postsecondary achievement of black deaf people · education than white deaf people. • black deaf...

Postsecondary Achievement of Black Deaf People in the United States —2019—

Carrie Lou Garberoglio, Lissa D. Stapleton,Jeffrey Levi Palmer, Laurene Simms,Stephanie Cawthon, and Adam Sales

THIS REPORT MAY BE CITED AS:Garberoglio, C. L., Stapleton, L. D., Palmer, J. L., Simms, L., Cawthon, S., & Sales, A. (2019). Postsecondary Achievement of Black Deaf People in the United States. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes.

This report was developed under a jointly funded grant through the US Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), #HD326D160001. However, the contents do not necessarily represent the positions or policies of the federal government.

©2019 National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes

Postsecondary Achievement of Black Deaf People in the United States: 2019 Licensed under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0

Introduction

In the United States, less Black people from the age of 25-64 are deaf – a rate of 1.8%, compared to the overall population at 2.3%. Black deaf people in the United States often have diverse backgrounds and experiences. Among Black deaf people, 8.6% also identified as other races. The percentage of those also identifying as Latinx is 3.7%. Black deaf people born outside of the United States is at 6.9%, and 8% use other languages at home. Sixty-one percent of Black deaf people have additional disabilities.

This report is an overview of the postsecondary experiences of Black deaf people in the United States that also recognizes the multiple identities and experiences of Black deaf communities.

Data from the American Community Survey (ACS), a national survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, was used in this report. Five-year estimates of data from 2012-2017 show average outcomes, while yearly data from 2008 to 2017 was used to explore how postsecondary outcomes have changed over time for Black deaf individuals. In this report, we used a national sample of people age 25 to 64, unless otherwise described. People who identified as having serious hearing difficulty were included in these analyses, and are referred to as deaf. Throughout this report, Black broadly refers to individuals who identify as Black or African American, including those who also identified with additional races and ethnicities. Further information about this dataset and the analyses are in the Methods section of this report.

In this report, the term deaf is used in an all-inclusive manner, to include people who may identify as deaf, deafblind, deafdisabled, hard of hearing, late-deafened, and hearing impaired. NDC recognizes that for many people, identity is fluid and can change over time or with setting. NDC has chosen to use one term, deaf, with the goal of recognizing experiences that are shared by people from diverse deaf communities while also honoring their differences.

3Postsecondary Achievement of Black Deaf People in the United States: 2019

Key findings:

• 38.2% of Black deaf people are employed.

• Black deaf people are often underemployed and underpaid.

• More Black deaf people are looking for work than white deaf people.

• Many Black deaf people work in the healthcare field.

• The intersectional impact of gender, race, and disability results in underemployment and lower earnings for Black deaf women and deafdisabled people.

• Since 2008, high school completion is increasing faster among Black deaf people than Black hearing people.

• Educational attainment for Black deaf women has increased since 2008.

• A higher percentage of Black deaf people are currently enrolled in college than white deaf people.

• 43.9% of Black deaf people complete at least some college.

• Fewer Black deaf people have degrees in education than white deaf people.

• Black deaf women go to college, and complete college at higher rates than Black deaf men.

• Black multiracial people have higher employment rates, earnings, and educational attainment than Black people and Black Latinx people.

• Black deaf people who were born outside of the United States have higher employment rates and educational attainment.

Employment

The employment gap between deaf and hearing people in the United States is a significant area of concern. In 2017, only 53.3% of deaf people were employed, compared to 75.8% of hearing people (Garberoglio et al., 2019b). Among Black deaf people, 2012-2017 estimates show that only 38.2% were employed, compared to 54.3% of white deaf people (Figure 1). The overall em-ployment gap between deaf and hearing people is 22.5%, meaning 22.5% fewer deaf people are working when compared to hearing people. The employment gap between Black deaf and Black hearing people is narrower, 15.8%. This means despite the lower employment rates among Black deaf people, their employment rates are closer to national averages for Black hearing people.

A common assumption is that if 38.2% of Black deaf people are employed, 61.8% of Black deaf

people are unemployed. This is incorrect. The federal government describes people without a job as people who are unemployed or not in the labor force. People who reported to be currently, or recently, looking for work, are counted as un-employed. People who are not currently employed, and are not looking for work, are considered not in the labor force. People not looking for work may be students, stay at home parents, caretakers, or retired. Many deaf people are not in the labor force, compared to hearing people (Figure 1).

4 Postsecondary Achievement of Black Deaf People in the United States: 2019

Figure 1EMPLOYMENT RATES

22.3% of Black deaf peoplereceive Supplemental Security Income (SSI), compared to 10.1% of white deaf people.

20.4%NOT IN LABOR

FORCE

76.1%EMPLOYED

WHITE HEARING

3.5%UNEMPLOYED

6.9%UNEMPLOYED

54.9%NOT IN LABOR

FORCE

38.2%EMPLOYED

BLACK DEAF

23.1%NOT IN LABOR

FORCE

69.6%EMPLOYED

BLACK HEARING

7.3%UNEMPLOYED

4.1%UNEMPLOYED

41.5%NOT IN LABOR

FORCE

54.3%EMPLOYED

WHITE DEAF

Black deaf and Black hearing people have unemployment rates of 6.9% and 7.3%, respectively. Black people are more likely to be actively looking for work than white people.

Black deaf people who work full time earn $14,000 less than their white deaf counterparts. This earning disparity is similar for Black hearing people, who earn $12,000 less than their white deaf counterparts, on average (Figure 2).

In the United States, men make more money and are more likely to be employed than women. This is not different for deaf people, or for Black people. However, the intersectional impact of gender and race are clearly visible in the employment rates and earnings for Black deaf women, who have employment rates of 37.7% and earn less than their hearing and

white counterparts (Figure 3). The median annual earnings of a Black deaf woman who works full time is $33,000, compared to $58,000 for a white hearing man.


Figure 2MEDIAN FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT EARNINGS

Figure 3EMPLOYMENT RATES AND EARNINGS BY GENDER

38.7% $40,000

57.7% $52,000

37.7% $33,000

48.3% $40,000

70.6% $40,000

81.9% $58,000

68.8% $36,000

70.6% $45,000

BLACK HEARING WOMEN

WHITE HEARING WOMEN

BLACK DEAF MEN

WHITE DEAF MEN

BLACK DEAF WOMEN

WHITE HEARING MEN

BLACK HEARING MEN

WHITE DEAF WOMEN

EMPLOYMENT RATE

MEDIAN EARNINGS

WHITE DEAF PEOPLE

$50,000

BLACK DEAF PEOPLE

$36,000

BLACK HEARING PEOPLE

WHITE HEARING PEOPLE

$50,000$38,000

Intersectional barriers are also visible when looking at race and disability. In this dataset, 50% of the deaf population had an additional disability. More Black deaf people (61.0%) had an additional disability, compared to 43% of white deaf people.

Median annual earnings for a Black deafdisabled person are only $2,500 lower than their deaf counterparts without additional disabilities, but fewer Black deafdisabled people are working (Figure 4). Only 23.9% of Black deafdisabled people are employed, compared to 60.6% of their Black deaf counterparts without additional disabilities. Employment rates are also lower among white deafdisabled people (30.6%).

In our analyses, we were limited to the disability categories that are used by the U.S. Census, which does not recognize group identity preferences or complex differences within broad disability categories. However, at a minimum, it is necessary to recognize that educational experiences continue to be significantly more challenging for deafdisabled people, and those challenges are exacerbated by the complex intersections of race, ethnicity, and disability.


Figure 4EMPLOYMENT + EARNINGS FOR BLACK DEAF PEOPLE BY DISABILITY

MEDIAN EARNINGS MEDIAN EARNINGS

60.6% $37,500

17.8% $37,400

19.9% $36,000

24.3% $35,000

23.9% $35,000

20.9% $35,000

16.0% $35,000DEAF + INDEPENDENT LIVING DIFFICULTY

DEAF + NO ADDITIONAL DISABILITY

DEAF + SELF CARE DISABILITY

DEAF + AMBULATORY DISABILITY

DEAF + COGNITIVE DIFFICULTY

DEAFDISABLED

DEAFBLIND

EMPLOYMENT RATE

MEDIAN EARNINGS


Higher employment rates were found among Black deaf people who were born outside of the United States and those that used other languages at home. Similar trends are found when looking at educational attainment. Higher employment rates among people born outside of the United States may be linked to the employment requirements for immigration. Black multiracial deaf people demonstrated higher median annual earnings than Black deaf people of other demographic groups.

Figure 5EMPLOYMENT + EARNINGS FOR BLACK PEOPLE BY DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS

37.0% $36,000

68.4% $38,000

57.0% $36,500

77.5% $40,000

50.0% $37,000

75.8% $37,000

37.1% $36,000

68.9% $38,000

44.7% $36,900

72.4% $38,000

37.7% $36,000

69.4% $38,000

43.3% $41,300

72.6% $40,000

Non-U.S.-born

Black Latinx

Only uses English at home

Black Multiracial

Non-U.S.-born

Black Latinx


Black Multiracial

U.S.-born

Uses other language than English at home

Black only

U.S.-born


Black only

BLACK DEAF

PEOPLE


EMPLOYMENT RATE

MEDIAN EARNINGS


The employment experiences of Black deaf people vary widely. When looking at full time versus part time employment, more Black deaf people work part time than Black hearing people (Figure 6).

A lower percentage of Black deaf people are self-employed or own their own businesses, compared to white deaf people (Figure 7). Many deaf people find that working for themselves

or starting their own business allows them to succeed in the workplace without needing to continuously advocate for themselves with bosses and co-workers in inaccessible environments. Additional resources may be needed in this area in order to strengthen self-employment and business ownership opportunities for Black deaf people.

Figure 6FULL-TIME AND PART-TIME WORK STATUS

Figure 7BUSINESS OWNERSHIP AND SELF-EMPLOYMENT

Self-Employed Own Businesses

BLACK DEAF

WHITEDEAF

BLACK HEARING

WHITEHEARING

33.1%PART-TIME

24.4%PART-TIME

26.0%PART-TIME

22.7%PART-TIME

66.9%FULL-TIME

75.6%FULL-TIME

74.0%FULL-TIME

77.3%FULL-TIME

1.4%BLACK HEARING

3.6%WHITE HEARING

1.0%BLACK DEAF

2.9%WHITE DEAF

4.7%BLACK HEARING

9.5%WHITE HEARING

3.6%BLACK DEAF

8.6%WHITE DEAF


People in the United States work in a wide range of fields, and the most common fields of work seem to be different for hearing and deaf people (Garberoglio et al. 2019b). For Black people, common jobs and occupational fields seem to be different than trends in the general population. The most common job for Black deaf people is janitor or building cleaner, while the most common job for hearing Black people is health aide. Many Black deaf and hearing people work in healthcare and medical fields. A higher percentage of Black deaf people work in government, military, and administration fields than overall averages for deaf people (Garberoglio et al., 2019b).

Figure 8TOP 5 OCCUPATIONS FOR BLACK DEAF AND BLACK HEARING PEOPLE

Top 5 Occupations

*Truck Drivers includes Driver/Sales Workers; Health Aides includes Nursing, Psychiatric, and Home Health.

1

2

3

4

5MANAGERS

REGISTERED NURSES

MANAGERS

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVESTRUCK DRIVERS

HEALTH AIDES

JANITORS AND BUILDING CLEANERS

TRUCK DRIVERS

HEALTH AIDES

LABORERS AND MOVERS

3.8% 3.7%

3.7% 3.4%

3.2% 2.4%

2.2% 2.4%

2.2% 2.3%

BLACK DEAF PEOPLE



Figure 9EMPLOYMENT RATES ACROSS OCCUPATIONAL FIELDS

AGRICULTURE

ACCOMMODATIONS AND FOOD SERVICES

CONSTRUCTION

EDUCATION

ENTERTAINMENT

EXTRACTION (e.g., oil and gas)

FINANCE

GOVERNMENT, MILITARY, ADMINISTRATION

INFORMATION SERVICES

MANUFACTURING

MEDICAL

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

RETAIL

SERVICE INDUSTRY

TRANSPORTATION

UTILITIES

WHOLESALE

4.9%

25%10%5% 20%15%0

4.7%

0.5%

3.5%

8.1%

1.4%

0.5%

5.3%

12.6%

2.0%

12.5%

19.5%

8.6%

7.3%

3.1%

7.3%

1.0%

2.1%

4.9%

0.3%

3.1%

8.3%

1.3%

0.3%

7.1%

9.5%

2.3%

10.4%

20.8%

9.4%

8.3%

3.5%

7.4%

1.0%

2.1%

BLACK DEAF PEOPLE


80K


Educational Attainment and Employment

Figure 10EMPLOYMENT BY EDUCATION LEVEL

Figure 11MEDIAN EARNINGS BY EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

Continuing education and training after high school increases the chances of deaf people getting a job (Garberoglio et al., 2019b). Among Black deaf people who had not completed high school, only 20.4% had a job. Employment rates increase for Black deaf people who have completed high school, and go up yet more if they have a college degree (Figure 10). The employment gap between deaf and hearing Black people narrows as educational attainment increases, much like the overall trend for deaf people (Garberoglio et al., 2019b). Median earnings also increase as educational attainment increases.

LESS THAN HIGH SCHOOL

HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA / GED

SOME COLLEGE

ASSOCIATE’S DEGREE

BACHELOR’S DEGREE

MASTER’S DEGREE

PH.D., J.D. OR M.D.

43.4%

73.0%77.8%

82.6% 84.6% 86.9% 87.2%

20.4%

43.3%49.8%

57.5%61.5%

66.6% 68.6% BLACK DEAF

PEOPLE

BLACK HEARING PEOPLE100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

[23.0% gap]

[29.7%][28.0%]

[25.1%] [23.1%] [20.3%] [18.6%]

*Sample sizes were too small to report an estimate.

LESS THAN HIGH SCHOOL


SOME COLLEGE


BACHELOR’S DEGREE

MASTER’S DEGREE

PH.D., J.D. OR M.D.

80K

$100K

60K

40K

20K

0K

$25,000

50,000

80,000

*

$26,200 38,00042,900

50,000 53,00062,000

40,00043,000

55,00065,000

BLACK DEAF

PEOPLE



Figure 12OVERALL EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

Figure 13EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT BY AGE FOR BLACK PEOPLE

Nationally, only 77.9% of Black deaf people had completed high school, and 12% had a bachelor’s degree or above (Figure 12). Fewer Black deaf people had completed high school or college degrees than white deaf people. These educational disparities also exist between hearing Black and white people. Those educational disparities are visible even among younger Black deaf people, with slightly more promising bachelor’s degree completion rates among Black deaf people age 35-44 (Figure 13).

Educational Attainment

BLACKDEAF

PEOPLE

BLACKHEARING PEOPLE


SOME COLLEGE


BACHELOR’S DEGREE

MASTER’S DEGREE

PH.D., J.D. OR M.D.

90.2%80.7%

22.7%12.1%

61.4%46.5%

6.3%2.8%

31.6%18.7%

0.3%0.2%

90.1%82.7%

25.3%14.9%

61.3%49.4%

9.9%5.8%

35.3%23.2%

0.8%0.5%

88.3%77.0%

22.0%11.8%

56.2%42.4%

8.4%4.4%

31.3%18.8%

0.8%0.4%

84.8%75.6%

20.0%11.1%

52.8%41.9%

7.9%4.0%

28.3%17.7%

0.9%0.4%

AGE

25-34

35-44

45-54

55-64


SOME COLLEGE


BACHELOR’S DEGREE

MASTER’S DEGREE

PH.D., J.D. OR M.D.

77.9%

88.5%

94.1%

86.9%

43.9%

58.2%

68.8%

53.9%

19.1%

31.7%

47.3%

29.2%

12.0%

22.6%

37.3%

19.9%

4.2%

8.1%

13.5%

7.2%

0.4%

0.7%

1.4%

0.7%

BLACK DEAF

BLACK HEARING

WHITE DEAF

WHITE HEARING


Figure 14EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT BY GENDER FOR BLACK PEOPLE

Among Black people, women are typically more educated, with 25% of hearing Black women having a bachelor’s degree or above. This data is reflective of national trends where Black women are increasingly completing college degrees (Patton & Croom, 2017; Strayhorn, 2016). Among Black deaf people, women are also more educated, with 13.5% having a bachelor’s degree or above (Figure 14). This aligns with national trends for deaf people, where deaf women are more likely to have completed college degrees than deaf men (Garberoglio et al., 2019a). These numbers give some insight into gender differences within Black student populations. However, more research is needed to more fully understand the experiences and challenges that Black deaf and hearing women still navigate, including systemic forms of oppression (i.e., racism, audism, sexism, and classism) within higher education and how these oppressions influences their college choice options, access, college experiences, and success (Chapple 2018; Patton & Croom, 2017).

BLACKDEAF

PEOPLE

BLACKHEARING PEOPLE


SOME COLLEGE


BACHELOR’S DEGREE

MASTER’S DEGREE

PH.D., J.D. OR M.D.

87.3%77.6%

52.9%41.6%

27.5%17.5%

19.8%10.8%

6.4%3.4%

0.6%0.4%

89.6%78.2%

62.7%46.6%

35.3%20.8%

25.0%13.5%

9.4%5.1%

0.7%0.4%

MEN

WOMEN


Black people who were not born in the US, and those who spoke other languages at home, are a highly educated group, with around 30% having a bachelor’s degree or above (Figure 15). Among Black deaf people, those who were not born in the US and spoke another language at home were also more likely to have bachelor’s degrees than those who were born in the US and did not speak other languages.

Figure 15EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT BY OTHER DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS FOR BLACK DEAF PEOPLE

78.1% 43.8% 18.5% 11.5% 4.0% 0.4%

88.9% 58.0% 30.5% 21.5% 7.5% 0.6%

74.2% 45.7% 26.6% 18.6% 6.9% 0.6%

86.0% 59.7% 39.8% 29.8% 11.5 1.3%

76.0% 50.7% 27.5% 17.8% 7.7% 0.9%

85.2% 61.7% 40.3% 30.3% 11.4% 1.3%

78.0% 43.3% 18.3% 11.5% 3.9% 0.3%

89.0% 57.8% 30.7% 21.7% 7.7% 0.6%

71.2% 45.6% 22.4% 15.9% 5.8% 1.3%

81.5% 56.0% 32.3% 23.1% 7.8% 0.7%

77.8% 43.0% 18.4% 11.5% 4.0% 0.3%

88.6% 57.8% 31.3% 22.2% 8.0% 0.6%

78.8% 53.2% 25.6% 17.6% 7.1% 1.0%

87.5% 64.5% 37.5% 27.4% 9.5% 0.9%

Non-U.S.-born

Black Latinx


Black Multiracial

Non-U.S.-born

Black Latinx


Black Multiracial

U.S.-born


Black only

U.S.-born


Black only

DEAF PEOPLE

HEARING PEOPLE


SOME COLLEGE


BACHELOR’S DEGREE

MASTER’S DEGREE

PH.D., J.D. OR M.D.


On average, deaf people with any type of additional disability reported the lowest educational attainment levels (Garberoglio et al., 2019a). Educational experiences continue to be significantly more challenging for deafdisabled people, and those challenges are added to by the complex intersections of race, ethnicity, and disability. A lower percentage (8.4%) of Black deafdisabled people had completed a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to national averages for deaf people. Educational attainment rates among Black deaf people vary across type of disability (Figure 16).

Figure 16EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT BY DISABILITY FOR BLACK DEAF PEOPLE

86.1% 53.1% 26.0% 17.8% 6.4% 0.4%

72.6% 38.0% 14.6% 8.4% 2.9% 0.4%

72.5% 38.7% 14.9% 8.8% 2.9% 0.4%

71.3% 37.4% 15.0% 8.8% 3.3% 0.5%

70.3% 35.5% 12.8% 7.2% 2.4% 0.3%

70.0% 35.5% 14.0% 8.2% 3.0% 0.4%

68.8% 33.8% 13.3% 7.6% 2.3% 0.3%

DEAFBLIND

DEAF + AMBULATORY DISABILITY

DEAF + INDEPENDENT LIVING DIFFICULTY

DEAFDISABLED

DEAF + SELF-CARE DIFFICULTY

DEAF + NO ADDITIONAL DISABILITY

DEAF + COGNITIVE DISABILITY


SOME COLLEGE


BACHELOR’S DEGREE

MASTER’S DEGREE

PH.D., J.D. OR M.D.


Figure 17FIELD OF DEGREE

People in the United States receive bachelor’s degrees in fields ranging from biology to visual arts. The categories used in this report are based on the categories used by the U.S. Census. Black Deaf people completed their bachelor’s degrees in a variety of fields, and those fields were largely similar to those studied by Black hearing people (Figure 17). Business was the most popular field of degree, with education and science related degrees the next most popular for deaf and hearing people. Of particular note is that slightly more deaf white people had bachelor’s degrees in education than Black deaf people. This is indicative of a national shortage of deaf teachers of color; the deaf education field is overwhelmingly white (Simms, Rusher, Andrews, & Coryell, 2008).

25.0%0.0%

4.6% 6.6%

9.4% 11.5%

4.7% 6.6%

3.9% 5.0%

2.8% 4.3%

5.9% 9.6%

9.3% 10.2%

7.6% 8.1%

5.0% 6.0%

4.7% 4.9%

4.1% 5.0%

3.0% 6.2%

10.8% 12.4%

4.6% 6.6%

5.1% 6.0%

2.7% 3.6%

7.0% 10.5%

9.2% 9.6%

7.1% 8.4%

5.0% 5.8%

3.7% 4.0%

4.1% 4.2%

0.7% 0.7%

2.4% 2.9%

2.9% 4.6%

0.6% 0.6%

3.1% 3.4%

2.5% 3.8%

BIOLOGY, AG AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

LIBERAL ARTS

COMPUTERS

OTHER

SCIENCE RELATED

BUSINESS

LITERATURE

EDUCATION

PHYSICS

SOCIAL SCIENCE

COMMUNICATIONS

MULTIDISCIPLINARY

ENGINEERING

PSYCHOLOGY

VISUAL ARTS

21.0%21.1%

25.0%24.7%

DEAF BLACK

HEARING BLACK

DEAF WHITE

HEARING WHITE


In 2017, 5% of all deaf individuals ages 18-64 were enrolled in postsecondary education and training programs, compared to 11% of all hearing individuals (Garberoglio et al., 2019a). In 2012-2017, 8.4% of Black deaf people ages 18-64 were enrolled in college. A higher percentage of Black deaf people were enrolled in college than national enrollment averages for all deaf people. For both deaf and hearing Black people, more Black women were enrolled in college than Black men.

Currently Enrolled Postsecondary Students

Another data report published by the National Deaf Center in 2019 shares more information about currently enrolled undergraduate college students at postsecondary institutions across the United States, of which 14.3% of deaf students were Black, compared to 15.4% of hearing students (Garberoglio et al., 2019c). The majority of Black deaf college students (51.0%) were studying for their associate’s degrees, with a smaller percentage studying for their bachelor’s degrees (35.5%). 13.5% of Black deaf college students were pursuing a certification (Garberoglio et al., 2019c). In the academic year of 2015-2016, 14.1% of Black deaf people successfully completed their certificate or degree program, compared to 18.3% of white deaf people (Garberoglio et al., 2019c).

(continued on page 18)

15.9%

14.3%MALE

17.2%FEMALE


8.4%

7.7%MALE

9.1%FEMALE

BLACK DEAF PEOPLE

Less Black deaf people are enrolled in college than Black hearing people


There is no one Black deaf college student ex-perience and many factors such as early access to language, K-12 education, family advocacy, supportive Vocational Rehabilitation counselors and more influence if students get access to college and how students navigate college life. Generally, Black deaf college students are grap-pling with various barriers, including race “neutral” curricula, hearing-centric policies and practices, hearing-dominated student clubs, unqualified and unethical interpreters, as well as professors’ deficit stereotypes about them being deaf, Black or both (Stapleton, 2016; Stapleton & Croom, 2017). In addition to these systemic barriers, Black deaf students face everyday nonverbal and environmental insults in the form of microaggressions, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, and negative messages inside and outside of the classroom (Sue, 2010). However, many Black deaf students are confronting systemic oppression by partnering with peers, mentors, academic advisors, family members, interpreters and others to aid them in navigating and pushing back against racist and audist microaggressions.

Despite many challenges, many Black deaf students are resilient, motivated, and have strong aspirations to be successful. One student stated, “I wanted to go to college to become a better person and to prove to my family that I could do it. I wanted them to see that deaf and hearing are no different” (Mel, personal communication, Septem-ber 30, 2011). Students also thrive on campus through their involvement in student organizations and clubs, where they develop leadership and advocacy skills (Stapleton & Nicolazzo, 2019). After being involved with her sorority, one student learned how to fight for her rights, explaining “I felt good about standing up for myself.

Before, I never confronted people but instead just letting things go. I couldn’t just let go and suffer through, I couldn’t, I was sick of having no interpreters or lousy interpreters” (Mo, personal communication, October 1, 2018). Some Black deaf students are becoming more rooted in who they are and uncovering what it means to hold multiple identities. For example, one student shared, “I minored in Deaf studies, so I could learn more about myself. I took a Deaf history class that really opened my mind” (Kobe, personal commu-nication, September 17, 2013). Other students are getting access to signing communities for the first time, making friends with other Black deaf peers and participating in cultural exchanges such as study abroad programs. These multidimensional experiences, community support, and internal drive are helping students persist through college (Stapleton, 2014).

Deficit-based research has yielded little to no progress for Black deaf students, so more strengths based research is needed to fully understand, support, and advocate for Black deaf college students’ holistic success in all aspects of life (Williamson, 2007). One approach is to focus on what the 8.4% of Black deaf students currently enrolled in higher education are doing well and to translate their successes into teachable skills for younger Black deaf children (Williamson, 2007). In addition, we must tackle systemic racism, audism, sexism, classism and other forms of oppression that create cracks throughout the educational pipeline that deeply impact Black deaf students’ college access, achievement, and overall quality of life.

In the United States, educational attainment rates have steadily increased over the years for many groups of people. From 2008 to 2017, deaf adults demonstrated greater growth in high school completion than their hearing peers, but slower growth in bachelor’s degree completion (Garberoglio et al., 2019a).

Black deaf people demonstrated significantly larger growth over time in high school completion than their hearing peers. In 2008, only 72.8% of Black deaf people had completed high school, increasing to 79.6% in 2017. Bachelor’s degree growth over time was smaller for Black deaf people, at a rate similar to their hearing peers. Black women demonstrated significantly larger growth over time in high school completion than their hearing peers, while Black men had similar rates of growth. Black deaf women are increasingly completing high school and Bachelor’s degrees over time.

Change Over Time in Postsecondary Outcomes from 2008-2017

Figure 19OVERALL EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OVER TIME FOR BLACK PEOPLE


85.8% 86.1%

19.7%

86.6%

20.1%

87.0%

20.7%

87.4%

20.8%

87.6%

21.3%

88.1%

21.9%

88.6%

22.5%

88.7%

23.1%

89.3%

23.9%19.6%

72.8% 72.0% 73.8%

9.2%

74.3%

9.0%

74.8%

9.9%

77.0%

11.1%

76.4%

11.3%

77.7%

12.0%

78.9%

13.3%

79.6%

12.1%9.9% 9.7%

100%

2008 2011 20152009 2012 20162010 20142013 2017

80%

60%

40%

20%


BACHELOR’S DEGREE

(continued on page 20)

BLACK DEAF PEOPLE


From 2008 to 2017, employment rates increased significantly for hearing people, but not for deaf people (Garberoglio et al., 2019b). Employment declines from 2008 to 2010 may be influenced by the economic recession in the United States occurring at that time. After 2010, steady growth in employment is seen for Black hearing people, but smaller growth for Black deaf people. To narrow the employment gaps between hearing and deaf people, more work is needed in order to increase employment rates for deaf people across demographic groups.


Figure 20EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OVER TIME BY GENDER FOR BLACK PEOPLE

Figure 21EMPLOYMENT RATES FROM 2008 TO 2017

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

2008 2011 20152009 2012 20162010 20142013 2017


BACHELOR’S DEGREE

87.0%

20.8%

84.4%

18.0% 17.6% 17.6% 18.5%

18.2% 18.5% 19.3% 19.6% 20.4% 20.7%

84.9% 85.0% 85.7% 86.1% 86.2% 87.2% 87.2% 87.4% 88.2%

87.2%

21.4%

87.8%

22.1%

88.0%

22.6%

88.5%

23.0%

88.8%

23.6%

89.0%

24.1%

89.7%

24.9%

89.9%

25.4%

90.2%

26.5%

73.7%

10.0% 10.4% 10.5% 9.7% 10.2% 11.8% 13.2% 13.2% 15.6% 13.7%

73.2%75.7% 75.7%

72.7%75.7%

77.9% 79.2%

71.8%

9.8% 9.0% 8.1% 8.4% 9.7% 10.5% 9.6% 10.9% 11.3% 10.8%

70.7% 72.6% 73.6%76.8% 77.3%

77.3%80.0% 80.1%

75.0%

BLACK DEAF MEN BLACK HEARING MEN

BLACK DEAF WOMEN BLACK HEARING WOMEN

77.1% 78.0%

50%

40%

30%

60%

70%

2008 2011 20152009 2012 20162010 20142013 2017

72.1%67.8% 65.9% 66.0% 66.2% 67.2% 68.3% 69.7% 70.7% 71.5%

42.9%40.0%

36.5%34.7%

37.3% 36.2% 37.8% 39.1% 38.5% 38.9%

BLACK DEAF

PEOPLE


80%

The data for this project were taken from the Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) of 2012-2017 5-year estimates of the American Community Survey (ACS), conducted by the United States census. Because this report uses 5-year data estimates, the data will differ slightly from annual ACS data in other NDC data reports (Garberoglio et al., 2019a; 2019b). The PUMS provides a confidential subset of the ACS for the public to analyze. The ACS is a legally mandated questionnaire sent to a random sample of addresses of homes and group quarters in the US. The questionnaire includes questions about both housing units and their individual occupants. The PUMS dataset includes survey weights, designed to produce estimates that generalize to US individuals, along with a set of replicate weights used to estimate sampling error. These weights account for the complex probability sample design as well as for non-response. The descriptive statistics in this report are all correct-ed by the person-level survey weights provided by the census. Although the Census Bureau goes to great lengths to minimize non-sampling error, it is impossible to fully eliminate sampling errors, so estimates should be interpreted with care. More information can be found at www.census.gov.

The sample of interest in these analyses were non-institutionalized people between the ages of 25 and 64, unless otherwise specified. Recall that the U.S. Census collects data on functional limitations and not disability or identity labels. The disability categories used in the ACS ask respondents to report if they have any serious difficulty in the following areas: a) hearing, b) vision, c) cognitive (remembering, concentrating, and making decisions), d) ambulatory (walking or climbing stairs), e) self-care (bathing or dressing), and f) independent living (doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping).

Survey respondents who stated that they had “hearing difficulties” were used to represent the deaf population in these analyses. More than 194,000 deaf people were in the final sample, 16,600 of which were Black. The comparison group was those who did not report having any “hearing difficulties,” or what we label as hearing individuals. The Black comparison group for the general population consisted of more than 839,600 people. For the most part, the data for the group of hearing people are largely comparable to data for the general population. But for compar-ison purposes, these analyses focus on people in the general population that did not report any type of “hearing difficulties,” which allows for an understanding of what employment experiences may be unique to the deaf population, and what may not be unique to the deaf population.

In this report, people who identified as Black or African American were categorized as Black. This category includes people who also identified as any other races or ethnicities, including Hispanic or Latinx. People who identified as White, non-Latinx, and no other race categories, were categorized as White. For selected data points, separate categories were used to understand the unique experiences of people who identified as Black only, and for Black people who also identified with other specific races and ethnicities. For the qualitative data used in this report, we use pseudonyms to conceal the students’ identities and thereby maintain confidentiality.

Median annual earnings were calculated from full-time employed people, defined as those who worked at least 50 weeks in the past 12 months, and at least 35 hours per week. Data from more than 74,000 full-time employed deaf people, of which 4,000 were Black, were used to report median annual earnings. Median annual earnings

Methods


Methods

are rounded off to the nearest hundred. Data on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) was reported, while data on Social Security Disability (SSDI) was not available in the ACS.

Occupational categories from the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) was used to generate the categories for fields of work, with minor modifications, largely following abbreviations in the PUMS data dictionary. Two new categories were generated: “management of companies and enterprises,” “professional, scientific, and technical services,” and “administrative and support and waste management and remediation services” were combined under “professional services” while “finance and insurance” and “real estate, rental, and leasing” were combined under “finance.”

The NAICS category “health care and social assistance” was renamed “medical.” More information about these categories can be found at census.gov/eos/www/naics.

The R syntax for all of the statistical estimates in the paper can be accessed at https://github.com/nationalDeafCenter/attainmentAndEmployment.

The qualitative data shared in this report (personal communications) were sourced from research interviews conducted by Lissa D. Stapleton (Stapleton, 2015; Stapleton, 2014; Stapleton & Nicolazzo, 2019).


THIS REPORT MAY BE CITED AS:Garberoglio, C. L., Stapleton, L. D., Palmer, J. L., Simms, L., Cawthon, S., & Sales, A. (2019). Postsecondary Achievement of Black Deaf People in the United States. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes.

REFERENCES:Chapple, R. L. (2019). Toward a theory of Black deaf feminism: The quiet invisibility of a population. Journal of Women and Social Work, 34(2), 186–198. doi.org/10.1177/0886109918818080.

Garberoglio, C. L., Palmer, J. L., Cawthon, S., & Sales, A. (2019a). Deaf people and educational attainment in the United States: 2019. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes.

Garberoglio, C. L., Palmer, J. L., Cawthon, S., & Sales, A. (2019b). Deaf people and employment in the United States: 2019. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes.

Garberoglio, C. L., Palmer, J. L., & Cawthon, S. (2019c). Undergraduate enrollment of deaf students in the United States. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes.

Patton, L.D. & Croom, N. N. (2017). Critical perspectives on Black women and college success. New York, NY: Routledge.

Simms, L., Rusher, M., Andrews, J. F., & Coryell, J. (2008). Apartheid in deaf education: Examining workforce diversity. American Annals of the Deaf, 153(4), 384-395.

Stapleton, L. D. (2014). The unexpected talented tenth: Black d/Deaf students thriving within the margins. Iowa State University, Graduate Theses and Dissertations. doi.org/10.31274/etd-180810-3710.

Stapleton, L. D. (2015). When being deaf is centered: d/Deaf students of color navigating deaf and racial identity in college. Journal of College Student Development, 56(6), 570-586.

Stapleton, L. D. (2016). Audism and racism: The hidden curriculum impacting Black d/Deaf college students in the classroom. The Negro Educational Review, 67(1-4), 149-168.

Stapleton, L. D., & Croom, N. N. (2017). Narratives of Black d/Deaf college alum: Reflections on intersecting microaggres-sions in college. Journal of Student Affairs, Research, and Practice, 54(1), 15-27.

Stapleton, L. D. & Nicolazzo, Z. (2019). Greek life reimagined: Deaf culture and mainstream Greek life. New Directions in Student Services, 165, 87-98. doi: 10.1002/ss.20289.

Strayhorn, T. L. (2016). Factors that influence the persistence and success of Black men in urban public universities. Urban Education, 1–23. doi: 10.1177/0042085915623347.

Sue, D. W. (Ed.). (2010). Microaggressions and marginality: Manifestations, dynamics, and impact. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Williamson, C. (2007). Black deaf students: A model for educational success. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press.

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