Race by the numbers: Census, school, crime reports show all is not equal in Richmond (Michigan)

If you are black and living in Wayne County you probably make less money than your white counterparts. You are more likely to rent than to own your own home. You are three times as likely to be poor. And your children won't do as well in school. The numbers say life, and opportunities, are not the same for white and black residents of Wayne County 50 years after Brown v. Board of Education, 40 years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 30 years after court-ordered busing. "I'm disappointed (in the numbers) but not surprised,'' said Bonita Washington-Lacey, an associate dean at Earlham College and mother of two in the Richmond Community School District. "I think Richmond, as a city, is representative of most cities. In a smaller community (racism) is almost disguised in some ways. It appears that it is not a problem but yet it is a problem." A review of statistics from the 2000 Census, from Richmond Community School's 2002 Equity Report and from Richmond Police crime statistics and numbers from the Wayne County Clinic and the jail show that things are not equal for black students, black workers and black homeowners. Generally, they achieve less, earn less and own less. Some in the community say it is faint reflection on a population that started in slavery. Others say it is related to socio-economic factors that haunt black and white citizens. But many say that action is needed and it must start with a frank discussion of the condition. [more]