Negro Digest - Freedom Archives

as a white man with a similar education
; a black high school graduate
made 68 percent as much as
a white man with a high school diploma
; and a black man who had
some college made 64 percent as
much as a white man with some
college . In actual dollars this meant
that in 1959 a black man with an
elementary school education made
$1,081 less than a white ; a black
with four years of high school made
$1,794 less ; and a black man with
some college made $2,507 less . In
1966, a black man with elementary
school education made 80 percent
as much as a white ; the high school
graduate made 70 percent as
much ; and the black man who went
to college made 66 percent as
much ; and in actual terms the income
differences were $930, $1,-
880, and $3,095 less, respectively.
As we indicated earlier, the picture
is a confusing one, but let us
summarize the income situation of
the black man in 1966 as compared
to 1959, and black men as compared
to white men . In 1966, black
men had a higher median income
than in 1959, and this was true at
all educational levels . In 1966, the
relative situation between black and
white men had improved at all educational
levels, but the absolute situation
had improved only for black
men with eight years of education .
It had worsened for those with high
school diplomas or who had attended
college . Furthermore, the
relative situation had improved
least, and the absolute situation de-
NEGRO DIGEST March 1968
dined worst for those who had college
training . This means that at
the higher educational levels white
men are moving so rapidly in
America that black men at the
same levels are barely keeping up .
The situation for black women
for the same period of time and in
the same age category is quite different
. Median income for black
women went up from $959 in 1959
to $1,561 in 1966, and for white
women the change was $1,635 to
$1,988 respectively . In relative
terms, the income of black women
increased by 63 percent and that of
white women by 22 percent, so
that while black women made 59
percent as much as whites in 1959
they made 78 percent as much in
1966 . In 1959, black women made
$668 less than whites and $427
less in 1966 . Therefore in both
relative and absolute terms the income
situation for black women has
improved since 1959 .
The nature of the relative and
absolute improvement is seen more
clearly when we analyze changes by
educational levels . In 1959, a black
woman with eight years of school
made 85 percent as much as a
white woman with similar education
; a black woman with a high
school diploma made 76 percent
as much as a white woman ; and a
black woman with some college
made 94 percent as much as a
white woman with similar education
. By 1966, a black woman with
eight years of school made 92 percent
as much as a white woman ;
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