On the Job Situation:

From Executive Summary: Demographic Analysis of Recovery Act Supported Jobs in Massachusetts, Quarters 1 & 2, 2010  …Across both quarters, however, whites held over 90% of jobs created or retained through funding for Education, Clean Energy and Environment, and Transportation.

New report details impact of Recovery Act Of these Recovery Act jobholders, blacks held nearly 20 percent of housing positions in the first quarter and 14.1 percent in the second. This category includes construction and administrative positions related to public housing, weatherization and homelessness prevention.  In contrast, whites held more than 90 percent of funded jobs in education, clean energy and environment and transportation, while Asians held nearly a third of technology and research positions.

http://www.mccormack.umb.edu/documents/ARRA_FinalReport_9Feb2011.pdf

On Education:

Number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Teachers in the Commonwealth based on 09-10- Dept. of Ed’s site

• Asians – 738.4 (FTE) Teachers in the State; Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander  23.8 in the Commonwealth:  222.8 Asians teach in  Boston.
• Latinos – 1,580.1 (FTE) teachers in the state, 393 Latinos teachers in Boston.
• Multi race non Hispanic 299.8 in the state ( did not look how many in Boston).
• Native Americans  (FTE) Teachers 65 in the state (did not look how many in Boston).
• African Americans – 1,655.6 (FTE) Teachers in the State - 952.6 teach in Boston.

Based  on  Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE)site, 09-10 figures, only 2.6%, some 1,655 out of 63,644.3 teachers in Massachusetts are Black; 952 out of the 1,655.6 work in Boston. Only 703 teachers of African descent work in the other 328 districts or 350 cities of Massachusetts.

Hence,  except for Boston, cities and towns with large numbers of minorities are less likely to have teachers from the students’ backgrounds. Many of these cities or don’t hire parent and community liaisons or don’t have a Family Engagement office reaching out to various language groups  like in Boston.  Many of these communities don’t have a leadership in Education. In terms of the immigrants, the focus is on immigration issues, not educating the children who are being raised here.  NAACP has a reputation not being too responsive to local issues so does the Black church.

Is there correlation  between staff and students that creates such a gap?

There is not too much dialogue either at the state and local levels in recruiting and keeping ethnic minority staff and teachers like Secretary Duncan is proposing. – Education secretary says U.S. needs more minority teachers.

BOSTON . - ….However, in its measure of  equity and excellence for Hispanic and African-American students, the [College Board] report ranks Massachusetts 48th [for Latinos ]and 17th [for Blacks], respectively.  Feb 9, 2011.
http://apreport.collegeboard.org/opportunities-for-underserved-students.

My suggestion is to support after school, community based programs where children will have opportunities to be taught in culturally relevant methods with ethnic minorities as role models.

From reflections originally written on or around 4-01-11 after analyzing US Census 2010 results

The minority population, specially the Black population had  increased drastically in  Massachusetts and in many states around the country.  Since I have lived North of Boston for over 35 years, I pay close attention to this area, especially those with increased foreign Blacks.  In Malden, for instance a town with a large Haitian population, the Black population had almost doubled, from 4,592  in 2000 to 8,796 in 2010 . 60% to 70% of these Blacks could be Haitian, the rest of Caribbean and African heritage.  There are not too many African Americans, particularly those 35 and under in many North shore towns like Malden, Revere, Everett, or Peabody.

When I extrapolated the data from  the census site of Blacks in “major” cities North of Boston,  I found  72,828.  If the number of Blacks in towns like Concord, Lexington, Maynard, Carlisle, and many other suburbs are added, Black population North of Boston could be estimated to 80,000 people – with minimal visibility or awareness in the Metro North region.  As cross culturally minded as I am (traveled to 24 countries speak four to five languages), I firmly believe that Black people outside the city of Boston need some attention.  For instance, I did not know that Fitchburg has over 2,000 Blacks (2,049).

Some References

www.boston.com/yourtown/quincy/articles/2011/03/24/census_mass_rural_suburb_minority_population_up/  To better serve the sub/urban communities with limited internal leadership,  offices like Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, the Office of Urban Affairs, the Office of Public Engagement could  have branch offices at the state levels.  In turn they will employ some staff for various regions.  Federal offices that already exist at the state level could have staff at the regional levels also.  They could hire qualified Outreach coordinators, Implementation specialists, Technical Assistants, and/or Civic Education specialists to work with municipalities and community stakeholders.  The issue as someone who had always worked for city government since high school is that the funds get to the local level.  However local politics determine who is (are) hired or dismissed, whose streets are paved, whose children receive a good education.  Such local politics make local supporters unhappy which translate to state and to national frustration, and most importantly people of color not getting the resources they need to thrive. There is a leadership in the Latino and Asian communities. However vacuum of local leadership in the Black community including that foreign Blacks make the economic and education inequities more precarious among people of African descent . originally  written- May 2011.

Proposed Actions

Locate grants and funding to support creation of local models and build future regional  community driven after school centers in the Gateway regions. See models below:

http://www.acechildren.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=119&Itemid=115

http://sites.google.com/site/ctecatmalden/

http://www.aecf.org/~/media/PublicationFiles/5Connections_r10.pdf

Call for community leaders to gather on Education issues pertinent to the Black Community. See Sample
http://cyberdrumm.com/home/local-news-articles/102-black-families-for-educaiton-conference-by-coleman.html

Higher institutions could  play a leadership role in above suggestions and why

The Black Church which is a very influential entity in the Black community is not addressing issues that affect this demographic.
See site on article about 7 Issues that The Black Church Has Been Silent About
http://atlantapost.com/2011/07/28/7-political-issues-that-the-black-church-has-been-silent-about/

A higher institution can play a better role in doing outreach to immigrant professionals  including Black immigrants and their children who are among the largest educated group in the North of Boston area and in the country as well.  Personally my posts in Education issues in Haitian forum since 1998 had not received that much  response. Suggestions made to local educational leaders since 1986 have not been heard either.

See Dayton Ohio’s example outreach to the immigrant population

http://news.mobile.msn.com/en-us/article_us.aspx?aid=45019429&afid=1&pg1=10001

http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2011/10/24/dayton_ohio_welcomes_immigrants_as_policy_point/

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/03/black_immigrants_an_invisible.html

Compiled by Nekita Lamour – Fall/Winter 2011