JFK revisited: economic differences?

A friend recently came across a quote by John F. Kennedy from 1963 about some of the economic differences between white people and black people. She sent the quote to our office with a question: Is the quote still accurate?

Here's original quote from JFK (6/11/63):
"The (black) baby born in America today, regardless of the section of the nation in which he is born, has about one-half as much chance of completing high school as a white baby born in the same place on the same day; one third as much chance of completing college; one third as much chance of becoming a professional man; twice as much chance of becoming unemployed; about one-seventh as much chance of earning $10,000 a year; a life expectancy which is seven years shorter; and the prospects of earning only half as much."

Since I don't have a time machine, I can't tell you what's going to happen in the future to a baby who is born today. But there is data on the current adult population for several of these factors.

To answer our friend's question, in brief: The JFK quote is not still accurate. In many respects there is still a disparity between black people and white people, but for every point mentioned in Kennedy's original statement, the disparity has lessened.

Here's the data:

There are a lot of "footnotes" that go with the data. If you want to know the data sources and other details, read on...

Educational attainment is for the population age 25 or older in 2009
Data source: American Community Survey 1-year estimates (2009), U.S. Census Bureau

Portion of the population working in a professional occupation is for persons age 16 or older in 2009
Data source: American Community Survey 1-year estimates (2009), U.S. Census Bureau

Average unemployment rate is for the labor force (civilian noninstitutionalized population age 16+)
Data source: Current Population Survey 2009, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Median weekly earnings are for full-time workers in 2009
Data source: Current Population Survey 2009, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Life expectancy at birth is for babies born in 2006 (the most recent data available)
Data source: "Health, United States 2009" from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention