A new report on African-Americans in Wisconsin presents a current profile of the population and charts how it has changed during the past 25 years.

The two University of Wisconsin sociologists who compiled the publication report positive trends in high school achievement and college enrollment for Wisconsin”s African-Americans. In other respects – poverty, unemployment and rate of incarceration in correctional institutions – the data are less encouraging.

The report, “African-Americans in Wisconsin: A Statistical Overview,” was published by the UW-Madison Applied Population Laboratory. Its co-authors are sociologists Doris Slesinger of the UW-Madison and E. Howard Grigsby of the UW-Whitewater.

“This publication draws on the 1990 census and various sources in state government to bring together the most recent statistics available on African-Americans in the state,” says Grigsby.

Among the discouraging news:

* ?The median income of African-American families in 1989 was $16,674, less than half the median income of all families in the state, $35,082. African-American families were more than four times as likely as all families in Wisconsin to have incomes below the poverty line (38 percent compared with 8 percent).
* ?While the state”s unemployment rate was less than 6 percent in 1990, the rate for African-Americans was three times higher. The unemployment rate for African-Americans doubled between 1970 and 1990, while the unemployment rate for the total population in the state had increased only slightly over the same period.
* ?Although the proportion of households headed by women increased for both African-Americans and the total Wisconsin population from 1970 to 1990, 56 percent of African-American families were headed by women in 1990, compared with 13 percent for all state families.
* ?Although African-Americans make up only 5 percent of Wisconsin”s general population, they comprised nearly half of the inhabitants of adult correctional institutions in 1995. Grigsby and Slesinger note that fewer than 5 percent of law enforcement officers and administrators of justice were African-Americans.

However, Grigsby and Slesinger were encouraged by data on high school achievement. The percentage of African-Americans age 25 or older who had earned high school diplomas increased from 34 percent in 1970 to 61 percent in 1990. Their dropout rate also decreased during this period.

The percentage of African-Americans who enrolled in Wisconsin”s universities and technical colleges increased from less than 15 percent in 1980 to more than 25 percent in 1990. More than 20,000 African-American students were enrolled in Wisconsin technical colleges and universities in 1994. However, unlike the total population, the percentage of African-Americans graduating from college did not increase.

Slesinger sees reason for encouragement in these education statistics.

“We seem to be doing better in 1990,” she says. “African-American men have caught up with women in terms of high school diplomas. The percentage of African-Americans entering college and the other post-secondary programs has increased dramatically. However, the number graduating has remained flat. We need to find better ways to help these students be successful once they begin universities and technical colleges.”

Although the term “black middle class” appears in the press periodically, little evidence exists that such a class is emerging in Wisconsin. The percentage of African-American families who own their own homes – about one-third – remained unchanged from 1980 to 1990. The median income of African-Americans was less than half that of the total population in 1990. About 13,000 African-American families, only 23 percent, reported incomes greater than $35,000, compared with 50 percent for all families in the state.

Ninety-eight percent of African-Americans live in Wisconsin”s large cities, mostly in the state”s southeastern corner. Grigsby believes structural changes in that region”s manufacturing sector have contributed to employment problems for African-Americans, especially men.

“African-American women continue to find jobs in traditional fields,” Grigsby says. “In fact, growth in some of these fields has meant increased opportunities. But jobs in traditionally male occupations, such as manufacturing, have become more scarce.”

The study predates Wisconsin”s new welfare reform law, but the sociologists don”t expect it to have a major impact on poverty.

“We may be getting people off welfare, but that”s different than getting them out of poverty,” Slesinger says. “The number of working poor is growing. Some people work 60 hours a week but are still poor. The data show that one in four African-Americans below the poverty line works full time and most work at least half time. The new law will have its greatest impact on women and their kids. It doesn”t address the problems of most unemployed men.”

“We need to find ways to help African-American men and women break the cycle of poverty,” says Grigsby.

In 1995, African-Americans represented a disproportionately high percentage of Wisconsin”s prison population. The most common offenses of African-American men in Wisconsin prisons were drug violations and armed robbery. The most common offenses for white men were child sexual assault and unarmed burglary.

“Almost three-quarters of African-American men in Wisconsin”s prisons were less than 35 years old,” Grigsby says. “Most of them lacked a high school education. If we can improve the education and training that young African-Americans need to get a good job today, we can reduce the number in prison. Education continues to be the path to upward mobility for African-Americans.”