This year, the annual 'State of Black America' report from the National Urban League delivers a message to President Obama: We are behind you, but don't expect a free pass from us.

Calling these the "best of times and the worst of times" for black America, the 2009 report says the bad economic times are hitting African Americans disproportionately.

None of this should come as a surprise to black folks. ...

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But what makes this report somewhat enlightening is that it attempts to put some statistical underpinnings to what we all know.

Called the National Urban League's Equality Index, the measurement is a statistical gauge of the disparities between blacks and whites across five categories: economics, education, health, civic engagement and social justice.

According to the report, between 2003 and 2007 the poverty rate and home ownership rate declined for blacks but increased for whites. Even as both groups made progress in educational attainment, the progress was slower for blacks.

National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial said in the report that Obama's election doesn't mean that the fight for civil rights is won.

"Instead, it's more important than ever that the National Urban League and other organizations and individuals committed to positive change work even harder to lift up our communities and move this country forward," Morial said.

It's a legitimate, but simplistic point. Did anyone ever say Obama's election meant the fight for civil rights was over?