This document presents statistics on black income, employment, and poverty in 1987. The black poverty rate rose significantly in 1987, from 31.1 percent to 33.1 percent; the white poverty rate fell from 11 percent to 10.5 percent. The poverty rate for black children under age 18 reached 45.6 percent; for those under age six the poverty rate reached 49 percent. Black female-headed families are four times more likely to be poor as black married-couple families. Increases in poverty have been especially sharp among young families, among those without a college education, and among blacks in the Midwest. The black poverty rate has been higher under the Reagan Administration than under its predecessors. Not only have black poverty rates risen, but those black households that are poor have fallen deeper into poverty. The median income of the black family was stagnant in 1987, while that of the white family rose. Income disparities between black and white families have grown since the late 1970s in all regions of the country except the West, but most acutely in the Midwest. In 1987 the gap between upper and lower income families in the nation reached its widest point in 40 years; this is true also within the black community. While black unemployment has declined markedly during the current economic recovery, it has fallen less than has white unemployment, and the gap between black and white unemployment rates has widened. The federal budget reductions in programs for people with low incomes disproportionately affected blacks, and are probably linked to the increases in black poverty, especially among families with children. Tables and figures illustrate the data. An appendix reviews the declining impact of government benefit programs in removing black families from poverty. (BJV)