Pressline Entertainment " Operation N.O" Black Louisianians are more likely to be poor

By ASHLEY M. BAILEY
Advocate staff writer
Published: Mar 22, 2009

The Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus released a new study Saturday detailing the state of African Americans in Louisiana.

Based on the report’s key findings in areas of economics, education and health, the majority of blacks do not appear to be doing well at all.

The nearly 200-page report was presented at the State of Black Louisiana Conference on Southern University’s campus.

“When a third of this state is African American, it is important to know the state of black people,” said caucus Chairwoman and state Rep. Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge. “If African Americans aren’t doing well, the state of Louisiana is not doing well.”

According to the report, black people are three times more likely to experience poverty than their white counterparts. It also found that black people bring home only half the median income and per capita income of whites. “Disparities in income … play huge roles in accounting for large gaps in wealth building (between the two races),” an abridged version of the report states.

In the area of education, black children are much more likely to be classified as having a learning disability than white children.

Among older students, more black people than white people are obtaining degrees from two-year colleges, the report states. Black people, however, receive four-year degrees at half the rate of white people.

Barrow said she was especially alarmed to find that one in every 50 black students who want to go to college are not ready. She said they are often placed into remedial classes and serve as evidence of the poor educational system.

Wellness seems to be another area of concern for the black population, which faces higher cancer mortality rates than white people and which is four times more likely to contract the AIDS virus. “The prognosis for overall health of African Americans is grim,” the report says.

Despite their unsatisfactory health outlook, black people are twice as likely to be uninsured, according to the report.

“The root cause (of the disparities) is poverty,” Barrow said. “It’s probably something dating back before slavery.”

Poverty is often indicative of poor education, she said. Lack of education leads to low-paying jobs, often without access to health care, thus the cycle of poverty begins and continues.

Barrow said one way to break that cycle is through education.

“This, to me, marks an educational tool,” she said, pointing to the report. “When you don’t know, you don’t know how to do any better.”

Those in attendance at Saturday’s conference spent hours addressing the report’s findings and discussing policy changes to combat the somber figures.

Barrow said she and the members of the black caucus plan to publicize and distribute their findings and policy ideas among colleagues and state government officials.

The report is a joint effort by the black caucus and the Nelson Mandela School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Southern University, Barrow said.

Authors of the report began compiling data using national and statewide Quality of Life Index reports shortly after Hurricane Gustav struck Louisiana on Sept. 1.

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