2023 Report

The 2023 State of Black America report, titled "Democracy In Peril: Confronting the Threat Within," is a critical and timely examination of the challenges facing Black Americans in the current socio-political climate. This 47th edition, published by the National Urban League, continues a tradition of insightful analysis and thought leadership on racial equality in America, a tradition that began in 1976 under Vernon E. Jordan Jr.'s stewardship. The report addresses the alarming rise of far-right and domestic extremism and its impact on marginalized communities, democracy, and civil liberties in the United States.

This year's report shines a light on the underground spread of white supremacy and the mainstreaming of dangerous rhetoric that incites violence and racism. It underscores the infiltration of far-right extremists into crucial sectors of society, including the military, law enforcement, and the political system, and their advocacy for the erasure of civil liberties. The report collaborates with the Southern Poverty Law Center and other organizations to provide quantified data on racial violence, the effects of hate speech on public attitudes, and the growing domestic threat posed by white supremacists.

The State of Black America 2023 serves as a crucial call to action, urging a collective response to minimize and combat the extremist movement that threatens the very fabric of American society and the freedoms won during the Civil Rights Movement. It presents a comprehensive view of the current state of racial inequity across various systems in America, such as economics, employment, education, health, housing, criminal justice, and civic participation. This executive summary and the full report aim to raise awareness and drive meaningful change in addressing these systemic inequities and the rising tide of extremism.

2023 release

Executive Summary

Since its first appearance in 1976 under the stewardship of the late Mr. Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., the organization’s fifth president, the State of Black America® remains one of the most highly-anticipated benchmarks and sources for thought leadership around racial equality in America. 

The report explores the inequities across America’s economics, employment, education, health, housing, criminal justice, and civic participation systems through research and the words of our contributors.  Each edition contains penetrating commentary and insightful analysis from recognized authorities and leading figures in politics, the corporate and tech sectors, the nonprofit arena, academia, and popular culture ..

Learn more Download
Contributed by -

Secretary Jennifer Granholm

Secretary U.S. Department of Energy

Every day we are reminded that climate change is the single greatest threat facing humanity. While some choose to see this as a problem for future generations, the impacts of the climate crisis are already piling up for America's low-income families and people of color.

Learn more
Contributed by -

Angela Tuck

SENIOR EDITOR OF THE INTELLIGENCE PROJECT SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise

-      Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
 

When Pastor Eric S.C. Manning heard there had been a shooting at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., one of his first thoughts was of his friend, Rev. Clementa Pinckney.

Learn more
Contributed by -

Thomas Beauford

PRESIDENT BUFFALO URBAN LEAGUE

An act of domestic terrorism forever changed our community on May 14th, 2022. A shooter opened fire at a supermarket in a predominately Black neighborhood several hours from where he lived. This horrific attack killed ten individuals, wounded three, injured several others, and traumatized our community and the world. This heinous event reminded us that hate-fueled violence still exists in our society, and extremists are here to destroy anything that is just or equal.

Learn more
Contributed by -

Bishop Garrison

FORMER SENIOR ADVISOR TO THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE AND FELLOW NATIONAL SECURITY INSTITUTION, GEORGE MASON SCHOOL OF LAW

Rhetoric doesn’t fight wars, but it does start them. The world has witnessed this play out in real-time during the heinous Russian invasion of Ukraine, as Nazism found its way into the narrative.

Learn more
Contributed by -

Marc Morial

PRESIDENT & CEO NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE

At least three members of the current U.S. Congress have promoted a conspiracy theory centered on a cabal of Satan-worshiping, cannibalistic, child abusers that includes Democratic politicians, Hollywood actors and business tycoons.

Learn more
Contributed by -

Dr. Robert Bullard

PROFESSOR OF URBAN PLANNING & ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY, DIRECTOR OF THE BULLARD CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND CLIMATE JUSTICE TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY

Environmental justice embraces the principle that all people and communities are entitled to equal protection of environmental, health, employment, education, housing, transportation, energy, and civil rights laws. This principle was largely absent from the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970 where the modern environmental movement was born. Environmental justice languished during the “Dark Ages” of the 1970s and early 1980s.

Learn more
Contributed by -

Maya Henson Carey

RESEARCH ANALYST SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER

In the nation's collective memory of the days following the 1954 landmark—unanimous—U.S. Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education decision outlawing segregation in public schools, a rallying cry for parental rights echoes.

Learn more
Contributed by -

Marc H. Morial

PRESIDENT & CEO NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE

Transitioning the U.S. economy to renewable energy is perhaps the greatest wealth-creation opportunity since the Industrial Revolution. Over the next two decades, American companies plan to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in new wind, solar, and battery storage projects to replace aging, expensive, and heavily polluting fossil fuel plants, and provide power for an increasingly electrified economy with a growing fleet of electric vehicles.  

Learn more
Contributed by -

SUSAN CORKE

DIRECTOR SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER, INTELLIGENCE PROJECT

MICHAEL LIEBERMAN

SENIOR POLICY COUNSEL SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER

On May 14, 2022, a white supremacist attacked and killed 10 people, all of them Black, at Topps Supermarket in Buffalo, New York. From our reporting it was clear that the shooter became radicalized online and was inspired by other acts of white supremacist violence and by the January 6 insurrection.

Learn more

Project CODE's (Collaborative Organizations to End Domestic Extremism) partners congratulate the National Urban League's legacy of releasing The State of Black America report since 1976 and bringing prescient issues to the public square!

Read more

We stand at a pivotal moment in American history to make transformational impacts that will accelerate the clean energy transition, mitigate the impacts of climate change, and deliver economic-focused restorative justice to Black, Brown, and underserved communities.  These communities have been disproportionately impacted by our nation’s energy system for decades and remain the most concerned about the climate imperative.

Read more

Our Partners


Key partners supporting the National Urban League's mission for State of Black America Report

Subscribe our newsletter!

Scroll to Top