Copyright© 2007 by School Services of California, Inc.
Volume 20 For Publication Date: February 2, 2007 No. 3
The Legislative Black Caucus
Report Determines that City
of Residence is a Factor in Educational Success for Blacks
California’s Legislative Black Caucus kicks off the legislative year with the release of the State of Black California Report, which provides a snap shot of blacks in California. The report was the result of a one-year research project that included qualitative and quantitative data collection measuring the status of the state’s black population relative to whites and other ethnic and racial groups. The nine-member Caucus, the largest delegation in the state’s history, commissioned the report in order to develop a public policy agenda for the Caucus that would improve the lives of black Californians.
An excerpt from the report:
The State of Black California reports on the social and economic status of Blacks in California and its major metropolitan areas including the Inland Empire, Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose. It examines how Black Californians fare in relation to whites and other major ethnic groups along, economic social and health related dimensions. The report uses an Equality Index, an objective tool to compare the degree to which blacks enjoy equal conditions relative to those of whites and other ethnic groups. The Equality Index was developed by Global Insight, Inc., a highly regarded international consulting firm. The report was prepared for the California Legislative Black Caucus by Steven Raphael, Goldman School of Public Policy University of California, Berkeley and Michael A. Stoll, School of Public Affairs University of California, Los Angeles.
Education
For community colleges serving black students, the report utilizes an education index and articulates some surprising outcomes on success relative to the cities in which blacks reside. The Education Index Measured:
The Education Index score for blacks in California is 0.69. In California, blacks’ inferior educational outcomes (relative to those of whites) are better than those of Latinos at 0.56. Each group possesses educational outcomes that are inferior to those of Asians as a group at 1.03, a score is par with that of whites.
In California, the percentage of adults who have a college diploma is lower for blacks, at 11%, than for whites, at 21%. Racial inequality in college completion between blacks and whites is greatest in San Francisco and lowest in the Inland Empire and San Jose. Blacks have the highest college completion rates in San Jose at 21%, and the lowest in San Diego and the Inland Empire, both at 10%.
In California, the four year high school dropout rate is higher for blacks, at 22%, than for whites, at 8%. Blacks have the highest high school dropout rates in Los Angeles and San Diego at 28% and 26%, respectively, and the lowest in San Jose and Sacramento, both at 18%.
“The report serves as a starting point,” states Assembly Member Dymally (D-Los Angeles), chair of the Caucus. “We need to have a clear understanding of the current status of blacks in California. The report includes legislative and non-legislative proposals that will help us to fill in the disparity gap that clearly exists in every index outlined in the report.”
According to Majority Leader Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles), Legislative Black Caucus vice chair, “This was important and honest feedback that complemented the quantitative data."
Each member of the Legislative
Black Caucus will author specific legislative proposals that will help address
the gaps outlined in the report. This spring, the Legislative Black Caucus will
return to each region and conduct town hall meetings in order to report on the
study’s findings and the legislative and nonlegislative proposals of the Caucus.
Members of the Legislative Black Caucus include Assembly Member Mervyn Dymally (D-Compton), chair; Assembly Majority Leader Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles), vice chair; Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles); Senator Edward Vincent D-Inglewood); Assembly Member Wilmer Amina Carter (D-Rialto); Assembly Member Mike Davis (D-Los Angeles); Assembly Member Curren Price (D-Inglewood); Assembly Member Laura Richardson (D-Long Beach); and Assembly Member Sandre Swanson (D-Oakland).
A copy of the report is available at:
—Jamillah Moore, Ed.D.