DreamReportCard

// Has MLK's "dream" been realized? //  It's been over 40 years since Martin Luther King Jr. explained his dream to 250,000 Americans in Washington D.C. and millions more watching and listening at home. Has America become the land of equality that King spoke of in his famous speech? Are all Americans judged by the content of the character, and not by the color of their skin? One way to begin to answer this question is to examine some recent statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau. Your task is to analyze the statistics on the topics below, keeping in mind MLK's "dream". You will be filling out a report card on American society, based on statistics from the US Census Bureau. In each of the four major categories, you and your partner will assign a letter grade to American society, provide statistical information to back up your letter grade, and then make comments and suggestions for improvement. You will also need to develop a comment concerning the "behavior" of society toward minorities. This report card will appear in your Unit 8 Online ISN.
 * [|**General Statistics**] ||  [|**Voting and Government**]  ||  [|**Labor**]  ||  [|**Education**]  ||  [|**Income**]  ||



 * Some recent articles MLK would be interested to read ... **
 * [|Poll: Most Americans see lingering racism -- in others - CNN.com]
 * [|The "State of the Dream"] - A yearly report from the Racial Wealth Divide Project
 * [|Affirmative Action Special Report] from the Washington Post
 * [|Affirmative Action] from civilrights.org
 * Cut and paste the table below for your notebook**

**Has Martin Luther King Jr.'s "dream" been realized?**

Civil Rights laws, affirmative action laws, representation in state and federal government, voting statistics || =B= || * Civil Rights laws have been passed and enforced by the government Number of employed / unemployed, types of jobs, business ownership || C || -Black: 16.6% civilian employment rate Hispanic: 19.3% civilian employment rate White: 121.1% civilian employment rate -Blacks: education administrators, purchasing agents, and claims workers mostly Hispanics: real estate and restaurant workers mostly Whites: 4.8% unemployed Black: 10.4% unemployed Hispanics: 7% unemployed || - encourage minorities to take jobs and make a contribution to the economy - get minorities to graduate from high school and encourage them to go to college to get a better education and get a better job later in life || Graduation rates, test scores, college enrollment, educational attainment || B || - Whites: 55.4% enrollment rate Blacks: 59.2% enrollment rate Hispanics: 49.6% enrollment rate - White: 85.8% high school graduation rate Black: 80.6% high school graduation rate Hispanic: 58.4% high school graduation rate || - encourage immigrants to learn english so they will have an easier transition into the school system. - get more hispanic teachers to help hispanic students transition better || Average income, number below poverty level || C || whites: 12.9% make $100,000- 150,000 blacks: 13.7% make under $10,000 Hispanics: 9.2% make $15,000-$20,000 Whites: 8.8% poverty rate Blacks: 25.6% poverty rate || - need to get more blacks working by giving them more opportunities ||
 * **TOPIC** || ==GRADE== || **RATIONALE WITH STATISTICS** || **COMMENTS / SUGGESTIONS** ||
 * **Legislation and Politics**
 * While the number of African Americans and Hispanics in the government is not near the percentage of population, the numbers are increasing every year
 * We have an African American president
 * African Americans vote at nearly the same rate as the average population, but Hispanics are much lower (average around 60% registering, African American 58%, Hispanic 28%) || * Encourage minorities to continue to become active in politics, possibly through schools
 * Push for voter registration drives and voter education in the Hispanic community, possibly with bilingual voting ballots ||
 * **Employment**
 * **Education**
 * **Income and Poverty**
 * **Behavior** ||  ||   ||   ||