Martin Luther King Day is an important time to take stock of the well-being of children of color in our state. You need look no farther than the White House to recognize that in some respects, great strides have been made in terms of opportunity for African Americans in our country. But as child advocates, we are concerned about racial disparities we see on a wide variety of indicators of well-being, including health, safety, and educational achievement.
The data paint an alarming picture; Wisconsin has some of the widest racial disparities in the country in a broad range of categories. For example, nearly half of Wisconsin’s black children live in poverty, nearly four times the rate for white children in the state. Knowing that these disparities exist is a critical first step toward figuring out what to do about them. For many years WCCF has been working to highlight these issues to improve the public’s understanding.
But ultimately, we must do more than raise public awareness of racial disparity; we must approach the issue with a sense of urgency and also with sustained, long term commitment in order to improve outcomes and reduce the disparities. WCCF is re-committing itself to reducing racial disparities through the launch of a project in Dane County designed specifically to address this issue. You will be hearing much more about this project in the weeks and months ahead. Once we have more fully developed the model in Dane County, we plan to expand to other areas of the state.
As the long fight for civil rights led by Dr. Kings tells us, being part of an urgent and sustained movement it is the only way that we can together do the hard work of making sure that every child in Wisconsin has a great chance to thrive, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or economic background.
