john a. powell

Executive Director, Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity

Williams Chair in Civil Rights & Civil Liberties,

Moritz College of Law

Forum on Collaborative Solutions to Inclusive and Sustainable Community Economic Development January 29, 2010 ! Yakima, WA

! Setting the Context: "  Understanding how people are situated within

opportunity structures

! A new community development model "  Institutions matter, but so do people… "  “Communities of Opportunity” "  Expanding our scope to the region

! Strengthening Engagement and Empowerment

! Opportunity includes access to:

"  Healthcare

"  Education

"  Employment

"  Services

"  Healthy food

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WASHINGTON !  Homeownership

"  Hispanics 42% "  African Americans 37% "  Asians 56% "  Native Americans 51%

!  Economic "  Hispanic buying power ranks high: 3.5% of state total "  In 50 top markets for Hispanic buying power, Seattle

area ranked 29th, Yakima area ranked 43rd !  Workforce

"  Hispanic workers account for 82% of agricultural workforce

"  Undocumented Mexicans account for estimated 70% of seasonal agricultural labor force

Source: Amy Loftis, “Role of Hispanic Families and Businesses in the Economy of Washington State.” University of Washington Figures for 2000.

WASHINGTON, contd. ! Education

"  For 1998-2000, 16-24 yr old Hispanics who were HS drop outs was approx. 28%

! Digital Divide "  In ‘98, Hispanic households half as likely to own

computer as white households, and 2.5 times less likely to have access to internet at any location (home, school, work)

Source: Amy Loftis, “Role of Hispanic Families and Businesses in the Economy of Washington State.” University of Washington.

! Yakima School District: approx. 75% of students eligible for free and reduced lunch

! Almost 50% of population (25 yrs and older) with less than a 9th grade education is Latino "  5.4% is White

! Latino median household income: $26,038 "  White median household income: $48,062

! Latino unemployment rate: 20% "  White unemployment rate: 6.2%

! 8.8% of Latino households don’t own a car "  7.1% of white households don’t own a car

Source: Census 2000, SF3. http://fairplan.u31.infinology.net/ESL/ESL_charts/Washington/Yakima%20County,%20Washington_SF3_Language.pdf

TRIBAL COMMUNITY

! In 1997, American Indian population 2.2% of total population in Eastern region (1.6% of total state share of population)

! Yakama Reservation "  Tribal enrollment 9,600. Approx. 16,300 people

live on or near reservation "  Unemployment BIA estimates 2003: 57%

"  28% of employed living below poverty

Source: Yakima County Coordinated Public Transit--Human ServicesTransportation Plan, 2007.

One community has no insurance and no hospital

down the street

Another community has no insurance but a hospital down

the street

! Yakima County approx. 36% Latino "  Almost 30% of Spanish households are “linguistically

isolated”

! Rural population has limited access to services inc. medical services

! Other Barriers: Language, cultural differences, and staffing resources

! So, no hospital down the street, language barriers, and living in overcrowded, substandard housing "  Major health concerns: Lead poisoning,

respiratory illnesses, and pesticide exposure…

Source: Census 2000, SF3. http://fairplan.u31.infinology.net/ESL/ESL_charts/Washington/Yakima%20County,%20Washington_SF3_Language.pdf

! A series of mutually reinforcing federal policies across multiple domains have contributed to the disparities we see today.

"  School Desegregation

"  Suburbanization/ Homeownership

"  Urban Renewal

"  Public Housing

"  Transportation

Disparities in how federal government invested in people and in places….

11 Source: Barbara Reskin. http://faculty.uwashington.edu/reskin/

Ongoing Racial Inequalities

Outcomes: Racial Disparities

Racial inequalities in current levels of well-being

Capacity for individual and community improvement is undermined

Current Manifestations: Social and Institutional Dynamics

Processes that maintain racial hierarchies

Racialized public policies and institutional practices

Context: The Dominant Consensus on Race White privilege National values Contemporary culture

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…Some people ride the “Up” escalator to reach

opportunity

…Others have to run up the “Down” escalator to get there

"  People are impacted by the relationships between institutions and systems

"  But people also impact these relationships and can change the structure of the system

! We need to think about how to connect people physically, economically, and socially.

! We need a new model of community

development…

! It may not be an issue of connecting these structures so much as an issue of creating these structures first…

–  Everyone should have fair access to the critical opportunity structures needed to succeed in life

–  Affirmatively connecting people to opportunity creates positive, transformative change in communities

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–  A systems response •  Where are your key

leverage points? •  What are the critical

intervention points? –  Equity focused

•  Creating a community for all

–  Emphasis on strategic collaboration •  Across multiple domains

–  Opening pathways to opportunity through engagement •  People , places, linkages

For more information, see our report “Pathways to Opportunity: Partnership and Collaboration for Revitalizing the Rosemont-Walbrook Neighborhood” available at www.kirwaninstitute.org

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! Do opportunity structures in your community exist?

! Are they responsive to community needs?

or

! How to make opportunity structures and institutions responsive to our needs? How to create accountability?

! Organizational capacity- building: "  Leadership and professional development "  Strategic planning "  Coordinated service delivery

! Community capacity- building: "  Engagement and empowerment

! The less resourced a community is, the more critical organizing becomes

! Not just “outreach”. That is, anchor institutions cannot simply make their offer and “sell” the community hoping they will buy it.

! Expand the geography "  Empowerment at a level

Source: Manuel Pastor et. al. This Could Be the Start of Something Big. Cornell University Press. 2009. Page 47.

“Equitable regionalism affirms the need for every community to have a voice in the resource development and future of the region. It builds and sustains region-wide, collaborative institutions with inclusive representation and a common goal: improving the health of the whole and expanding opportunity for all people and communities across the region. Equitable regionalism requires comprehensive and strategic investment in people and neighborhoods.”

27 “Regionalism: Growing Together to Expand Opportunity for All.” 2007. Summary report, pp. 1-2.

! Regional model is relevant for rural communities too, not just metropolitan areas like Seattle

! Linking Regional Equity values with clients “day- to- day” experiences: "  Focus on specific issues of opportunity or

inequality that have regional dimensions "  Educate clients: develop “regional

consciousness”

! “think tanks” ! Community development organizations ! Community organizers and advocates

! Each of these has a special role in lifting up engagement and empowerment to encourage equity and growth at a regional scale "  “think tanks” # Policy focus "  CDCs and CEDs# Projects focus "  Community organizers # Power in the

community focus Source: Manuel Pastor et. al. “Sustainable Advocacy for Fair Credit and Fair Banking.” Prepared for the Kirwan Institute December 2009.

Continue to develop regional coalitions among:

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CDCs

Local Governments

Philanthropic Institutions

Anchor Institutions

Business Community

Community Advocacy

groups

! Advantages of smaller community: "  Real opportunity to create strong leadership

infrastructure "  Fewer stakeholders may make the coalition-

building process simpler to navigate in the beginning, and identification of key stakeholders easier

! New metropolitan strategies focusing on housing, economic development, and workforce development

! Different communities are situated uniquely with regards to institutional opportunity structures and social infrastructure

! Building empowerment requires structuring social engagement to focus outwardly on the external community AND the region

! Developing diverse, innovative partnerships provides the space within which to engage in a broader advocacy agenda that is “multi-issue”, “multi-place”, and “multi-race”

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KirwanInstitute on:

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