A Tale of Three Cities: The State of Racial Justice in Chicago

Employment

-In 1960, the typical white family earned 1.6 and 1.4 times more than the typical black and Latino family. Today, the typical white family earns 2.2 and 1.7 times more than typical black and Latino families.

-At nearly 20 percent today, the black unemployment rate is over four times the city’s white unemployment rate. The rate for Latinos is about 10 percent.

-Higher levels of education do not eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in income or joblessness.

Education

-About 91 percent of black students and 89 percent of Latino students attend schools where 75 percent or more of the student population is eligible for free or reduced lunch. Meanwhile, white students comprise a quarter of all students at selective enrollment high schools and are overrepresented in the district’s advanced courses and gifted programs.

-White students represent anywhere from 32 percent to 40 percent of the student body at the district’s top five nationally-ranked high schools even though they comprise less than 10 percent of the Chicago Public Schools student body.

-Black students are suspended, both in-school and out-of-school, at double the district rate, and they are expelled at four times the rate of Latinos and 23 times the rate of whites.

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