cbma midwest, presentation by andrew grant-thomas, black male achievement: taking stock, moving...

Black Male Achievement:

Taking Stock, Moving Forward

Andrew Grant-ThomasDeputy Director, Kirwan Institute for the

Study of Race and Ethnicity

Black Male Achievement Campaign, Midwest Regional Convening

Milwaukee, WIDecember 1-2, 2010

I. A Demographic snapshot Economics Education Family

II. Looking for explanations: A research review What the research says Some critical gaps

III. Moving forward: Identifying (some) community assets and strengths

Overview

I. A Demographic Snapshot

Tremendous progress AND tremendous vulnerability

2002-2007: number of black-owned businesses grew by 61%

1980-2009: percentage of black men earning at least $50k rose from 11% to 20% ($2009)

1970-2008: proportion of black males who are high school grads rose from 30% to 82%

1990-2006: births to black teens drop from 23% to 17% of black births

Many signs of progress

Source: Pew Research Center, http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1459/year-after-obama-election-black-public-opinion

The OBAMA

“Blacks more upbeat” – the Obama factor

6

Opportunity Mapping: Describing the geography of opportunity

Why identify the “geography “of opportunity”?

◦ “Place” makes a difference◦ Different racial groups are

differently situated◦ Differences in opportunity

are made, not born◦ We can change the

landscape of opportunity

The Kirwan Institute has drawn “opportunity maps” for many states & metro areas

Indicators of economic well-being◦ access to jobs ◦ unemployment ◦ job trends

Indicators of educational well-being◦ student poverty rates◦ test scores◦ student/teacher ratios

Indicators of neighborhood quality◦ vacant and abandoned properties ◦ crime rates◦ neighborhood poverty rates

Mapping opportunity for Black males in 7 large metro areas

Black men and boys’ access to opportunity in Chicago

Very High High Moderate Low Very Low0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

% of Black Population % of Black Males % of Black Boys

*Nearly 4 out of 5 Black men and boys live in low to very low opportunity areas

Black men and boys’ access to opportunity in Milwaukee

Very High High Moderate Low Very Low0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

% of Black Population % of Black Males % of Black Boys

*Over 85% of Black men and boys live in low to very low opportunity areas

http://www4.uwm.edu/ced/publications/blackjoblessness_2010.pdf

Poverty trends (Chicago)

1970 1980 1990 2000 2005-2007 2006-2008

National Black male popula-tion at or be-low poverty level

0.288331347011196

0.278574137773186

0.294505089571462

0.228302534305087

0.214360123303219

0.209392771868864

Chicago Black male popula-tion at or be-low poverty level

0.217367641548152

0.280955029335506

0.297016058015544

0.225268704061101

0.239784020055281

0.235847699753163

Chicago popula-tion at or be-low poverty level

0.0905961300376722

0.111013531254428

0.113331536045824

0.102979730364268

0.114957219212346

0.114406150896844

7.5%

12.5%

17.5%

22.5%

27.5%

Population at or Below Poverty Level, 1970-2008

Poverty trends (Milwaukee)

1970 1980 1990 2000 2005-2007

2006-2008

National Black male population at or below poverty level

0.288331347011196

0.278574137773186

0.294505089571462

0.228302534305087

0.214360123303219

0.209392771868864

Milwaukee Black male population at or below poverty level

NaN 0.288441358690183

0.412840213569476

0.286113891241307

0.317452142564094

0.313347790586397

Milwaukee population at or below poverty level

0.077582748780722

4

0.081022855823280

3

0.115898718796347

0.101300802806865

0.125419403435748

0.121347167577189

7.5%

12.5%

17.5%

22.5%

27.5%

32.5%

37.5%

42.5%

Population at or Below Poverty Level, 1970-2008

Median earnings (Chicago)

2005-2007 2006-2008

National median Black male individual earnings

27812 26623

Chicago median Black male individual earnings

29393 29359

Chicago median individual earnings 33243 32884

$26,500

$27,500

$28,500

$29,500

$30,500

$31,500

$32,500

$33,500

Median Individual Earnings (2008 dollars)

Median earnings (Milwaukee)

2005-2007 2006-2008

National median Black male individual earnings

27812 26623

Milwaukee median Black male individual earnings

23553 21682

Milwaukee median individual earnings 32083 31365

$21,000

$23,000

$25,000

$27,000

$29,000

$31,000

$33,000

Median Earnings (2008 dollars)

High school graduation (Chicago)

National White Male National Black Male Chicago City White Male Chicago City Black Male

2007-2008 0.78 0.47 0.630000000000002 0.44

5%

15%

25%

35%

45%

55%

65%

75%

85%

High School Graduation Rates

High school graduation (Milwaukee)

National White Male National Black Male Milwaukee White Male Milwaukee Black Male

2007-2008 0.78 0.47 0.54 0.4

5%

15%

25%

35%

45%

55%

65%

75%

85%

High School Graduation Rates

Without college degree (Chicago)

2000 2005-2007 2006-2008*

National Black male popula-tion

0.817436271228263 0.817436271228263 0.843347039469609

Chicago Black male popula-tion

0.807424844817842 0.764294875653453 0.827204165794576

Chicago popula-tion

0.654470389732258 0.614604349995948 0.665612009192653

62.5%

67.5%

72.5%

77.5%

82.5%

87.5%

Without College Degree, 2000-2008

This data is for the population 25 years and older*2006-2008 data includes people that have Associate de-grees

Without college degree (Milwaukee)

2000 2005-2007 2006-2008*

National Black male popula-tion

0.817436271228263 0.817436271228263 0.843347039469609

Chicago Black male popula-tion

0.807424844817842 0.764294875653453 0.827204165794576

Chicago popula-tion

0.654470389732258 0.614604349995948 0.665612009192653

62.5%

67.5%

72.5%

77.5%

82.5%

87.5%

Without College Degree, 2000-2008

This data is for the population 25 years and older*2006-2008 data includes people that have Associate de-grees

Single-mom homes (Chicago)

1970 1980 1990 2000 2005-2007

2006-2008

National Black female-headed families

0.28339609307661

8

0.38321150092389

9

0.43164666929647

7

0.44639604786299

5

0.45881557872360

4

0.45896332274802

1

Chicago Black female-headed families

0.23204977978908

2

0.40474374810930

7

0.47637285651308

4

0.48438287407527

0.50466291094712

9

0.50824818449564

6

Chicago female-headed households

0.11856183849598

4

0.16675369487146

0.18391076040547

1

0.18834635520264

8

0.19809595993892

7

0.19920500675849

4

5.0%

15.0%

25.0%

35.0%

45.0%

55.0%

Single-Female Headed Families, 1970-2008

Single-mom homes (Milwaukee)

1970 1980 1990 2000 2005-2007 2006-2008

National Black female-headed families

0.283396093076618

0.383211500923899

0.431646669296477

0.446396047862995

0.458815578723604

0.458963322748021

Milwaukee Black female-headed families

NaN 0.498054832286721

0.580249305690112

0.557414848346134

0.583156018695328

0.579110802615717

Milwaukee female-headed households

0.102776166021483

0.1482203708621

0.184896609700613

0.188006942475643

0.203570128451818

0.205139300162656

5.0%

15.0%

25.0%

35.0%

45.0%

55.0%

65.0%

Single-Female Headed Families, 1970-2008

3 in 4 black Americans say “more single women having children” is

a bad thing

Pew Research Center. “The Decline of Marriage and Rise of New Families.” November 18, 2010 http://pewsocialtrends.org/2010/11/18/the-decline-of-marriage-and-rise-of-new-families/

II. Looking for explanations: A research

reviewEconomic, Education, Family

◦Economic restructuring

◦Residential-jobs spatial mismatch

◦Low educational attainment

◦Skills mismatch

◦Discrimination

◦Stigma of criminal records

◦High out-of-wedlock births

◦Low marriage rates

Factors underlying economic hardship

◦Cultural incompetence

◦Lowered teacher expectations

◦Discrimination/student misclassification

◦Poor school funding and resources

◦Zero-tolerance policies

◦Weak supports for college persistence

◦Poor college preparation

Factors underlying educational status

◦Lack of “marriageable” men

◦Male/female status mismatch

◦Male joblessness/underemployment

◦Mass incarceration

◦“Perverse welfare disincentives”

◦Lower cultural premium on marriage

◦Normalization of unwed parenting

◦Racism and social stresses

Factors underlying family instability

◦Higher HS drop-out rates

◦Lower rate 4-year college enrollment and graduation rates

◦Greater likelihood of children outside marriage

◦Higher incarceration ratesAre these findings about single moms OR about the hard conditions under which they often must raise children?

“Ill effects of single-mom homes”

1. Resiliency of many black males- vs. “deficits”

2. Relationship instability-vs. “family pathology”

3. Opportunity structures - vs. “culture” and individual behaviors

4. Hidden bias and its effects – vs. explicit bias

5. Impact of race-and-gender identity

6. Cross-issue/domain connections

7. (Counterproductive) social policies

More research attention needed

Moving ForwardIdentifying our assets and strengths

1.Economic Power of the Black Community

Number of

Firms in 2002

Number of Firms in 2007

Receipts in 2002 (1,000)

Receipts in 2007 (1,000)

Percent change in # of Firms(2002-

07)

Percent change

in Receipts

(2002-07)

Illinois 68,699 106,679 4,980,181 6,856,156 55% 38%

Wisconsin

6,685 11,275 633,444 978,175 69% 54%

U.S.A. 1,197,567 1,921,907 88,641,608 137,448,331 61% 55%

http://www.census.gov/econ/sbo/#black_pre

From 1970 to 2000 the number of elected Black officials in local, state, and federal government rose more than six-fold

Wisconsin was among the first states to grant its African American residents the right to vote, thanks to Milwaukee native Ezekiel Gillespie.

As of Nov. 2010, 9 African Americans are considering running for Chicago mayor to replace Daley.

The importance in gaining the Black vote has been recognized as critical to the success of political campaigns.

2. Political Power of the Black Community

3. Coalition-building Opportunities

Coalitions among Blacks and immigrant communities can:◦ Enhance the impact and reach of an organization

◦ Attract funding from public and private sources

◦ Enhance cultural understanding

◦ Ensure common concerns are heard by policymakers, elected officials, etc

Examples:◦ United Congress of Community and Religious

Organizations (UCCRO)- Chicago, IL

◦ Gamaliel of Metro Chicago- Chicago, IL

A grassroots multi-ethnic and multi-cultural human rights alliance founded in 2005

12 members, both individuals and organizations 5 policy areas: health, education, employment,

wealth building, and safety

Successes:◦ Racial justice report cards for IL state legislators◦ Collaborated with the governor for youth summer

job creation◦ Justice training & human rights leadership boot

camp for high school and college age young people

United Congress of Community and Religious Organizations (UCCRO)

Allies: South Suburban Action Conference (SSAC), a primarily

African American faith-based organization Pilsen Neighbors Community Council (PNCC), a Mexican

immigrant community organization

Goals: workforce development Successes:

Joint press conferences & public meetings Job training programs Prepared a bill related to workforce development Formed a symbiotic relationship, including financial

support

Gamaliel of Metro Chicago

Actual/potential Midwest funder partners in Black Male Achievement work◦ Chicago Community Trust◦ Joyce Foundation◦ 21st Century Foundation◦ Association of Black Foundation Executives◦ Lloyd A. Fry Foundation◦ Greater Milwaukee Foundation◦ White House Office of Neighborhood and Faith-

based Partnerships◦ OSI Cross Fund Collaboration: EOF,TIF, CJF, D&P

Growing philanthropic interest

For More Information Visit Us On-Line:

www.KirwanInstitute.org