current pace, Blacks and whites will reach high school graduation parity in 2013, six decades after the Brown v. Board of Education school desegregation case.

[image:] Graph with the following text:
Percentage of People Age 25 and Over
Who Have Completed High School, 1968 and 2002
1968 White 54.9%
1968 Black 30.1%
2002 White 88.7%
2002 Black 79.2%
Years to Parity: 11
Parity Year: 2013

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Educational Attainment Historical Tables, Table A-2. See Appendix for Years to Parity calculation.

Black students are making great strides in education despite tremendous obstacles. The educational disparities Jonathan Kozol termed "savage inequalities" persist today. In most states, the school districts with the most minority students have less state and local dollars than districts with the fewest minority students. The nationwide gap reported by the Education Trust is $1,030 per student. That translates into a gap of $412,000 for a typical elementary school of 400 students. ⁶

Dr. King would be outraged to learn that in the 50th anniversary year of Brown v. Board of Education, resegregation is rampant. As the Harvard University Civil Rights Project reports, "American public schools are now twelve years into the process of continuous resegregation. The desegregation of Black students, which increased continuously from the 1950s to the late 1980s, has now receded to levels not seen in three decades." ⁷

The bottom line is this: Black students are doing their part, Government, school districts and employers must do theirs.

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United for a Fair Economy • Racial Wealth Divide Project 17