For Immediate Release Contact:
Leslie A. Dunbar
(212)558-5438
ldunbar@nul.org

THE IMPACT OF COLOR-CONSCIOUSNESS IN THE UNITED STATES

The National Urban League Releases The State of Black America 1999, an In-Depth Analysis of the Impact of Race in America

Washington, DC, Nov. 16, 1999–At a press conference this morning on Capitol Hill, the National Urban League unveiled The State of Black America 1999: The Impact of Color-consciousness in the United States.

Published since 1976, The State of Black America is the most scholarly annual assessment of the status of African-Americans. This year’s book examines how race impacts different areas of society, including politics, healthcare and education.

According to the foreword by Hugh B. Price, President, National Urban League, this year’s edition of The State of Black America "looks at a philosophy of approaching racial differences. It lifts a veil on social science research that clouds our view of race and policies by addressing racial disparities in income, wealth and life chances. By challenging the predominant use of race, this compilation refocuses us on the effects of discrimination, as well as a lost term: ‘institutional racism.’ And, by so doing, it helps to maintain the defense of affirmative action."

Following, a brief look at this year’s authors and their essays:

• Lynn C. Burbridge, Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration, Rutgers University: The Reliance of African-Americans on the Public Sector–an historical examination of African-American employment in the public and nonprofit sectors and how cutbacks in government service and welfare reform will affect the trend.

• William Darity, Jr., Boshamer Professor of Economics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: History, Discrimination and Racial Inequality–how race is defined by the U.S. economic system.

• Hugh B. Price, President, The National Urban League: Education Accountability: First the School Systems, then the Students–calls for an Academic Bill of Rights to ensure that children in urban schools receive quality education.

• Clarence Lusane Assistant Professor, School of International Service, American University: The State of Black Europe–challenges the notion of a cultural origin for racial disparity.

• Patrick L. Mason Associate Professor, Economics Department, Florida State University: Family Environment and Intergenerational Well-being: Some Preliminary Results–examines how differences in the family structure of African-Americans and whites does not account for differences in individual economic outcomes.

• Brian D. Smedley, Ph.D., Senior Program Officer, Institute of Medicine, The Cancer Gap: Research Needs of African-Americans–examines how race-based differences in reporting cancer research created a lack of emphasis in researching race-based differences in cancer death rates.

• Ronald Walters, Ph.D. , Professor, Afro-American studies, University of Maryland: Color-blind Redistricting and the Efficacy of Black Representation–how a race-neutral mechanism, like geographic proximity in drawing Congressional district lines, can create rewards for white voting patterns.

• Rhonda M. Williams, Professor, Afro-American studies, University of Maryland Unfinished Business: African-American Political Economy During the Age of ‘Color-Blind’ Politics–reveals how a "color-blind" society is not automatically the same as one that is non-discriminatory.

• William M. Rodgers III, Cummings Associate Professor of Economics, The College of William and Mary: A Critical Assessment of Skills Explanations of Black-White Employment and Wage Gaps–how discrimination impacts the black-white wage gap.

The National Urban League’s The State of Black America 1999 is available for purchase ($24.95) through the National Urban League. To order a copy, call (212)558-5300, and ask for the Publications Department.

Founded in 1910, the National Urban League is the premier social service and civil rights organization in America. The League is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, community-based movement, headquartered in New York City with professionally staffed affiliates in 114 cities in 35 states and the District of Columbia.