* Dr. Hill, who received his Ph.D. from Columbia University, is Director of Research at the National Urban Institute in Washington, D.C. He has written a number of works relating to the black elderly including “Informal Adoption Among Black Families" and a "Profile of the Black Aged." Dr. Hill is a member of the National Caucus on the Black Aged and formerly served on the U.S. Senate Special Subcommittee on Aging and Aged Blacks.

Almost a decade ago, in 1970, the National Urban League assessed the socio-economic status of the black elderly.' Unfortunately, the main conclusion of that analysis was that the status of the black aged had not significantly improved in the 10 years since the pioneering study, Double Jeopardy had been issued.2 How much has the social and economic situation of the black aged improved since 1970? To what extent have the disparities between elderly blacks and whites narrowed or widened in such areas as housing, income, education, health, and employment opportunities?

Population Size

Since 1970, the elderly black population has been increasing more than twice as fast as the overall black population. While the total black population increased by 11 percent, the number of blacks 65 and over increased by 25 percentfrom 1.6 million to 1.9 million-raising the proportion of elderly persons in the total black population from 7 to 8 percent.3

Although the elderly white population had a somewhat smaller rate of increase (17 percent) than the elderly black population, it was much. greater than the 5 percent increase in the white population as a whole. Thus, the 21 million white. persons 65 years and over in 1977 made up 11 percent of the total white population, compared

to 18 million or 10 percent in 1970. About 60 percent of all elderly persons today, whether black or white, are women-the same proportion as in 1970.

Urbanization

There has been a sharp shift in the elderly black population from rural to metropolitan areas. Between 1970 and 1977, the proportion of all blacks 65 and over who lived in metropolitan areas jumped from 58 percent to 66 percent, while the proportion of elderly whites who lived in metropolitan areas edged up from 61 to 62 percent.

Well over half (55 percent) of all the black aged in 1977 lived in the central cities of the metropolitan areas, compared to only 29 percent of all the white aged. In 1970, a somewhat higher proportion (32 percent) of the white aged lived in central cities, compared to less than half (47 percent) of the black aged. Clearly, the white elderly have been moving to the suburbs, while the black elderly are moving to the central cities. One-third of all whites 65 and over live in suburban areas today, compared to only 11 percent of all black elderly. Thus, only one-third of all the black elderly now live in nonmetropolitan or rural areas, compared to 38 percent of all the white elderly.4

Educational Attainment

The educational gap between elderly blacks and whites has narrowed among black men. In 1970, while only 8 percent of elderly black males had graduated from high school, 27 percent-or about three and a half times as many elderly white males had finished high school. But by 1977, the proportion of elderly white males who had finished high school (38 percent) was only about two and a half times higher than the proportion of elderly black males completing high school (16 percent).

On the other hand, the gap between the educational levels of elderly black and white women has widened somewhat. The proportion of elderly white women completing high school in 1970 (31 percent) was three times higher than the proportion of high school graduates among elderly black women (10 percent). But by 1977, the proportion of high school graduates among elderly white women rose to 41 percent-well over three times the proportion (14 percent) among elderly black women.5

Marital Status

The proportion of elderly men living with their wives has increased among both blacks and whites. In 1970, 55 percent of elderly black men were living with their spouses, compared to 70 percent of elderly white men. But by 1977, almost three-fifths (57 percent) of all elderly black men lived with their wives, compared to almost fourfifths (76 percent) of all elderly white men."

At the same time, the proportion of elderly men who were widowers declined, especially among blacks. While the proportion of widowed elderly white men declined from 17 to 13 percent between 1970 and 1977, the proportion of elderly black men who were widowed fell sharply from one-third to one-fourth. But the proportion of elderly black men who were separated or divorced increased from 8 to 14 percent between 1970 and 1977, while the proportion of separated and divorced elderly white men remained unchanged at 5 percent.

Because of their longer life spans, elderly women are much more likely than elderly men to be widowed. But even this group has declined among older women, especially blacks. While the proportion of elderly white women who were widowed edged down from 54 to 51 percent between 1970 and 1977, the proportion of widowed elderly black women plummeted from 67 to 58 percent. This decline among the widowed has resulted in an increase in the proportion of elderly women living with their husbands-from 22 to 28 percent among blacks and from 35 to 38 percent among whites. Clearly, these findings suggest that the life spans of both men and women among black and white elderly have increased. How much in fact have they risen?

Life Expectancy

Since 1970, blacks have narrowed the life expectancy gap with whites by at least one full year. In 1970, white men were expected to live to 68.0 years from birth, while black men were expected to live only 61.3 years-a gap of 6.7 years. But by 1976, white men had a life expectancy of 69.7 years, compared to a life expectancy at birth of 64.1 years among black men-a gap of 5.6 years.7

A similar closing of the life expectancy gap occurred among black and white women. In 1970, white women had a life expectancy of 75.6 years at birth while the life expectancy for black women was 69.4 years-6.2 years lower. By 1976, white women were expected to live to 77.3 years, compared to 72.6 years for black women—a gap of 4.7 years.

Of course, among those reaching the age of 65, the life expectancies of both blacks and whites have traditionally been quite close. But even that gap has virtually closed. In 1969-71, the life expectancy of white men at age 65 was only slightly more (13.0 years) than the life expectancy of elderly black men (12.8), and by 1976, the life expectancies of elderly black and white men were even closer-13.7 years for whites and 13.8 years for blacks.

*This article was prepared with invaluable assistance from Esther Piovia, Research Associate and Joan Dupigny, Administrative Secretary in the National Urban League Research Department.

Similarly, while the life expectancy of white women at age 65 in 1969-71 was a full year higher (16.9 years) than the life expectancy (15.9 years) for elderly black women, this gap closed in half by 1976 between elderly white women (18.1 years) and elderly black women (17.6 years).

Family Composition

Some 69 percent of the 695,000 black families headed by persons 65 and over in 1977 were headed by men, compared to 88 percent of the 7.4 million elderly white families. In 1970, the proportion of male-headed elderly families among blacks and whites were 69 percent and 85 percent, respectively.

However, about 600,000 elderly blacks in 1977 were living alone or with nonrelatives compared to 6.4 million elderly whites. Two-thirds of the elderly blacks living alone were women, compared to four-fifths of the elderly whites living alone. The proportions of elderly women living alone in 1976 were not significantly different from the proportions living alone among elderly blacks (66 percent) and whites (76 percent) in 1970.

But one major difference between the composition of elderly black and white families remains: black families are much more likely than white families to have young children in them. This is especially true for elderly families headed by black women.

Two-fifths of all black families headed by women 65 and over had children under 18 years living with them, compared to only one-tenth of families headed by elderly white women. Similarly, while only 4 percent of white husbandwife families with heads 65 years and over had dependent children living with them, more than five times as many (22 percent) of elderly black two-parent families had dependent children living with them.8 The majority of these children were grandchildren or children of other relatives.

The extended family pattern of providing informal foster care and adoption services to children continues to be widely prevalent among elderly black families, especially those headed by women. Consequently, while social service programs based on the presumption that the child-rearing responsibilities of the elderly are no longer operative may be applicable for most elderly white families, they are clearly not applicable for a sizable proportion of elderly black families, which vitally need quality child care services."

It should be emphasized, however, that because of their desire to be as self-reliant as possible, black elderly are much more likely to take others into their households rather than

permit themselves to be taken into the households of younger relatives. Among black families headed by persons under 65 in 1976, only 3 percent of the husband-wife families and 4 percent of the female-headed families had persons 65 and over living with them. Interestingly, white families are just as likely as black families to take elderly persons into their households. Among white families headed by persons under 65 in 1976, 3 percent of the husband-wife families and 7 percent of the female-headed families had elderly persons living with them. Housing

A major reason that so many black elderly are able to take others into their families is because the overwhelming majority of them are homeowners. In 1977, 70 percent of all black families headed by elderly persons owned their homes, compared to 84 percent of all white families with elderly heads. Among the 31 percent of elderly black families who lived in rental units, only 6 percent lived in public housing and less than 1 percent lived in subsidized units.10

Even the majority of elderly black families who are poor own their homes and are least likely to live in public housing or subsidized rental units. About three-fifths of poor black families headed by elderly persons in 1977 owned their homes, while only 37 percent lived in rental units. Among poor elderly blacks 9 percent lived in public housing, while less than 1 percent lived in subsidized rental units. Somewhat similar patterns of residence held for poor white elderly families as well.

While the majority of elderly blacks living in families are homeowners, the overwhelming majority of elderly black persons living alone are renters. In 1977, 65 percent of elderly black men living alone and 51 percent of elderly black women living alone were renters. Those black elderly living alone were much more likely to live in public housing than those living in families. About one-fifth of the black elderly women who lived alone lived in public housing (19 percent), while a tenth of black elderly men who lived alone were in public housing (10 percent). Amount of Income

The income of elderly blacks improved significantly during the 1970's, narrowing the income gap with elderly whites. Between 1969 and 1976, the median income of elderly husbandwife black families increased 105 percent (from $3,154 to $6,457), while the median income of elderly husband-wife families among whites increased 84 percent (from $4,827 to $8,902).