American Notes Minorities

By decade's end the unwanted distinction of being the nation's poorest large minority group will pass from blacks to Hispanics. So says a study by Washington's nonprofit Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which adds that while Hispanic households still earn more than black households, larger family size means Hispanic individuals are poorer.

Driving Hispanic incomes down are high unemployment, particularly in the Southwest, and low-paying jobs. But black incomes have been rising: according to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, black men earned 42% as much as white men in 1940; by 1980 the figure was up to 69%. The rise is due partly to narrowing differences in education and to a shift in black employment from farming to industry and government. Decreasing discrimination may be another factor, though the rate of black economic progress was as great during the 20 years before 1960 as afterward.