Mapping the Geography of Opportunity for African American MalesApril 27, 2009

Chicago State University

Chicago, Illinois

Andrew Grant-Thomas*Deputy Director, The Kirwan InstituteThe Ohio State UniversityGrant-Thomas.1@osu.edu

(w/thanks to Rajeev Ravisankar, Research Asst )

Presented at the 2009 Black Male Initiative Conference: "Raising Expectations"

Overview

1. Opportunity Mapping: Why, What, How?

2. Mapping Community Opportunity for African American Males in Seven Metropolitan Regions

3. So What? What These Findings Tell Us

4. From Individualistic Merit to “Democratic Merit” in College Admissions

Opportunity matters. PLACE MATTERS. Opportunity is spatialized. Where is “opportunity” present/absent? How are marginalized groups situated? How are racial and ethnic groups situated

relative to spatial opportunity? What can be done to improve the

opportunity landscape?

1. Mapping Opportunity: Why, What, How?

Opportunity Mapping: 4-Step Method

1. Use Census, state, and local data representing community/neighborhood/census tract conditions

2. Create opportunity index

3. Differentiate neighborhoods based on their composite opportunity scores very low, low, moderate, high, very high

opportunity neighborhoods (relatively speaking)

4. Overlay map with demographic data on distribution

2. Mapping Community Opportunity for

Black Males in 7 Major Metropolitan Regions Three domains of

opportunity were analyzed using GIS mapping software: Educational Quality Economic Health Neighborhood

Health

Indicators Used: Educational quality percent students poor teacher-student ratio high school dropout

and completion reading and math

scores

Indicators Used: Economic Health

public assistance median household

income unemployment rates job changes

Indicators Used: Neighborhood Health vacant properties property values homeownership

rate adult poverty population change crime rate

Distribution of Black/White males by neighborhood oppy in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, DC, Houston, LA, and NY

37%

7%

(Very low)

11%

17%

30%(Low)

ALL WHITE MALESALL BLACK MALES

(Moderate)

(High)(Low)14%

7%

21%(Moderate)

(High)25%

37%(Very high)

Young Black/White males, 0-14 years old, live in neighborhoods offering very different levels of oppy

466k(Very Low)

334k(Low)

185k(Moderate)

118k(High)

337k(Low)

493k(Moderate)

641k(High)

198k(VeryLow)

953k(VeryHigh)

62k

BLACK MALES (1.2 mil) WHITE MALES (2.6 mil)

The pattern of black neighborhood disadvantage holds for the Chicago metro area as well

Chicago Metropolitan Area: Population by Neighborhood Opportunity (%)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Young black males Young white males All persons

Very low or low

Moderate

High or very high

3. So What? What These Findings Tell Us

Relative to others, African American males (and females) in these seven major metro areas are substantially segregated from opportunity: K-12 schools that foster high achievement Healthy foods (vs. fast food) Safe play areas, green space Stable housing Libraries, community centers Sustainable employment Healthy tax base Outlets for wealth-building “Rich” professional networks

Which community would you choose? Which community would you choose?

2222

Costs of opportunity segregation: some Costs of opportunity segregation: some examplesexamples

Neighborhoods of concentrated poverty suppress Neighborhoods of concentrated poverty suppress property property valuesvalues by nearly $400 billion nationwide by nearly $400 billion nationwide

Census tracts with high homicide rates tend to be spatially contiguous to other tracts high in homicide (Chicago)

In African American neighborhoods, the closest grocery store was twice as far away as the nearest fast food (Chicago)

Tax capacity per household in the Chicago region ranged from $204 in poor (5th percentile) municipalities to $2,422 in wealthy (95th percentile) ones (Chicago, 1998)

Odds for mortality were more than 50 percent higher for residents in areas marked by poverty/deteriorated housing (Alameda County, CA)

Some privileged individuals experience better mental health and lower obesity rates in low than in high poverty neighborhoods

Costs of opportunity segregation: childrenLiving in a (very) low opportunity neighborhood… Living in a (very) low opportunity neighborhood… reduces reduces student “IQ”student “IQ” by 4 points, the equivalent of by 4 points, the equivalent of

missing one year of school (Sampson 2007)missing one year of school (Sampson 2007) generates unhealthy levels of stress hormones in

children, which impairs their neural development correlates with children having levels of lead in their

blood 9 times above average; high levels of lead linked to ADD and irreversible loss of cognitive functioning

links to higher levels of violent offending among juveniles

is highly correlated with childhood aggression and social maladjustment

Costs of opportunity segregation: K-12

Moving to low-poverty neighborhoods had positive effects on 11-18-year-old boys' achievement scores compared with those of their peers in high-poverty neighborhoods

The Illinois Education Research Council found that four in five very high-minority schools place in the bottom quartile for teacher quality

Students at high poverty schools face higher teacher turnover and lower educational aspirations and career options

Schools with higher concentrations of low-income students had less vigorous curricula

The nation’s dropout problem is concentrated in high poverty schools

Attending a high poverty school is linked to the absence of strong positive peer influence, which has negative impact on achievement

Economists already suggest that the black-white achievement gap can be reduced by 25% just by reducing residential mobility

4. From Individualistic Merit to “Democratic Merit” in College

Admissions

College admissions for African American youth: Neighborhood factors that matter Access to preschool Access to social capital and networks Environmental stresses Availability/quality of prenatal care, healthcare and

nutrition through childhood Quantity and quality of parental involvement K-12 instruction, expectations, teacher quality,

coursework rigor K-12 special education, tracking, disciplinary practices K-12 funding Lack of support in application/college prep. process

When looking “backwards” at achievement, admissions policies and practices must….

See that “what we are calling merit is actually the opportunities that students have enjoyed by virtue of their privilege” (Lani Guinier)

Recognize that past achievement may not reflect future potential

Cumulative disadvantage based on group identity – race

Account for the (sometimes dramatically) varying opportunity contexts of student accomplishment

Acknowledge the higher education mission to prepare students for citizenship in a multiracial democratic society

Seek to provide upward mobility and opportunity for more people to improve their lives, produce new knowledge, and train future leaders

Re-connect their notions of merit to that democratic mission Seek students in whom to invest, rather than simply

reward Seek students who will contribute to society

Consider institutional treatment effects (“military model”), not just selection effects (“beauty school model”)

College admissions policies and practices must also “face forward”….

Current Programming Indiana’s 21st Century Scholars

Program Low and moderate income students who

take and successfully fulfill a good citizenship pledge are guaranteed the cost of 4 years of undergraduate education at a public university (or the equivalent amount for a private university) in Indiana.

Current Programming Texas Ten Percent Plan

Admits the top 10% of students from every graduating high school class in the state to a public college or university in Texas

Introduces diversity of race, class, and geography

Prevents certain schools (typically in white, suburban districts) from monopolizing the admissions

Current Programming Clark University (Worcester, MA)

Worked to revitalize and uplift the local community rather than relocate the university

Opened its own high school; admitted students by a lottery

Students, many of whom were not meeting grade-level standards prior to entering Clark’s high school, flourished with the support of the university behind them

Current Programming University of Texas-Austin:

President’s Achievement Scholarship Embraces “strivers” by offering

scholarships to students who have overcome significant adversity while maintaining a strong academic record (compared to their peers)

Utilizes an Adversity Index that includes various indicators for family socioeconomic status, school quality, peer performance, and academic merit

Current Programming The Posse Foundation

Gathers students from public high schools to form multicultural “posses” and attend top-level colleges and universities nationwide

Uses a Dynamic Assessment Model for recruitment “An innovative approach to identifying

exceptional students who might be missed by traditional college admissions processes”

Leadership talent, ability to work in teams with students from different backgrounds, desire for success, etc.

www.possefoundation.org

Visit Us: www.KirwanInstitute.org

Recommendations: Investing in People

Community organizing and leadership development

Support for early childhood education/development

Improving education opportunity and investment

Family supportive services Labor force development and worker training Asset and wealth building strategies

Recommendations: Investing in Places Public health investments Developing anchor institutions Infrastructure investments Strategic collaborative investments Supporting minority owned and small

businesses Vacant land redevelopment and land banking Foreclosure mitigation and prevention

activities

Recommendation: People/Place Links Regional fair housing strategies Policies to support inclusionary housing

development Opportunity based subsidized housing investments Aligning housing and educational policies Strengthening professional and social networks for

businesses and residents in low opportunity areas