The State of Black America – Executive Summary

ATLANTA – The National Urban League is sounding the alarm that our democracy is under siege.

In the executive summary of “The State of Black America,” the National Urban League’s signature report of over forty years that was originally released in 1976 that reflects the issues facing black and brown communities. The usage of the Equality Index, an analytic tool that measures how black people are doing relative to whites in America, has helped the Urban League create this report since 2005. The Index measures data in economics, health, education, social justice, and civic engagement.

In 2022, Black people have 73.9% of the proverbial pie, 26% less than white Americans.

The State of Black America report also had assistance from the “Legacy Eight” – eight civil rights and non-profit organizations whose roots come from the Civil Rights movement. These organizations include the National Urban League, the NAACP, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation/Black Women’s Roundtable, the National Action Network, and the National Council of Negro Women. Members of these organizations made contributions to the creation of this year’s State of Black America.

Also in this year’s report, the Urban League details how voter suppression are making what is an inalienable right for all Americans nearly impossible for black and brown communities.

The summary also goes into the four tactics that are currently being used to suppress the vote – gerrymandering, suppression, election sabotage, and intimidation.

The executive summary calls to “Reclaim Your Vote.”

To read the executive summary of the National Urban League’s “State of Black America,” please see here.