now, allison. the urban league this week found that this recession has literally erased 30 years of economic gains among african-americans. we found the problem was particularly acute in the city of charlotte, north carolina, where now 20% of african-americans are out of work. >> our last day was july 29, 2009, i've been out of work two years. >> reporter: derek fox is the face of an unemployment rate that has reached deep into charlotte's black middle class. since he was laid off, he has contacted more than a thousand companies looking for work. so far not even a nibble. >> i got out of school, didn't get the jobs i was looking for. then i went back, got an mba degree, you know, and i'm almost like, wow, was this really worth it? >> reporter: charlotte was the promised land for well educated blacks or those who wanted to climb the ladder by improving their education, but the financial crisis, recession and government budget cuts hit african-american workers