The birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. has been observed as a federal holiday on the third Monday in January since 1986. To recall and celebrate the positive contributions made by people of African descent, American historian Carter G. Woodson established Black History Week on Feb. 12, 1926. For many years, the second week of February was set aside for this celebration to coincide with the birthdays of African-American abolitionist/editor Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. In 1976, as part of the nation’s bicentennial, the week was expanded into Black History Month.

38.3 million
The estimated number of U.S. residents who were black or black in combination with one or more other races as of July 1, 2002. This race group then made up 13.3 percent of the total population.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/hispanic_origin_population/001130.html>

Education
79 percent
Among blacks age 25 and over, the proportion that had at least a high school diploma in 2002. For blacks ages 25 to 29, the proportion is considerably higher: 87 percent. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/education/000818.html>

17 percent
Among blacks age 25 and over, the proportion that had a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2002, up a full percentage point from the previous year. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/education/000818.html>

1.1 million
Among blacks age 25 and over, the number who had an advanced degree in 2002 (e.g., master’s Ph.D., M.D. or J.D.). <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/education/000818.html>

$2.5 million
Estimated work life earnings for full-time, year-round, black workers with an advanced degree. For blacks, more education means higher career earnings: those without a high school diploma would earn less than $1 million during their work life, increasing to $1.0 million for workers with a high school education and $1.7 million for those with a bachelor’s degree.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/cb02-95.html>

Serving Our Nation
2.6 million
Number of black military veterans in the United States in 2000.
<http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en>

Income and Poverty
$29,177
The annual median income in 2002 of households with householders who reported only black or black in combination with one or more other races. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/001371.html>

23.9 percent
Poverty rate in 2002 for those reporting black, regardless of whether they reported any other race or races. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/001371.html>

Families
8.8 million
Number of black families. Of these, nearly one-half (48 percent) are married-couple families.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/000928.html>

Among black married-couple families, 33 percent consist of two members, and 20 percent consist of five or more members. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/000928.html>

9 percent
Proportion of black children who live in their grandparents’ household. This is the highest rate for any race or ethnic group. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/children/001125.html>

48 percent
The proportion of black householders who own their own home.
<http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/hvs/q303prss.pdf>

Population Distribution

Nation

1.2 million
The size of the increase in the black population between Census Day, April 1, 2000, and July 1, 2002. The rate of increase for this group was 3.3 percent, higher than the overall increase of 2.5 percent for the population as a whole. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/hispanic_origin_population/001130.html>

55 percent
The proportion of blacks who live in the South. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/000928.html>

2
For every black person who moved out of the South from 1995 to 2000, the number of blacks who moved there from the nation’s other regions. Conversely, each of the other regions experienced a net outmigration of blacks over the same period. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/census_2000/001505.html>

52 percent
The proportion of blacks who live in the central city of a metropolitan area. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/000928.html>

States

3.6 million
Estimated black population of New York on July 1, 2002, the highest of any state. Four other states had black populations that surpassed 2 million: Florida, California, Texas and Georgia. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/001342.html>

216,000
The number of blacks added to Florida’s population between Census Day, April 1, 2000, and July 1, 2002, which led all states. Georgia, which added 97,000 blacks, was the runner-up. When it comes to percentage increase, Idaho led all states with a 24 percent increase in its black population over the same period. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/001342.html>

37 percent
The estimated proportion of Mississippi’s population that was black as of July 1, 2002, the highest percentage of any state in the nation. Louisiana (33 percent), South Carolina (30 percent), Georgia and Maryland (29 percent each) and Alabama (27 percent) followed. The District of Columbia, classified as a state equivalent by the Census Bureau, has a population that is 61 percent black. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/001342.html>

130,000
Total number of blacks added to Georgia’s population through net migration during the five-year period prior to the last census. Georgia led all states, followed by North Carolina, Florida, Maryland and Texas. (Totals for North Carolina and Florida are not statistically different from each other.) <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/census_2000/001505.html>

Counties

1.4 million
The estimated number of people in Cook County, Ill., on July 1, 2002, who were black. Cook leads all the nation’s counties in this category. Los Angeles, Calif., and Kings (Brooklyn), N.Y., also had black populations exceeding 1 million. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/001341.html>

68 percent
Estimated proportion of Orleans Parish, La., residents who were black as of July 1, 2002. Among counties with a minimum total population of 100,000, Orleans has the highest percentage of blacks. A pair of jurisdictions in Maryland — Baltimore city and Prince George’s County — followed closely, at 66 percent each. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/001341.html>

50,100
Number of blacks added to the population of Broward County, Fla., between Census Day, April 1, 2000, and July 1, 2002, easily the highest total of any county in the nation. When it comes to percentage increase of blacks, Forsyth, Ga., led all counties with an 88 percent increase. (These statements apply only to counties with a minimum total population of 100,000.) <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/001341.html>

Age Distribution

32 percent
Proportion of the black population under 18 as of July 1, 2002. At the other end of the spectrum, 8 percent of the black population were 65 or over.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/hispanic_origin_population/001130.html>

Jobs
• For black men, the most common occupational category is operator, fabricator and laborer; 28 percent of them are employed in jobs that come under this heading. About 19 percent each work in three other occupational categories: technical, sales and administrative support jobs; service occupations; and managerial and professional specialty jobs. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/000928.html>

• Among black women, 36 percent work in technical, sales and administrative support jobs and about 27 percent each in managerial and professional specialty jobs and in service occupations. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/000928.html>

• There are about 41,000 employed black physicians, 91,000 engineers and 43,000 lawyers. (From the upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2003.)