Submitted by Marjory on Wed, 2009-11-11 17:04

Filed under:

• Social Change in Oregon
• African
• African American
• Economic Justice

• If 7% of your family were in crisis, wouldn’t that be the focus of your attention?
• If 7% of your roof leaked, would you respond by saying, "well, at least 93% of the roof is solid."

Those were questions Marcus Mundy of the Urban League posed to the City Club of Portland when he explained why everyone should care about the state of Black Oregon today.

African Americans make up 7% of Portland’s population and 2% of the state overall. But as a new report from the Urban League makes clear, African Americans in Oregon suffer disproportionately from poverty and its damaging effects:

• Infant mortality is 50% higher for the children of Black mothers than for those of White mothers.
• African Americans are twice as likely to receive loans with high costs or high interest rates. Over the lifetime of a loan, these higher costs can mean a loss of $50,000 to $100,000 in increased interest payments and penalties.
• In the juvenile justice system, 23% of African American youth referrals are dismissed, not petitioned or not adjudicated compared with 54% of White youth, a discrepancy that has a lasting impact throughout a young person’s life.

The economic crisis has created opportunities for the broader population to better understand what the African American community has been facing for decades. Oregon unemployment rates went into the double digits in 2008, grabbing headlines around the state. The African American community, in contrast, has experienced double digit unemployment consistently since the 1970’s.

The State of Black Oregon report paints a picture of how multiple risk factors--including unemployment, poverty and inadequate housing--as well as organizational and systemic factors such as racial bias and cultural misunderstandings impact a community.

It also identifies specific policy recommendations, including: 

• Insert equity into economic recovery by ensuring that education, transportation and renewable energy programs funded with federal stimulus money connect low-income people and minorities to jobs.
• Ensure that educators and service providers have the training to move towards greater cultural competency and proficiency.
• Strengthen laws and enforcement to reduce the incidence of high-cost and predatory lending.
• Provide universal health coverage for all Oregonians

These are strategies that positively impact all Oregonians.  Isn’t it time we gave them a chance?