Madison Mayor Paul Soglin has released racial disparity data he shared with a closed-door meeting of community leaders last week, which he says indicates “economic conditions are improving and that is a result of the collaborative effort of the city, Dane County and the private sector.”
The data is publicly available from the United States Census Bureau, but the Mayor’s office had initially declined to disclose which data was presented in that meeting.
The data, in the form of a PowerPoint presentation with graphs but no raw numbers, was presented during a discussion with community leaders last Wednesday, October 5. The meeting came after Madison365 reported Soglin’s late September statement that it is “absolutely false” that Madison is among the worst places in the nation when it comes to racial disparities, something that is often said based upon the 2013 Race to Equity report.
Members of the Race to Equity team were present at the October 5 meeting, which, according to some in attendance, became contentious at times. Following that meeting, Soglin said he planned to release new data in the coming weeks jointly with the Race to Equity team – something the Race to Equity team disputes.
In a statement released today, the Race to Equity team wrote, “In the course of that meeting, we (Race to Equity) did not agree to jointly release a report with the Mayor, nor have we since. Rather, we agreed to continue to work with the Mayor’s office, (as we have been doing for the last three years since the release of the report) while we continue to work alongside the county, the community, the private and non-profit sectors to assess data, discuss policy, and ultimately, collectively and collaboratively as a community work together to address racial disparities. For those who are wondering, we look forward to releasing a comprehensive updated report in 2017.”
Most of the data released today comes from the United States Census Bureau’s Annual Community Survey (ACS). Each slide with ACS data contains a disclaimer that reads, “City of Madison data is unreliable due to small sample size.”
Still, the charts in the presentation do seem to indicate that economic prospects for African Americans have improved since 2011, the latest year for which data was available when the Race to Equity report was published in 2013, but that disparities between black and white Madisonians remain significant.
For example, according to the unreliable ACS data, about 12 percent of Madison’s white population lived in poverty in 2011, compared to 60 percent of the African American population. That percentage of African Americans in poverty was higher than Portland, Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Seattle and Winston-Salem. In 2015, according to the ACS data, the percentage of white people in poverty was about the same but the percentage of African Americans in poverty had fallen to just over 30 percent, lower than Minneapolis, Saint Paul and Portland.
Additionally, according to the ACS data, the difference in median income between black and white workers has fallen from about $45,000 to just under $30,000.
The mayor’s data addresses only a few economic indicators, whereas the Race to Equity report also took into account housing, employment, educational attainment, arrest and incarceration rates, and many other indicators.
“The Race to Equity Report was a much needed and vital wake-up call for the larger community,” Soglin said in an email accompanying the data. “We are headed in the right direction. Addressing these disparities is a matter of urgency, particularly the economic and education challenges since they are part of the solution to the health and justice challenges.”
“Statistical improvement is of little consolation to the family still in poverty,” Soglin wrote in the email. “These inequities are not what we want Madison to be. Race should not predict the success of our residents and families.”
Still, he added, “We are not the worst in Wisconsin or the United States.”
Some remain skeptical.
“The data source from which he is pulling this information is not enough to ‘undo’ the conclusions in the Race to Equity report,” said Karen Reece, Director of Research and Program Development at the Nehemiah Center for Urban Leadership Development. “Even if some of the charts show small improvements, there is not enough information to refute the notion that Madison is the worst place for African Americans anymore. Quite frankly, this is all an enormous waste of time, money and energy. These disparities haven’t changed in decades, and while some good efforts are underway in the city, they have not been undone in the time since the Race to Equity report was released.”
Others noted that the economy as a whole has improved considerably since 2011, and some economic indicators would have improved with or without City programs or initiatives.
And some questioned the very value of the data discussion.
“Arguing over data only hinders collaboration,” said Madison Alder Shiva Bidar. “Instead, we need to stay focused on working in partnership with our communities of color, the county, other municipalities, nonprofit and the business communities on initiatives to end racial inequity in our city and county.”
Meanwhile, all involved say they are looking toward the future.
“Ultimately, the goal of our work is to eliminate racial disparities in our community, and to do so in such a way that increases the experiences of well-being and justice for everyone of us,” said the Race to Equity team in their statement. “Unfortunately, we have not reached this goal yet as a community, and there is much work that remains. That is our commitment, priority and mission.”
“We will want to express our plan to work with others to do better and address inequities,” Soglin wrote in his email. “It is important to recognize progress because that tells us if we have adopted the correct strategies. There is always room for improvement.”
