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The State of the Dream 2004: Enduring Disparities in Black and White

Poverty

"The time has come for us to civilize ourselves by the total, direct and immediate abolition of poverty."

--Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Where Do We Go From Here?, 1967

Overall Poverty

• The Black poverty rate was three times greater than the white poverty rate in 2002.

• At the slow rate that the Black-white poverty gap has been narrowing since 1968, it would take 150 years to close the gap.

[image:] Graph with the following text:
Overall Poverty Rate, 1968 and 2002
1968 White 10.0%
1968 Black 34.7%
2002 White 8.0%
2002 Black 24.1%
Years to Parity: 150
Parity Year: 2152

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Historical Poverty Tables, Table 2. See Appendix for Years to Parity calculation.

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10 United for a Fair Economy • Racial Wealth Divide Project