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Federal unemployment figures show that, when it comes to African Americans and unemployment, we've come a long way, baby--and I don't mean for the better. What I mean is that since the American economy spun into a recession three years ago, not only has the black unemployment rate returned to its historical position of being twice as high as the rate for whites, but the gap between the two statistical indicators has continued to widen long after the recession itself officially ended. For example, the government's August unemployment data, which put overall unemployment at 5.4 percent, down slightly from July's 5.5 percent--show that, while the white unemployment rate declined slightly to 4.7 percent, the unemployment rate of African Americans stood at 10.4 percent. [more]