Hello Minneapolis Folks:
MA wrote: I think it was mostly due to emigration of poor Blacks from
other parts of the country during that period. I remember periodic scares
of the last 10-20 years ago where people claimed that poor Blacks were
coming from Chicago and Detroit to take advantage of Minnesota's high-paying
welfare system.
Ken Bradley wrote:
I believe the disparity between white median incomes and black median income is still often based on good old fashion racism. I would be curious to see the data related to African Americans in the work place, colleges and universities, and executives and CEO's in Minneapolis. How much progress have we made with our police department and other city agencies over the past 20 years? How many children of color live in poverty or low income situations? What is the percentage of children of color attending private elementary, middle schools, and high schools, attend specialized academic summer camps? It is difficult to pull yourself out of a hole when others are not willing to give you a hand.
Anderson & Turpin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Michael Atherton wrote:
> "A new study of 2000 Census data by
> American City Business Journals found
> white median household incomes in the
> Twin Cities were nearly double blacks'
> earnings, with blacks making $519 for
> every $1,000 whites make."
>
> My guess for a part of this disparity,
> in Minneapolis, is the high school
> dropout rate for African-Americans.
> Maybe our new school board members
> can set goals and can tell us what
> they're going to do about it.
>
> Any other suggestions as to what causes
> this disparity in our city compared to
> others?
My reply:
I think the disparity is more likely due to the rapid increase in the number
of Blacks in Minnesota over the last two decades. Where did this increase
come from? I think it was mostly due to emigration of poor Blacks from
other parts of the country during that period. I remember periodic scares
of the last 10-20 years ago where people claimed that poor Blacks were
coming from Chicago and Detroit to take advantage of Minnesota's high-paying
welfare system. I don't know whether there was ever any truth to that, or
if a lot of the immigration was due to the relative ease of getting a job in
the strong economy we had here for so many years. But in any case, I think
Minnesota has been a draw for poor Blacks recently. I think this
immigration has slowed in the last few years. Hopefully, many of these new
immigrants will move into the middle class over the next 10-20 years, and
the disparity will at least decrease to the level of other cities the same
size as Minneapolis.
I have absolutely no statistics to back up what I wrote above. It's just my
impression from what I've read in the paper over many years. I would
welcome any facts that collaborate or conflict with my guess.
Mark Anderson
Bancroft
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