Blindness due to glaucoma is much greater in blacks than in whites. Using a computerized diagnostic index, more than 1300 patients being treated for glaucoma in outpatient clinics were identified. Analysis of this clinic population indicated that open-angle glaucoma is more prevalent among blacks than in whites. Open-angle glaucoma occurs at a younger age in the black population. Open-angle glaucoma may be a more severe disease in blacks than in whites; however, this evidence is not conclusive. In this institution, the full range of the glaucomatous process in the black population, not merely the end-stage disease, is being seen.