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Patrick C. Graham, Ph.D.
President and CEO, Urban League of Central Carolinas

The recent revelation from the Pew Research Center indicating that wealth gaps between “whites” and “minorities” in the United States have grown to their widest levels in 25 years is like a person screaming fire without vocal cords. The median wealth for a European American household is $113,149 compared to $6,325 and $5,677 for Hispanic American and African American households. The warning goes unnoticed, but the flame engulfs us all just the same; even though affected populations and the social impact seem invisible. With the recent political volleying over our debt ceiling, which has its own economic implications, the news of our increased disparities did not capture the American imagination or our leadership’s attention in the ways that it should. However, it is this revelation, which is not a surprise to many of us involved in the struggle for inclusion that makes The State of Ethnic Charlotte so timely. The State of Ethnic Charlotte is a book and initiative to get our region and its leadership to think more authentically and intentionally about measurable reductions in disparities across ethnic, gender, and economic lines. One of our nation’s greatest opportunities in this new global economy may be found in the individuals and neighborhoods affected by disparities the most. It is in our most challenged communities where the largest waste and opportunities of human capital lay waiting if only we could hear the screams of fire and make them a visible priority.

The metaphoric fire that engulfs the Charlotte Region’s future vitality can be partially extinguished by our realization that our mutual interests and destinies must include communities that face disparities. Our nation’s recent economic downturn and our sliding performance in education among industrialized nations is evidence of our region’s and nation’s need to address social and financial gaps. For example, according to the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment, our nation’s 15 year old students ranked 14th in reading, 17th in science, and 25th in math out of 34 countries. I use these international rankings because the Charlotte Region is in competition with more than the other regions of our nation, but with the world. Regionally, this is reinforced with lower cohort graduation rates for Hispanic Americans and African Americans. For example, Hispanic Americans had a four year cohort graduation rate of 59.6% compared to European Americans at 82.1%. While this disparity is staggering between the two groups, both mean that thousands of students do not graduate on time or at all. It is interesting to note that our best and brightest rank well with other international students, but we do not numerically produce enough students that perform at high levels, especially in science, engineering, and other technical areas. Our lack of interest, attention, and support for developing people in communities facing disparities creates an intellectual and workforce shortage that could be partially remedied by empowering the untapped talent of these dis-enfranchised citizens.

Our future as a region is also dependent on the type of talent we develop within our region. The Charlotte Region is well known for its strength in banking and is still the second largest banking center in our nation. However, our greatest strength may also be a weakness if our workforce is totally dependent on the banking industry, as demonstrated by the problems with our recent housing bubble among other financial practices. Organizations such as the Charlotte Regional Partnership have been actively recruiting alternative businesses and industries to the region in the areas of green or sustainable energy, film, defense, and other 21st century fields. One of the most important factors to successful recruitment of these industries is the education and talent of a potential indigenous workforce and qualified entrepreneurial businesses. This requires changing our post and secondary education models to be more in line with 21st century job trends and a greater attention to workforce and entrepreneurial development in communities with the largest unemployment and under-employment. New industries need workers and entrepreneurs to meet contractual demands, as well as communities to develop greater wealth that translates into a greater consumer base for our economy.

The emphasis on entrepreneurial and workforce development cannot be overemphasized, especially for communities facing our gravest disparities. For example, this year we have seen the African American unemployment rate in Charlotte climb above 19%, approximately three percentage points higher than the national average for the same group. This statistic is double the amount for European American citizens and assists in the creation of tensions between communities, which has a negative impact on our social service systems. Economic disparities such as this are widespread in our region. From 2007-2009, the median house-hold incomes for African American and Hispanic American households were approximately $33,799 and $35,596 compared to $55,674 and $70,774 for European American and Asian American households, respectively. As cited in the Johnson C. Smith University 2010 white paper titled, “Gaining Traction in Doing Business in Charlotte, North Carolina: Compelling Reasons for Community-Wide Support for Minority Owned Businesses,” many minorities had to start businesses with personal finance without much access to capital from traditional lending sources. Many minority business owners use home equity as a primary source of personal assets. Our current market has not proven friendly to home values, especially in minority neighborhoods that face disparities. Furthermore, home mortgage denial rates for the entire region are 23% and 26% for Hispanic Americans and African Americans, approximately 1.6 to 1.8 times higher than that of European Americans at 14.3%. This means that lower median incomes, lack of access to capital for entrepreneurial ventures, higher denial rates to establish wealth, and inadequate education models negatively affect job creation, intelligent consumer bases, human services, and the economic bottom line of neighborhoods facing disparities and our regional economy as a whole. Thus, the impact goes far beyond those communities directly affected.

Our inability to hear the metaphoric screams for fire creates invisible pockets of poverty that create costly health and social justice problems as well. The linkages to poorer health and incarceration rates to poverty, education levels, and ethnicity are well documented. The percentage of African American and Latina American mothers who begin prenatal care by their third trimester instead of the first is 1.7 and 1.9 times higher than European American mothers. The relationship to prenatal care to overall health of children and education are also well documented. The incarceration rates along ethnic and class lines are also unbalanced for our region and nation. The sentences given for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and European Americans are almost equal for those sentenced for 1 to 2 years in the region. However, for 2 to 5 and 5 to 10 year sentences, African Americans and Hispanic Americans are 1.5 to 2.4 and 2.9 to 3.2 times more likely to receive these sentences than European American citizens. These types of disparities grow even higher for sentences from 10 years or more. Trends in health and social justice have direct relationships to ethnicity, education, and rates of poverty. Because regionally 19.8% of African American and 26.6% Hispanic American individuals live below the poverty line compared to 8% of the European American population, people of color and poorer European Americans find themselves living without adequate healthcare or living in our jails and prisons at higher rates.

In order for us to flourish as a region and a nation in a world that becomes smaller and more competitive with technological advancement, we must acknowledge that one of our true advantages over the rest of the world can be found in those communities with the most untapped talent. After all, some of our nation’s greatest leaders come from humble beginnings. Through determination coupled with luck or a blessing, many were able to break through ceilings of poverty, racism, gender, or social thought. If we empower these individuals and communities with new forms of education, workforce and entrepreneurial development, and inclusion in our social structures, we create and sustain a region that is both economically attractive and socially desirable. If we ignore the metaphoric calls of fire, and believe that disparities do not affect us all, we are living in a fantasy of arrogance that will lead to continued diminishing status within our global world. There are many who find it comforting and easier to live in that lie. The Urban League of Central Carolinas and its allies believe our region and its people are better than any such fantasy. The State of Ethnic Charlotte is our call for authentic and intentional communal behaviors that will lead to a weakening of our disparate gaps and a strengthening of our region’s competitive edge.

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New York, NY – The National Urban League held its 53rd Annual Equal Opportunity Day Awards Dinner on Thursday, November 5, 2009 at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel. The National Urban League’s Annual Equal Opportunity Day Awards Dinner rewards individuals and corporations that demonstrate a commitment to equal opportunity and exhibit leadership for the cause of equal rights. This year at the dinner, Marc H. Morial, the President and CEO of the National Urban League presented General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.) with its Humanitarian Award for his tremendous achievements in the cause of humanitarianism.

“The individuals and organizations honored at the Equal Opportunity Day Awards Dinner set the example for all of us in their commitment to the greater community,” said National Urban League President and CEO, Marc H. Morial. “This year’s recipients display exceptional leadership encouraging empowerment in all aspects of society.”

This year the National Urban League’s Equal Opportunity Day Awards Dinner was chaired by John G. Stumpf, President and CEO, Wells Fargo & Company. The National Urban League is partnering with Wells Fargo to expand foreclosure prevention programs, stabilize neighborhoods and increase financial literacy to ultimately empower communities. Maurice DuBois, co-anchor at CBS 2 News This Morning served as MC for the evening and Grammy award winner Quincy Jones was in attendance.

Other award highlights include:

• Barbara Smith and Dan Gasby, entrepreneurs and co-owners of B. Smith Restaurants (NYC, DC and Sag Harbor, NY), presented Amonica and John Davis, co-owners of ServiceMaster by Davis, with the Entrepreneurship Award for their extraordinary achievements as ServiceMaster franchisees and their dedication to economic empowerment.
• John D. Hofmeister, Chairman of National Urban League presented President and CEO of Walmart, Michael Duke with the Corporate Leadership Award for Walmart’s generous support of the National Urban League workforce development programs.
• The National Urban League inducted its 2009 “Million and Five Million Dollar Hall of Fame” class recognizing organizations that contributed $1 million or more to advance the work of the League. This year’s $1 Million Hall of Fame awards were presented to the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Sprint Nextel Corporation. $5 Million Hall of Fame awards were presented to ExxonMobil Corporation and Freddie Mac.

In 1956, the National Urban League held its first Equal Opportunity Day Awards dinner, giving awards to U.S. Department of Labor Secretary James P. Mitchell and Jacob S. Potofsky, President of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. Since then, Muhammad Ali, Hillary Rodham and William Jefferson Clinton, Iman, Quincy Jones, Richard Parsons, Oprah Winfrey and Spike Lee, among others, have been honorees.

National Urban League (www.nul.org) - Established in 1910, The National Urban League is the nation’s oldest and largest community-based movement devoted to empowering African Americans to enter the economic and social mainstream. Today, the National Urban League, headquartered in New York City, spearheads the non-partisan efforts of its local affiliates. There are over 100 local affiliates of the National Urban League located in 35 states and the District of Columbia providing direct services to more than two million people nationwide through programs, advocacy and research.