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RICHMOND, Va.
(AP) It’s hard to believe, but you could be the next African- American child living in poverty in Virginia.
The state’s unemployment rate among African-Americans is above 40 percent, nearly double the national average of 14.6 percent.
In the past two years, African- Americans have been overrepresented in high-profile prison riots, including the killing of Freddie Gray in April, and in mass arrests.
The number of African- americans in prison is up dramatically in the past few years, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
It’s not just the African- AMERES who have suffered; the prison population has been growing at twice the national rate, according a report released Wednesday by the University of Virginia.
“There is a significant disconnect between what is happening on the ground and what is being said by the political leaders,” said Sarah M. Withers, director of the UVA Center for African American Studies.
There is one bright spot: The rate of African American children in poverty is lower than it was a few years ago.
In 2016, the unemployment rate for African-Americans was 10.7 percent, while it was 6.4 percent for whites.
But in 2016, African Americans made up about one-quarter of the state’s population and more than 60 percent of the population with no college degree, the report found.
Virginia is the sixth-highest-incarcerated state in the country, behind California, Florida, Texas and Louisiana.
It has the highest percentage of African Americans behind bars.
For African Americans, it can be very difficult to find a job.
It’s been hard for people to even get a high-paying job in Virginia, according the report.
There are only 13,500 private-sector jobs for African Americans.
About one-third of the workforce in Virginia is non-white, and only 14 percent of African Americans have a college degree.
A survey by the Center for American Progress found that nearly 60 percent are unemployed, while more than half of African America residents live below the poverty line.
Some of the most high-paid jobs in Virginia are in retail, manufacturing, health care, and technology, according TOEFL, a nonprofit that tracks higher education.
But the report notes that while the state is among the wealthiest in the nation, African American students are often among the least qualified for college, and often face barriers in getting scholarships or diplomas.
In some cases, schools and colleges are simply not equipped to handle the high demand for education.
And some African Americans face severe discrimination.
Black students in Virginia pay less than white students, are more likely to be suspended from school and receive lower grades.
The report found that more than 40 percent of students with African American and Latino names attend schools in a low-income district.
Many of these students are placed in schools with the highest poverty rates.
But even with the disparities, some black people say they can’t escape poverty.
My mom is a single mother, said Michelle Johnson, who is black and works at a clothing store in Richmond.
I can’t tell you how many times, I’ve had to work my whole life and still be able to feed my family.
I have to go back to school every year.
But that’s my life, she said.
This is not a story about racism.
It is a story of what happens when our leaders don’t listen to us.
It should not be this way.
Many people in Richmond say they’re willing to work hard, but the work often falls short of expectations.
They said their kids are still struggling to make ends meet and many don’t have the funds to buy school supplies.
Even with the economic difficulties, people say that even if they could afford to pay for college or a college education, they don’t think they would.
They say they don’ t want to see black people like me left behind.
When asked about the plight of AfricanAmerican children in Virginia’s prisons, Republican Gov.
Terry McAuliffe said: “This is about systemic racism.
There’s a lot of stories like this out there.
It shouldn’t be that way.”
The report notes the impact of racism in Virginia and that there is a large disparity in educational attainment and access to opportunities for young people of color.
More than half the state population has no college or high school degree, and more African Americans live in the state with no degree than whites, the UAV report found, according it.
Maine is among many states that have seen a decline in state-wide unemployment over the past decade.
In Maine, the rate of unemployment among African Americans was 9.9 percent in 2015, according data from the UAW-ITEF union.
In Louisiana, unemployment among Black Americans was 8.3 percent
