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This volume investigates African-American employment in banking and insurance in the United States. The authors describe how these once almost all-white industries are now employing large numbers of African-American and what problems remain to be solved before equal employment opportunity can be fully attained. Appendices tell the story of African-American-owned banking and insurance companies and their status today.

Located in primarily urban areas, banks and insurance companies may soon be among the largest employers of African-Americans. The centralized personnel structure of banks gives them a significant advantage in employing African Americans, but the authors find that both banks and insurance companies have been slow to employ black managerial personnel.

This study is based upon individual reports first published in the Racial Policies of American Industry series. A final chapter compares and contrasts the situations in banking and insurance, paying particular attention to the reasons for varying progress in the two industries.

Founded in 1921 as a separate Wharton department, the Industrial Research Unit has a long record of publication and research in the labor market, productivity, union relations, and business report fields. Major Industrial Research Unit studies are published as research projects are completed. This volume is Study no. 47.

Armand J. Thiebolt, Jr. taught at the College of Business and Public Administration, University of Maryland. Linda P. Fletcher is MacLellan Professor of Finance at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.