Although in recent years, the status of people of color has improved, there is still considerable evidence that U.S. society is battling problems of racism and sexism and is very stratified on the basis of race, gender, and disability.
People of color continue to experience poverty and unemployment disproportionately.
While these data are not reported as systematically for American Indians, the unemployment rate has averaged 27.5 percent and has been reported to be as high as 52.4 percent for the Navajo tribe. For example, white Americans are more likely to be covered by health insurance than are African Americans and Hispanic Americans. Whites also enjoy a longer life expectancy than Americans of color and are less likely to be imprisoned. In addition, people of color are still locked out of much of the political system, even though increasing numbers of big-city mayors are people of color. Readers of these data should keep in mind that while there are similarities between each of these minority groups, there are barriers and issues that are unique to each group.