JACKSON — We have in Mississippi the highest percentage — 37 percent — of African-American population of any state.
But you hear very little — virtually nothing, in fact — from Mississippi white political leaders about reducing the economic gaps between the state's white and black population, the chief roadblock to getting the state off the bottom of the nation's economic ladder.
Marianne Hill, senior analyst at the state's Center for Policy Research and Planning, in the December issue of Mississippi Economic Review and Outlook provides a snapshot of the economic status of the state's African Americans that in some respects does not surprise but in others reveals some shocking news.
First off, it's startling to see how poorly black women are paid in Mississippi, not only relative to their white counterparts in the state, but compared with African-American women nationally.
Black women employed full time in Mississippi in 2006 had median earnings of only $21,049, compared to the state's median of $31,107. That figure for Mississippi black women was only 69 percent of what African-American women earned nationally.
At the same time, white males in Mississippi were paid a somewhat impressive 88 percent of what their national counterparts received, and Mississippi white women earned 80 percent for white females nationally.
Hill points out that while the income gap for Mississippians of both races narrowed between 1989 and 1999, since then the median progress of blacks has stalled, partly due to an increased percentage of Hispanics in the workplace. Thirty-eight percent of black women in the state live below the poverty line, compared to only 14 percent of white women and 11 per cent of white men.
Substantial as is the income gap between Mississippi whites and blacks, Hill points out that the wealth gap is even greater. Only 26 percent of black-owned homes were valued at over $70,000, while 60 percent of white homes were valued over $70,000.
The fact that more than half of black-owned homes in Mississippi are valued at less then $50,000 relates directly to recent findings of the non-profit Mississippi Economic Policy Center showing that the percentage of sub-prime home mortgages in this state is the highest in the nation.
Sub-prime lending, defined as lending to borrowers with “elevated credit risks” such as weak credit history or low down payment capacity, increases proportionately to the minority population in a census tract, said the MEPC report. Therefore, in Mississippi counties with as much as 80 percent black population, 6 out of every 10 loans are sub-prime, according to the report.
Figures from the Mortgage Bankers Association delinquency section, said Ed Sivak, director of MEPC, showed 23 percent of sub-prime mortgages in Mississippi in the third quarter of 2007 were delinquent and subject to foreclosure. The city of Jackson, now with a predominately black population, ranked fourth highest in the nation in foreclosures.
Since the sub-prime mortgage crisis nationally is being blamed by economists as the major cause of recession fears, its impact on Mississippi's economy could very well put this state at the front of the line on the road to recession. Translated, that means state tax revenues this year could be in for a very big hit.
Consider this: the number of African Americans in Mississippi is greater than the total population of Alaska, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota or Delaware and is equal to that of Rhode Island.
And while Mississippi has the highest percentage of black state legislators of any state, black lawmakers have not been able to generate enough support from their white colleagues to deliver meaningful policy initiatives that can reduce the economic gap between the state's two races.
If that ever happens, it could move Mississippi a long way toward closing the economic gap between all if its citizens and the rest of the United States.
