United States policymakers have proposed raising the Social Security retirement age to 69, which would disproportionately hurt African Americans says Global Policy Solutions (GPS). They claim that the change will equal to a 14 percent cut for African Americans.

GPS also notes that African Americans are expected live to be 75 years of age, compared to 79 years for Whites. With a retirement age of 69, Blacks will have on average six years of retirement while Whites will get 10 years of retirement, or four additional years to collect and spend retirement funds.

The current retirement age is 67 for those born in 1960 or later. Republican presidential candidates Chris Christie, Ben Carson, Jeb Bush, and Marco Rubio support raising the age. Democrats tend to oppose it. In response to Bush’s suggestion to raise the retirement age, Democrat Bernie Sanders said, "I have a hard time understanding what world Gov. Bush and his billionaire backers live in."

Additionally, Blacks are less likely to be in jobs that offer retirement plans compared to Whites (46% to 38%) and the average Black only has $20,000 for retirement, while a White has more than five times more in retirement savings or $112,000.

Untaxed intergenerational wealth transfer also benefits Whites. Currently, White children get about 10 times more wealth from their parents than Black children.

See more Facts in Graphics

From Our Archives:
Should You Take Social Security at 62?

Making Your Family Wealthier

Birmingham, Alabama, near the southern end of Interstate 65, opened the Negro Southern League Museum last month. The museum is a tribute to the Birmingham Black Barons and other players in the league. Texas collector Layton Revel, founder of the Center for Negro League Baseball Research, houses his collection at the museum. Items in his collection date back the late 1890s including artifacts from the industrial teams of steel workers and miners in the Birmingham area.   

In Gary, Indiana, where I-65 begins, fundraising is ahead of schedule and organizers are planning to hoist a two-thirds replica of a P-51 Red Tail Mustang fighter plane made famous by the Tuskegee (Alabama) Airman at the Gary Aquatorium.  The Aquatorium is situated in the sand dunes along Lake Michigan and is already home to a replica of a hang glider that Octave Chanute flew over the sand dunes in 1896, years before Wilbur and Orville Wright sent the first plane aloft in North Carolina.

Photo: A duplicate of a Redtail that will "fly" over the Gary Aquatorium in the sand dunes along Lake Michigan.

“Welcome home,” was the greeting Johnetta Cole, director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, gave to the those who filled the museum’s street level lobby for Africa Access’ annual Children’s Africana Book Awards. She reminded guest that Africa is humanity’s home. Each year Africa Access selects at least one book that the group has reviewed and deemed as being more accurate and more balanced in its depiction of mankind’s homeland.

This year’s winner was "The Red Pencil," its author Andrea Pinkney and illustrator Shane Evans. Pinkney read a harrowing tale from part of the book then urged listeners to “use the book to talk with children,” before reading a happier passage.  

Set in Sudan, the story is about twelve-year-old Amira, whose life is disrupted by rebels. After losing everything, she finds within herself the strength to walk to a refugee camp where a simple gift of a red pencil opens new possibilities.

Pinkney, the mother of two and wife of an illustrator, never visited Sudan. However, Sudanese native Dr. Ali Ali-Dinar, the University of Pennsylvania’s Associate Director of African Studies, praised the book as telling an accurate fictional story. At the ceremony, he introduced the Washington native, who now lives in New York, and said through the book she expressed “our commonality as human beings.”

Family activities followed the ceremony with book making with Karen Brown. She and the children created books with a right spine, since in Arabic people read from right to left. “We don’t use the word wrong. We use the word reverse,” to describe their reading habits, said the art teacher. Ahmed Aehrati provided demonstrations in Arabic calligraphy and Diane Macklin provided lively story telling.

Access Africa director Brenda Randolph also announced February 1 to February 7 is Read Africa Week “to kick off Black History Month by reading about Africa.” Randolph founded the organization in 1989 to help schools, public libraries, and parents improve the quality of their children's collection on Africa. Last year, Africa Access also supported the African children’s book publishing business by spending $1,000 on books published in Africa.

In addition to the special activities, the museum’s intriguing exhibit, "The Divine Comedy: Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell Revisited by Contemporary African Artists," was open for viewing. The exhibit is on three floors. It runs through November 1.


Photo: "The Red Pencil," author Andrea Pinkney and Sudanese native and the University of Pennsylvania’s Associate Director of African Studies Dr. Ali Ali-Dinar.

The 20 billion tons of concrete produced around the world annually account for an estimated five to 10 percent of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Concrete is one of the most widely used materials in the world, and the energy-intensive process to create it is the third largest source of planet warming CO2.  

While the concrete industry has actually reduced its carbon emissions by a third over the last few decades, it still has a long way to go before becoming part of the solution to our collective climate woes.

Another concern is that concrete absorbs much more heat than soil, so cities are often significantly warmer than rural areas, exacerbating the greenhouse effect. One solution to this so-called “urban heat island effect” may be lighter-colored concrete, which has been shown to reflect up to 50 percent more light than its more traditional darker counterparts.

Thank you for welcoming our emails into your inbox. I invite you to take a moment to update your information and areas of interest.

At the bottom of the email, click “Update Profile/Email Address” to update your information, especially your first and last names. Don’t forget to save you profile when you are finished.

Washington
Artomatic
8100 Corporate Drive
Hyattsville
Fri, Oct 30-Sun, Dec 12
Wed & Thu, 5p–10p, free
Fri & Sat, 11a–12a, free
Sun, 11a–8p, free

How the Civil War Changed Washington
Anacostia Community Museum
1901 Fort Place, SE
thru Sun, Nov 15
Mon-Sun 10a-5p, free

Southern Maryland Natural Hair Expo
Capitol Club House Arena
3033 Waldorf Market Place
Waldorf
Sun, Nov 1, 11a-6p, $15-$20

2015 DC NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner
NAACP President and CEO, Dr. Cornell Brooks
Keynote speaker
Washington Hilton
1919 Con Ave, NW
Wed, Nov 4, 7p, $

Egypt on the Potomac Field Trip
Sat, Nov 7, 10a-2p, $

Baltimore
Craig Alston Ensemble
Strayhorn and Beyond
The Inn at the Black Olive  
803 S. Caroline Street
Organic Menu / Cash Bar Offered
Sun, Nov 1, 4p, $20

Tea-Time with Benjamin Banneker
Benjamin Banneker Historical Park
and Museum
300 Oella Avenue
Nov 4, 6:30p-8p, $3, $5non-members

Pearls on a String: Artists, Patrons, and Poets at the Great Islamic Courts
The Walters Gallery
North Charles and Centre Streets
Sun, Nov 8, 2015 – Sun, Jan 31, 2016

TV
The 42nd Annual Bayou Classic
NBC Sports Network
Sat, Nov 28
4p CST