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Discovering Boston’s Civil Rights StoryLesson 1: Student Handout AStatistics and Questions about Boston’s African American Community in 1960Population Statistics:1. In 1960 the population of Boston totaled approximately 640,000.2. Approximately 64,000 African Americans lived in the city, about 10% of the total population.3. About 1/3 of the African Americans in Boston had arrived here since 1950.4. The African American population of Boston increased by 50% between 1950 and 1960. During thatsame time the total population of the city decreased by 13%.5. Of the 64,000 African Americans in Boston, only 1,500 lived outside the communities of Roxbury,the South End, and North Dorchester.Housing Statistics:1. According to the 1960 census, 40% of the units open to African American occupancy weredilapidated or deteriorated.2. Rents in African American neighborhoods were 37% higher than the rents for comparable housingpaid by whites.3. Fifteen percent of African American Bostonians lived in overcrowded conditions, as opposed by 7%of whites.4. Twenty five percent of African Americans paid 30% of their income for rent.5. African Americans, who constituted 10% of the population of Boston, occupied 30% of thesubstandard housing.Education Statistics:1. According to the United Community Services of Boston’s report, “Profile for Planning,” 38.7% of theadults in North Dorchester and 52.8% of the adults in the South End had an eighth grade education orless.2. Seven of the 58 schools in Boston were at least 90% black.3. Sixty percent of African American students in Boston dropped out of school before graduating.4. From Noel Day’s article: “Less money per capita was spent in African American schools, there weremore substitutes, less guidance counselors, fewer and older textbooks and teaching materials, moreovercrowding (as many as 45 children per classroom), older buildings, and a higher drop-out rate(estimated at three out of every five African American students.)”Employment Statistics:1. 44.1 % of African Americans living in North Dorchester and 66% of those living in the South Endearned less than $5,000; these percentages of low-income earners were higher than in any othersection of Boston.2. Approximately 15% of people in the African American community were unemployed, twice thepercentage of unemployed workers in other parts of the city.3. The average income of African American families was approximately 50% of that of white families.Health Statistics:1. The infant mortality rate in the African American community was 30% greater than the rest of thecity.2. The tuberculosis rate in the community was one and a half to two and a half times greater than therest of the city.Source: “The Freedom Movement in Boston” by Noel Day, 1964. Data compiled from the 1960 United Statescensus.7101 Walnut Street, Watertown, MA 02472 * 617.923.9933 * www.primarysource.org