February is Black History Month and to commemorate it, the Census Bureau has again released their “Facts for Features” page that contains various demographic and socioeconomic data and statistics about the Black American population. Here are some of the more notable figures:

40.2 million: As of July 1, 2006, the estimated population of black residents in the United States, including those of more than one race. They made up 13.4 percent of the total U.S. population. This figure represents an increase of half a million residents from one year earlier.

37%: Percentage of Mississippi’s population that is black, highest of any state. Blacks also make up more than a quarter of the population in Louisiana (32 percent), Georgia (30 percent), Maryland (30 percent), South Carolina (29 percent) and Alabama (27 percent). They comprise 57 percent of the population in the District of Columbia.

1.3 million: Among blacks 25 and older, the number who had an advanced degree in 2006 (e.g., master’s, doctorate, medical or law). In 1996, 683,000 blacks had this level of education.

$88.6 billion: Revenues for black-owned businesses in 2002. The number of black-owned businesses totaled nearly 1.2 million in 2002. Black-owned firms accounted for 5 percent of all non-farm businesses in the United States.

$31,969: The annual median income of single-race black households in 2006. In constant dollars, this is up from $26,468 in 1986.

24.3%: Poverty rate in 2006 for single-race blacks. This rate was down from 31.1 percent in 1986.

26%: The percentage of single-race blacks 16 and older who work in management, professional and related occupations. There are 44,900 black physicians and surgeons, 80,000 postsecondary teachers, 48,300 lawyers, and 52,400 chief executives.

If you’d like to learn and read more, here is a partial listing of some popular African American websites and blogs around the Internet (as always, links are provided for informational purposes only -- they do not necessarily imply an endorsement of their content):

• Black Voices
• African American Political Pundit
• Black Prof
• Black Informant
• Black News