racial disparity

Newly Elected Baton Rouge City Court Judge Sees Seat as First Step

By Ann Marie Awad • Nov 13, 2015
EBRSchools.org

The Baton Rouge City Court will have a new judge-at-large next year. The legislature created the seat over the summer in response to allegations that the court did not accurately reflect the racial makeup of the city. Previously there were three majority white districts and two majority black in a city that is more than 50 percent black. Tarvald Smith, a former public defender in Baker and a former member of the East Baton Rouge School Board won the seat.


Racial Disparities In Arrests Are Prevalent, But Cause Isn't Clear

By • Nov 23, 2014

Ferguson, Mo., continues to watch and wait as a grand jury decides whether to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown.

Brown's death was the spark for mass protests in Ferguson, but many of the city's black population say the problems go deeper, and that blacks are unfairly singled out by police.

Ferguson police statistics show the department does arrest blacks at a higher rate than other racial groups. But that disparity is true for police departments across the country.

The Youth Unemployment Crisis Hits African-Americans Hardest

By • Jul 21, 2014

Young people are being chased out of the labor market. Though the national unemployment rate has fallen steadily in recent months, youth unemployment remains stubbornly high, and the jobless rate is even higher among young minorities. For young people between the ages of 16 and 24, unemployment is more than twice the national rate, at 14.2 percent. For African-Americans, that rate jumps to 21.4 percent.

Black Preschoolers Far More Likely To Be Suspended

By Gene Demby • Mar 21, 2014

Here's what the education data show: kids who are suspended or expelled from school are more likely to drop out, and those dropouts are more likely to end up with criminal records. In many places, school discipline pushes kids directly into the juvenile justice system. Take just one example: a school fight can end in an arrest for assault.