In the News - Young Invincibles to Join Senator Landrieu to Discuss Study That Makes Case for CHANCE Act, As Way to Reduce African American Millennial Unemployment

[WASHINGTON] — On Thursday, July 10, at 12:30 p.m. ET, Tom Allison, Policy and Research Manager at Young Invincibles, will join U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., for a conference call to discuss how Senator Landrieu’s Middle Class Creating Higher Education Affordability Necessary to Compete Economically (CHANCE) Act can help to close the employment gap between white and African American Millennials by making college more affordable and accessible.

A new report by Young Invincibles on the driving forces of racial disparities in the job market found that it takes two more levels of education for a young African American to have the same job prospect and wages as a white peer. In Louisiana, 18% of African American Millennials are unemployed compared to just 4% of their white peers. The report also shows that the gap closes dramatically among those with college degrees. The full report can be found here.

Sen. Landrieu’s Middle Class CHANCE Act will restore the original purchasing power of the Pell Grant award by increasing it to $8,900 from $5,730, to combat increasing college costs. The current maximum Pell award for next year will cover, on average, only one-third of the cost of a public four-year college in Louisiana, the smallest share of college costs since the start of the Pell program in 1972. The Middle Class CHANCE Act is part of Sen. Landrieu’s ‘Passport to the Middle Class’ initiative.Our report at Young Invincibles, called Closing the Race Gap, shows African American young adults get more value — in terms of improved job prospects and wage gains — for each level of education attained than their white young adult counterparts. The report also notes the need for Sen. Landrieu’s Middle Class CHANCE Act, so that more students can afford a quality education. Tom Allison will join Sen. Landrieu to discuss this report and its impact in greater detail during the call.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

What: Conference call with Sen. Landrieu to discuss study that backs Middle Class CHANCE Act to help reduce African American Millennial unemployment.

Who: Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La.

Tom Allison, Young Invincibles Policy and Research Manager

Ariana Mercadel, Graduate of Dillard University

Time: 12:30 p.m. ET

RSVP: media at landrieu dot senate.gov.