The overall population of Blacks in America has increased within the last 2 years. "In 2019, there were 46.8 million people who self-identified as Black, making up roughly 14% of the country's population. This marks a 29% increase since 2000, when there were roughly 36.2 million Black Americans."

A little over 51% of the Black population are women. Thirty-eight percent of the Black population are married (17,1000,000) and 32% are single Black women (14,5000,000). Two-parent families still exist in the Black community but are weakening because there are still too many single Black females out there.

Many factors contribute to the absence of two-parent families in the Black community, one main reason being historic divide among Black families since the founding of this country, but more recently, the over-incarceration of Black men in the eighties and nineties and the plight of the independent woman's movement in the sixties and seventies, all weakened the state of the Black family structure.

Despite the systemic setbacks, Black men and women have maintained steady college enrollment rates at "16.6 million total undergraduate students enrolled in the Fall of 2019, Black students made up 2.1 million students of the undergraduate population (12.7%), while 26% of Blacks ages 25 and older had attained a bachelor's degree. HBCUs make up only three percent of the country's colleges and universities, but enroll 10% of all African American students and produce almost 20% of all African American graduates."

While many Black Americans are working class, (30%), "in 2019, there were 134,567 Black-owned employer businesses (businesses with more than one employee) in all sectors of the U.S. economy, an 8% hike from the 124,551 Black-owned employer businesses in 2018, according to the ABS."

"The median household income for Black households in 2019 is $44,000, which means half of households headed by a Black person earn more than that and half earn less. Broader analysis shows that more than half (54%) of Black households earn less than $50,000, while 46% make $50,000 or more. Almost three-in-ten (28%) make $75,000 or more, including 18% that make $100,000 or more."

Although Blacks are the highest incarcerated race in the US, Black imprisonment rate has decreased 34% since 2006. "While their rate of imprisonment has decreased the most in recent years, black Americans remain far more likely than their Hispanic and white counterparts to be in prison. The black imprisonment rate at the end of 2018 was nearly twice the rate among Hispanics (797 per 100,000) and more than five times the rate among whites (268 per 100,000)."

In recent years, more Blacks have purchased guns than normal. "Sale of guns to Black Americans rose 58 percent in 2020 - the year George Floyd was murdered by a Minnesota police officer, sparking a nationwide social justice movement. Further, in the first quarter of 2021, another NSSF report revealed 90 percent of gun retailers reported a general increase of Black customers, including an 87 percent increase among Black women."

Throughout American history, an attempt at genocide continues to plague the Black population but by the grace of God we remain strong and continue to grow and adapt. We must persist in being vigilante, hardworking and loving toward one another if we are to remain a pervasive culture in American society and the world.

SOURCES

https://www.commerce.gov/news/blog/2021/02/us-census-bureau-releases-key-statistics-nations-african-american-population

https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/fact-sheet/facts-about-the-us-black-population/

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/05/06/share-of-black-white-hispanic-americans-in-prison-2018-vs-2006/

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/black-people-are-looking-safety-gun-ownership-rcna32150

https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2022/02/increase-in-number-of-united-states-black-owned-businesses-between-2017-and-2019.html