opportunity communities: how do we get to empowerment?

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 WashingtonFigures 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 ReservationTribal enrollment 9,600. Approx. 16,300

people live on or near reservationUnemployment 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 housingMajor 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….

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

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Adapted from the Aspen Roundtable on Community Change. “Structural Racism and Community Building.” June 2004

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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

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 dimensionsEducate 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 focusSource: 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

CommunityAdvocacy

groups

Advantages of smaller community:Real opportunity to create strong leadership

infrastructureFewer 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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