It’s not the kind of list any city wants to appear on, but Racine recently had the distinction of being named the third worst city in the United States for black residents.
The ranking, from online news site 24/7 Wall St., was published a few days ago in USA Today.
“We’re movin’ on up. Not to the eastside, or the westside,” said community activist Alfonso Gardner in remarks to the City of Racine Common Council Tuesday evening. “But African-Americans are movin’ up to the poor side of town. Instead of being no. 4, now we’re no. 3 for the worst place for African-Americans to live.”
Gardner added: “I have some ideas I think we should take a look at.”
He suggested a broad community-wide meeting to address the multiple issues the city’s ranking reveals on the list. “We need to have a community forum for the African-American community,” Garner said. “We have been affected most by this. I know whites are being affected, too, but it’s really killing the black community to have this statistic on us.”
According to the ranking:
3. Racine, Wisconsin
• Black population: 21,450 (11.0 percent)
• Black median income: $26,888 (42.3 percent of white income)
• Unemployment: 16.6 percent black; 6.1 percent white
• Homeownership rate: 31.4 percent black; 77.1 percent white
TACKLING RACISM IN RACINE WITH DIALOGUE, EDUCATION
“We have an African American police chief who is here tonight. We have an African American superintendent of schools. We have an African American CEO of the United Way,” Gardner told the Common Council. “Those three entities should put this together. Along with the mayor, the county executive” and representatives of local major industries and businesses.
Why Racine is ranked?
Racine is one of a number of Rust Belt cities where social and economic outcomes for black residents trail far behind those of white residents, explains the USA Today article. “For example,” notes the report, “the typical black household in the Racine metro area earns just $26,888 a year, less than half the $63,507 annual income the typical white household in the area earns.”
To determine the list of worst cities for black Americans, 24/7 Wall St. created an index of eight measures to assess race-based gaps in socioeconomic outcomes in each of the nation’s metropolitan areas.
PULLING BACK THE CURTAIN ON RACE, EQUITY AND INCLUSION IN RACINE COUNTY
“Listen to us, don’t discount us,” Gardner urged the Common Council. “We really want to help, but we never get asked to help. We get put to the side all the time. It’s time you gave us an opportunity to help you solve this problem.”
Racine just full of bs if u aint white u aint right
There we go again. It’s the black mans fault for all the problems that afflict the city. What about the state of Wisconsin having a high incarceration rate of black males? What about the difference in the unemployment rate? Why are the victims of an imbalanced system being constantly blamed? There is enough blame to go around. Black folks didn’t create racism and bigotry. Black folks didn’t cause Racine to be the third worst city in the nation for blacks to live in. What happened to the jobs in the city? Why are black men locked up at a higher rate than their white counterparts? In order to heal what’s wrong solutions rather than blame and accusations need to flow from our mouths.
I think there are several reasons for this. There is a tremendous lack of parental influence, especially fathers, in the black community. Often, this leads to gang affiliations, skipping school, poor grades. Too much discipline and correction is left to schools because of the absence of parents. There are opportunities, but education is a must as is a willingness to work and prove oneself. It’s likely there is also an absence of a spiritual influence even though there are a number of good churches in the city that welcome blacks and other ethnic groups.