27 percent of blacks below poverty line: According to a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau today, the number of blacks living below the poverty line — which is $11,139 for an individual in 2010 — has risen to 10.7 million, up 1.6 percent. In all, 27.4 percent of blacks were living in poverty at the time of the study. Meanwhile, NPR has taken a look at two families whose experiences illustrate how the racial wealth gap is perpetuated by deeply ingrained differences in things such as inheritance, homeownership, taxes and even expectations.
Suggested Reading
South Africa: dark clouds in the Rainbow Nation: Foreign Policy's Eve Fairbanks argues that punishing a South African youth leader for hate speech won't do anything to suppress the anger of a generation.
True Blood's Rutina Wesley heads to Broadway: Wesley will soon take on a new role in an off-Broadway production of The Submission, the story of a white playwright who pens a play about an African-American woman and her cardshark son.
Video: Kmart's Public Enemy Ad: The Public Enemy tune "Harder Than You Think" is a surprising choice to accompany Kmart's new campaign, titled "Money Can't Buy Style."
In other news: Ruth Simmons to Retire as Brown President.
Like The Root on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported that 27 million blacks were below the poverty line. It should have read 27 percent or 10.7 million.
Straight From 
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.