Survey: African-Americans Pessimistic About Opportunities In Lexington. Well, Outside Of Louisville, Blacks MUST Be REALLY Scre*wed In Kentucky.
Survey: African-Americans pessimistic about opportunities
Survey shows they feel they have fewer opportunities
By Cheryl Truman
The Urban League of Lexington-Fayette County Tuesday released a 2008 survey that said African-Americans in Lexington have a pessimistic view about their opportunities.
Blacks were more likely than white respondents to say that they do not have access to high-paying jobs or quality health care and that children in Fayette County public schools are not treated fairly because of their race.
African-American respondents were less likely than white respondents to indicate Lexington is a "fair and just place for all people" and "people of all races in Lexington receive the same opportunities and chances in life."
P.G. Peeples, the Urban League's president and chief executive, said the report "sets up a platform ... on which to build these valuable solutions." He said it was not a plan of action as much as a quantifying of concerns of the community. The plan for action will come now, he said.
David Cozart, administrator of development at the Urban League, said the data's collection in 2008 should not cause concerns and is still valid. He acknowledged Lexingtonians who have suffered economic misfortunes such as job losses and home foreclosures may be even more unhappy now.
The groups involved — the Urban League, the city, the University of Kentucky and the Lexington Commission on Race Relations — have been meeting and discussing the results in the intervening time, they said.
The study is based on polling data that surveyed 200 African-Americans, 200 Hispanics and 200 whites before and immediately after the presidential election in 2008. According to 2009 census data, whites make up 78.7 percent of the population, blacks 13.4 percent and Hispanics 5.5 percent.
That means 1.3 percent of the known Hispanic population, 0.5 percent of blacks and 0.1 percent of whites were surveyed.
"The key message here is, we've got a lot of work to do," said Mayor Jim Newberry.
He said the report "can't just simply sit on the shelf and collect dust." However, he did not offer a specific plan to change the perceptions reflected by the report.
"Having the baseline is enormously important," he said.
Asked what the city should do to take action on the report, Peeples said, "The new civil rights frontier is economic development."
Council member Andrea James said such information is not new.
"What's going to be the technique moving forward to have the privileged majority understand what this report means?" she asked.
Sean Edwards, an African-American who owns a dry cleaning business, said he hoped the report would be acted upon. "I just think we've seen several reports like this, and we need to move from report to process," he said. "I don't want to have this same discussion 10 years from now."
Vice Mayor Jim Gray, who is running for mayor, said that if elected he would appoint a team and then meet once a week until a plan with quantifiable goals was developed.
According to the report:
■ African-American respondents from ages 35 to 54 were less confident of their ability to make a difference compared with those both younger and older than they are.
■ African-Americans under 45 were less likely to agree that UK is making real efforts to improve diversity than those over 45.
■ African-Americans between 18 and 34 were more optimistic about a college degree leading to a good job in Lexington than older respondents.
■ African-Americans were nearly twice as likely not to have attended college than whites.
UK President Lee T. Todd Jr. said the university has improved its recruiting and retention, not only of African-American students, but of faculty members as well.
"If you're going to solve tough problems, you've got to gang up on them," he said. "This is what a flagship state university ought to be doing."
Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2010/10/14/1478623/survey-african-americans-pessimistic.html#ixzz12KwXvTvU
Survey shows they feel they have fewer opportunities
By Cheryl Truman
The Urban League of Lexington-Fayette County Tuesday released a 2008 survey that said African-Americans in Lexington have a pessimistic view about their opportunities.
Blacks were more likely than white respondents to say that they do not have access to high-paying jobs or quality health care and that children in Fayette County public schools are not treated fairly because of their race.
African-American respondents were less likely than white respondents to indicate Lexington is a "fair and just place for all people" and "people of all races in Lexington receive the same opportunities and chances in life."
P.G. Peeples, the Urban League's president and chief executive, said the report "sets up a platform ... on which to build these valuable solutions." He said it was not a plan of action as much as a quantifying of concerns of the community. The plan for action will come now, he said.
David Cozart, administrator of development at the Urban League, said the data's collection in 2008 should not cause concerns and is still valid. He acknowledged Lexingtonians who have suffered economic misfortunes such as job losses and home foreclosures may be even more unhappy now.
The groups involved — the Urban League, the city, the University of Kentucky and the Lexington Commission on Race Relations — have been meeting and discussing the results in the intervening time, they said.
The study is based on polling data that surveyed 200 African-Americans, 200 Hispanics and 200 whites before and immediately after the presidential election in 2008. According to 2009 census data, whites make up 78.7 percent of the population, blacks 13.4 percent and Hispanics 5.5 percent.
That means 1.3 percent of the known Hispanic population, 0.5 percent of blacks and 0.1 percent of whites were surveyed.
"The key message here is, we've got a lot of work to do," said Mayor Jim Newberry.
He said the report "can't just simply sit on the shelf and collect dust." However, he did not offer a specific plan to change the perceptions reflected by the report.
"Having the baseline is enormously important," he said.
Asked what the city should do to take action on the report, Peeples said, "The new civil rights frontier is economic development."
Council member Andrea James said such information is not new.
"What's going to be the technique moving forward to have the privileged majority understand what this report means?" she asked.
Sean Edwards, an African-American who owns a dry cleaning business, said he hoped the report would be acted upon. "I just think we've seen several reports like this, and we need to move from report to process," he said. "I don't want to have this same discussion 10 years from now."
Vice Mayor Jim Gray, who is running for mayor, said that if elected he would appoint a team and then meet once a week until a plan with quantifiable goals was developed.
According to the report:
■ African-American respondents from ages 35 to 54 were less confident of their ability to make a difference compared with those both younger and older than they are.
■ African-Americans under 45 were less likely to agree that UK is making real efforts to improve diversity than those over 45.
■ African-Americans between 18 and 34 were more optimistic about a college degree leading to a good job in Lexington than older respondents.
■ African-Americans were nearly twice as likely not to have attended college than whites.
UK President Lee T. Todd Jr. said the university has improved its recruiting and retention, not only of African-American students, but of faculty members as well.
"If you're going to solve tough problems, you've got to gang up on them," he said. "This is what a flagship state university ought to be doing."
Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2010/10/14/1478623/survey-african-americans-pessimistic.html#ixzz12KwXvTvU
Labels: General information
posted by KYJurisDoctor at 7:46 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home