Is "Urban" the New Word for "Black"?

As many readers here will already be aware, my favorite American read -- straight from the headquarters of loony country -- is the "Sacramento Bee". I have the idea that I may be looking at America's future when I read it. So a recent headline there amused me: "Urban students do worse than nation in science". "Urban" means "of a city" and I guess that 99% of Americans realize that minorities, particularly blacks, tend to cluster in big city centers. So what the headline really means is: "Black students do worse than nation in science". Must not say that, of course.