Page A3
Iuly 23, 2008
Survey Looks at Black American Values, Lifestyle
Counters
long-held
misconceptions
A ccording to one o f the larg -
est-ever studies o f B lack A m erica,
70 percent o f A frican A m ericans
alread y have a plan fo r th eir fu ­
ture.
The survey by Radio O ne Inc.
and Y ankelovich, a Chapel Hill,
N .C.,-based research firm, inter­
viewed 3,400 A frican A m ericans
betw een 13 and 74 years o f age and
provides the most detailed snap
shot o f African A m erican life in the
United States today.
The study finds strong group
identity across age and incom e
brackets. It also discloses a com ­
prehensive and nuanced look at
how African Am ericans feel about
many aspects o f life in America,
and cautions against a sim plistic
reading of B lack America as a mono-
lithic group.
It show s that blacks are divided
evenly on how they liked to be
described, with 42 percent prefer­
ring to be called “B lack” and 44
percent preferring "A frican A m eri­
can.”
Ask ö
Real People, Real Advice
advice cola inn known
fo r its fearless approach
to reality based subjects!
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A study on Black America finds faith can lower the level o f everyday stress.
Dear Deanna!
My teen daughter drinks a lot and
I think it’s a problem but others
seem to think its okay because she’s
a freshm an in college. H er grades
are average, she has no sense of
responsibility and I ca n ’t seem to
get through to her. She is very
rebellious and although I hate to
say it, she's horrible and nasty when
she’s drunk. I c a n ’t recall the last
tim e she was sober. I need to tear
her away from her loser friends and
get her som e help but everything
I’ve tried has failed. —A n o n ym o u s;
D allas, T exa s
Dear Anonymous:
A lcohol abuse is n ev er a c ce p t­
able. You need to im m ediately get
s o m e h e lp fro m A lc o h o lic s
A n o n y m o u s. Y es, y o u n g s tu ­
dents new to co lleg e drink and
party but y o u r d a u g h te r’s p ro b ­
lem is a m ore intense an d d an g e r­
ous. H er problem s are m ore than
the co lleg e ex p erien ce and she
needs to take a break, get h erself
to g e th e r and go sc h o o l o n ce
sh e ’s clean ed up her act. If not,
your money will go dow n the drain
and sh e ’11 co n tin u e on a fast track
o f self-d estru ctio n .
Dear Deanna!
At on e tim e, I w as low in my life,
la c k in g s e lf e stee m and self-
w orth. D uring th is p erio d , I m et
my h u sband and I settled ju st to
have a man. W e’ve been to g eth er
for alm o st five years and now I
see h e ’s not the m an for me. He
has verbally abused me, had a f­
fairs and I’ve let him stay. His bad
fin an ces are an o th er story. I see
the excuses I’ve m ade and I’ve
ack n o w led g ed my blam e in this
relatio n sh ip . Am I being selfish
and am I w rong to break up w ith
him ? —R e a d y to S ta r t O v e r; B a l­
tim o re, M d.
Dear Ready to Start Over:
T h e re ’s nothing w orse than se t­
tling for less w hen you have o p ­
tions to w ait for the right thing.
Y ou’ve exhausted your tim e, your
patience and personal se lf for a
few years. Y o u ’re rig h tly ju s ti­
fied in w anting to clean up this
m ess and start a clean slate. H e ’s
not attached on a deep em otional
level so it sh o u ld n ’t su rp rise or
T h e a v e ra g e h o u s e h o ld o f
those surveyed had three people
in it, half o f w hom lived in a single
fam ily hom e, o n e-th ird in a p a rt­
m ents, o n e-th ird in the suburbs
and h a lf in cities. A m ong 29 to 74
year-olds, one-third were m arried;
61 p ercent w ere paren ts, five p e r­
cent o f 13 to 17 y ear-o ld s w ere
p aren ts, and h alf o f all parents
w ere sin g le parents.
From an educational and eco ­
nomic standpoint, 34 percent o f
those surveyed who were 18 or
older had some college or a two-
year degree, 21 percent h a d a B A o r
higher, 40 percent had an annual
income under$25.(XX)and one-third
more than $50,(XX).
T he digital divide has faded.
Sixty-eight percent o f those sur­
veyed are online (com pared to 71
percent o f all A m ericans), and two-
thirds o f them shop online. Among
teens, over 90 percent are online.
Black identity rem ains strong
across al I age and econom ic groups.
W hile 56 percent o f those surveyed
have “all” or "alm ost" all black
friends, only 30 percent said they
prefer being around people o f the
same race.
Discrim ination rem ains a very
real part o f black life in America.
W hile 24 percent said they had
been p e rso n a lly d isc rim in a te d
against in the past three months, 82
percent said they believe it is “im ­
portant for parents to prepare their
children for prejudice.”
Sixty-seven percent overall said
they believe the history o f slavery
is a key way in which blacks are
different from other groups, but
one-third also say that too much
em phasis is put on the oppression
o f blacks.
A m ong other findings in the re­
port:
83 percent o f those surveyed
have health insurance, a m ajority
(66 percent o f w om en and 52 per­
cent o f men) has family doctors,
and 40 percent o f Blacks who go
online search the internet for health
and medical information.
83 percent o f those surveyed
describe them selves as C hristian,
though only 41 percent go to church
at least once a week. 70 percent o f
w om en and 59 percent o f m en b e­
lieve that faith in God is m ore likely
to help them recover from a serious
illness.
72 percent want to learn more
about how to invest. 50 percent
believe banks and other financial
institutions do not understand their
needs; and only 8 percent trust
credit card com panies.
shock him when you let him know
it’s over. Y es, you sh o u ld file for
d ivorce, take the lead on the se p a­
ration, say g oodbye and keep it
m oving.
Dear Sibling:
Dear Deanna!
Your brother is grown ju st like you
and this gam e will continue as long
as both o f you allow it. If you were
able to have enough conversation
to get to the point o f him moving in,
you can have ju st as much dialogue
to get him out. All you have to do
is give him a tim eline and let him
know that he has to get a jo b and
start saving. Then start the next
plan that involves him getting his
ow n place, getting out and o f
course, keeping it moving.
I let my b ro th er m ove in w ith me
and my househ o ld has been a
w reck. He has show n no in te n ­
tions o f getting a jo b . H ow ever,
he eats enough for tw o people,
leaves the bathroom a m ess and
thinks he has a built-in maid. This
w asn ’t part o f the plan w hen I
agreed to help him get back on his Ask Deanna is written by Deanna
feet. T his has been going on for M. Write Ask Deanna! Email:
m onths and I’m at the end o f my askdeannal @ yahoo.com or 264
rope. W hat do I do at this point that S. DiCieneya Blvd. Suite 1283
w on’t com e back to haunt me? - Beverly Hills, CA 90211. Website:
Sorry Sibling; O n -L in e R ea d er
www.gskd c ti.nnti,com
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