Tough Times for Black Americans

The unemployment rate for Blacks now exceeds 16 percent, when just two years ago it was 8.3 percent. But since that time, some 900,000 jobs have been lost among Blacks. According to one organization that focuses on world hunger, the loss of those jobs has led to a growing inability of many Black families to put food on their table.

In a new report commissioned by non-profit Bread for the World, one in four Black households are having difficulty feeding their families.
In addition, African-American children are experiencing hunger at a greater rate than their adult counterparts.

African-Americans tend to be less equipped to deal with the recession because they have less opportunities to build up savings and assets during better times. For instance, 48 percent of Blacks own their homes, compared to 68 percent for the general population.

The lack of education is also a major deterrent to economic prosperity.
“Adults without a high school diploma are three times more likely to be unemployed,” Bread for the World Director Asma Lateef said.

Right Rev. Don Williams, head of African-American church relations for the group, said that increased rates of hunger and poverty will continue to weigh heavily on the Black community for years to come, particularly its children.
“Poverty among African-American children is especially alarming,” Williams said. “It would hardly be an overstatement to say an entire generation is at risk of being set back due to the current recession.”