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The State of Black Ohio

Andrew Grant-Thomas, Deputy Director, The Kirwan Institute

Black Ohio in the 21st CenturyInstitute for Urban Public Policy

April 20, 2010

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Black Ohio has many stories to tell…

“That’s one of the challenges, sometimes the leadership of the African American community is asked to give the “African American perspective” and sometimes I have to stop and say I can speak on my behalf, but it’s inaccurate to think I could give insight on behalf of the community because we are so diverse…”

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Neighborhood Opportunity Indicators

• Education

• Economic & Mobility

• Housing & Neighborhood

• Public Health

• Public Safety & Criminal Justice

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Nearly 3 out of 4

Black Ohioans

were living in the

State’s lowest

opportunity

neighborhoods….

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…compared to 1

in 2 Latinos and

1 in 4 Asians and

Whites.

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Which domains are we talking about?

Healthy neighborhoods, healthy businesses Education disparities in Ohio’s African American

community Gender issues and disparities Immigration impacts Political empowerment, leadership, and representation Health and health care in Ohio’s African American

community Crime and criminal justice among Black Ohioans

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Divergence of Fortune

“I believe the State is staring at the crossroads: one path has opportunities with advancement…and the other is more of the status quo, where folks are falling behind.”

Focus: EDUCATION

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0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Education System

Employment/Unemployment

Racism/Stereotypes

Healthcare

Access to Opportunity

Family (Single Mother-Headed Households)

Hopelessness

African American Incarceration

Economy

System Prejudices

Workforce Development

Poverty

Housing (Access to Credit, Predatory …

Challenges to Black Ohioans**

Interviewees’ top concern for Black Ohio was EDUCATION, and…

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…and their #1 solution related to Education.

0 5 10 15 20

Improve educational opportunities

Mentorship

Address Criminal Justice System

Strategic Planning

Addressing Crime

Community Strengths

MBE Development

Teach Values

Credit Discrimination

Healthcare Access

Leadership Realization

Suggested Responses to Challenges

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Signs of lag and progress: HS graduation rates over time

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

White 82.7% 83.0% 83.4% 84.0% 84.2% 85.1% 86.9% 88.6% 89.8% 89.8% 89.8% 90.3%

Black 62.5% 61.4% 61.2% 61.1% 56.8% 59.5% 60.6% 62.9% 66.8% 68.4% 69.0% 71.3%

Asian 88.1% 87.5% 87.3% 88.0% 88.3% 89.3% 90.3% 92.1% 91.8% 92.5% 93.6% 93.2%

Hispanic 61.5% 59.1% 63.1% 61.4% 61.9% 63.1% 65.9% 71.6% 71.8% 74.1% 73.8% 67.0%

62.5%

61.4%

61.2% 61.1%

56.8%59.5% 60.6%

62.9%

66.8%68.4% 69.0%

71.3%

50.0%

55.0%

60.0%

65.0%

70.0%

75.0%

80.0%

85.0%

90.0%

95.0%

100.0%

Perc

enta

ge

Ohio High School Graduation Rate, 1995 - 2006 (%)

Graduation Rates by Race in Ohio; Source: The Ohio Department of Education Data Warehouse

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Signs of progress: Math proficiency

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7

8

12

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All Students

Hispanic Students

Disabled Students

Economically Disadvantaged Students

Black Students

Increase in proficiency rates for 4th grade mathematics from 1999 to 2006, percent

Source: Achieve, Inc. “Creating a World Class Education System in Ohio.” 2007

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Question:

Many interviewees pointed to the need for a unified strategic plan for Black Ohio;

what should it look like?

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4 Principles to Guide Strategic Planning

I. Educate about Our Linked Fates

II. Build (on) Community Assets

III. Weave the Web of Opportunity

IV. Promote Universal Policies in Targeted Ways

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I. Educate about Our Linked Fates

As Black Ohio goes, so goes all Ohio Example: The Subprime & Foreclosure crisis Example: Lack of Health Care Example: Disappearance of Blue-Collar Jobs

“African Americans are bearing the brunt of the [housing] problems here. The mortgage problems have been going [on] for 10 years. In 2000, there were conferences on predatory lending. [It’s] only on the radar now because it’s affecting Whites, upper-income people, [and] people across the globe. Talk about the canary in the coal mine illustration!”

Source: Center for Responsible Lending http://www.responsiblelending.org/mortgage-lending/tools-resources/factsheets/ohio.html

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Linked Fates (cont.)

$2.6 billion would be added to Ohio’s economy just by raising the African American graduation rate to that of white students (by 2020)

The poverty of a school, more than the poverty of the individual, determines students’ educational outcomes

Seven of top-ten counties in foreclosure-filing growth – each of which saw a 26%+ increase last year – were in the Northwest and Appalachian regions of the state.

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II. Build (on) Community Assets

Interviewees

identified

many

community

assets on

which to

build

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Economic, Political, and Educational …

Church

Education

History of Struggle

Values

Health Services and Programs

Diversity

Quality of Life

Blacks Can Move to any Neighborhood

Federal Support

Middle Class Status

Strengths and Assets of the Black Community

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Some keys to educational opportunity:

School-based

• Tracking• Funding• Class size• Teacher quality

Non-school

• Families• Neighborhoods• Children’s

Health• Housing Stability

HousingChildcare

Employment

Education

Health

Transportation

Effective Participation

III. Weave the Web of Opportunity

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What happens beyond school walls matters

Health disparities account for as much as 25 percent of the black-white achievement gap.

In Ohio, in 2004, African American women twice as likely as white women to have low-weight babies. These babies are more likely to suffer from impaired physical and cognitive development, and decreased health overall throughout childhood.

Living in a disadvantaged neighborhood is equivalent to missing a full year of school.

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IV. Promote Universal Policies in Targeted Ways

• There is no “one size fits all”…“One vision, many paths”

• Examples:

• Social Security Act: Social Security benefits were initially denied to household and farm laborers – effectively excluding 65% of the Black population.

• Since the passage of near-universal healthcare in Massachusetts in 2006, emergency room visits in the state have spiked, fed largely by demand from newly insured patients.

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Student B: •Tracking•Funding•Housing Stability•Health•Neighborhoods

Student A: • Tracking• Funding

What does an intervention aimed at mitigating the effects of tracking and funding do?

Targeted Universalism (cont.)

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Moving Forward: Principles of a Strategic Plan

I. Educate about Our Linked Fates

II. Build (on) Community Assets

III. Weave the Web of Opportunity

IV. Promote Universal Policies in Targeted Ways

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www.KirwanInstitute.org

KirwanInstituteon:

www.race-talk.org

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Works cited Sampson, et.al.“Durable effects of concentrated disadvantage on verbal ability

among African-American children.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105: 842-844.

Kids Count Ohio. Profiles by Geographic Area: Ohio. Available online at http://www.kidscount.org/datacenter/profile_results.jsp?r=37&d=1; Ohio Kids Count 2007 Databook. Children’s Defense Fund- Ohio. Available online at http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/DocServer/Ohio_KIDS_COUNT_Data_Book.pdf?docID=6021

Barton, Paul. 2003. “Parsing the Achievement Gap: Baselines for Tracking Progress.” Policy Information Center, Education Testing Services. Available online at: http://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/PICPARSING.pdf.

Currie, Janet. 2005. “Health Disparities and Gaps in School Readiness.” The Future of Children 15(1): 117-38. See also a Broader Bolder Approach to Education online at: http://www.boldapproach.org/.

Kowalczyk, Liz. “ER visits, costs in Mass. Climb.” The Boston Globe, April 24, 2009. http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/04/24/er_visits_costs_in_mass_climb/?page=2