| On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 into law. This landmark law prohibits racial discrimination
in public accommodations, publicly owned or operated facilities, employment
and union membership, and voter registration. To mark the anniversary, the
Census Bureau has culled statistics from its reports that depict the progress
African-Americans have made since then. Because of the limited historical
data for other racial and ethnic groups, the analysis is limited to African-Americans.
20.7 million
The estimated black population in the United States in 1964. On July 1,
2003, blacks numbered an estimated 38.7 million. <http://www.census.gov/statab/hist/HS-02.pdf>
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/race/001839.html>
Income and Poverty
$18,859
Median family income of blacks in 1964 (in inflation-adjusted 2002 dollars).
In 2002, the black median family income was $33,634. <http://www.census.gov/hhes/income/dinctabs.html>
$20,805 and $13,085
Median income of black men and black women who worked full time year-round
in 1964 (in inflation-adjusted 2002 dollars). In 2002, the corresponding
income levels were $31,966 and $27,703. <http://www.census.gov/hhes/income/dinctabs.html>
41.8%
Poverty rate for blacks in 1966 — two years after passage of the
Civil Rights Act. In 2002, the poverty rate for blacks was 23.9 percent.
<http://www.census.gov/hhes/income/histinc/histpovtb.html>
Elected Officials
1,469
Number of black elected officials in 1970, the first year this kind of
information was collected. By 2001, the number had reached a high of 9,101.
(Data courtesy of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.)
<http://www.jointcenter.org/>
892
Number of black elected officials in Mississippi in 2001, which had a
higher total than any other state. Two other states in the deep South,
Alabama and Louisiana, were next, with 756 and 705 black elected officials,
respectively. (Data courtesy of the Joint Center for Political and Economic
Studies.) <http://www.jointcenter.org/>
High School Graduates
26%
Percentage of blacks age 25 and over in 1964 who had at least a high school
diploma. By 2003, this rate had risen to 80 percent. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/education/001863.html>
2.4 million
Number of blacks 25 years old and over with at least a high school diploma
in 1964. This number had risen to 16.4 million in 2003. <http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/education/p20-138.html>
and <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/education/001863.html>
College Students and Graduates
306,000
Number of black college students in 1964. By 2002, this number had risen
to
2.3 million. <http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/school/tabA-1.pdf>
4%
Percentage of blacks age 25 and over in 1964 who were college graduates.
By 2003, this rate
had risen to 17 percent. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/education/001863.html>
365,000
Number of blacks who had at least a bachelor’s degree in 1964. In
2003, 10 times as many, 3.6 million, had achieved this level of education.
<http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/education/p20-138.html>
and <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/education/001863.html>
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