Supporting Those Calling for Change

In the wake of the death of George Floyd on May 25^th and the ensuing protests and riots in our hometown of Minneapolis/St. Paul, some of our clients around the country are taking time this week to hold sessions with their employees to reflect on the systematic racial injustice in our country.

We at Line of Sight Group stand in support of our client’s actions, as well as all who have been and will continue to protest peacefully and work for real change.

We are data people. We believe in the power of facts. We help our clients every day by delivering objective data and insights that help them identify opportunities and threats to make informed business decisions.

In the spirit of objective data, below are some statistics we have curated regarding racial disparities in the states where we live. We’ve done this not only to bring light to these facts, but also to bring ourselves closer to it and help us all understand that we are part of the problem and must be part of the solution.

We support our clients, organizations and individuals who are working to make our world a place where fairness and justice exist for all people. We pledge to do our part as well.

Minnesota

Children in Poverty: White-not Hispanic (6%) and Black/African American (33%) [1]
MCA III test scores show that by Grade 4 Black/African American students are falling behind their white peers in reading: White-not Hispanic students (65% proficient) and Black/African American students (31% proficient) [2]
Twin Cities ranked 4th worst place for Black Americans[3]
Twin Cities ranked 92nd out of 100 metros for racial equity [4]

[5]

Missouri

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Missouri had a population of 6,137,428 in July 2019. The white race represented 83%, while black or African Americans comprised 11.8%.

In 2019, approximately 6.21% of the vehicle stops of Blacks and 6.34% of the stops of Hispanics resulted in arrest, compared with about 4.55% of the stops of whites [6]
In 2017, roughly one in five Black/African American young adults between 16-24 years old is neither in school nor working[7]
Black Americans account for about 13% of the U.S. population, but 24% of the coronavirus deaths. In Missouri, blacks account for 12% of the population, but 37% of coronavirus deaths [8]

Colorado

As of December 2019, Black/African Americans constituted 5% of Colorado residents, but 17% of people in jail and 18% of people in prison [9]
In 2018, Black/African Americans represented 4% of the adult state population, but accounted for 12% of arrests/summonses and 11% of adult district court filings [10]

Iowa

Nationwide, a black person is 3.64 times more likely to be arrested for possession of marijuana than a white person. In Iowa, however, a black person is 7.26 times more likely to be arrested[11]
Out-of-school suspensions. Nationally, African American students (13.5%) are suspended at about four times the rate of white students (3.4%). Six Midwestern states (including Iowa) suspend black students at more than five times the rate of white students [12]

New Jersey

Out-of-school suspensions. Black students were 5.4 times more likely to face out-of-school suspension compared with white students. New Jersey tied with Iowa as the fifth-worst state for black-white disparities [13]
Black children are four times more likely than white children to enter foster care in New Jersey [14]

Also…in the spirit of being fair and unbiased, we also looked for statistics that describe disparities that favor African Americans. We are pretty good researchers but, unfortunately, we could not find any…

[1] A Statewide Crisis: Minnesota’s Education Achievement Gaps (Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis): https://www.minneapolisfed.org/~/media/assets/pages/education-acheivement-gaps/achievement-gaps-mn-report.pdf?la=en

[2] 2018 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey https://mn.gov/admin/demography/news/annual-statewide-summary/2018-acs-release.jsp

[3] MPR. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2019/06/17/minnesota-no-4-in-child-wellbeing-but-among-worst-in-racial-disparities

[4] NAACP. https://www.twincities.com/2019/12/06/twin-cities-ranks-92nd-out-of-100-metros-for-racial-equity-naacp-report-finds/

[5] https://www.startribune.com/how-did-minnesota-become-one-of-the-most-racially-inequitable-states/547537761/

[6] Missouri Vehicle Stops 2019 Annual Report

[7] 2019 Equity in Missouri Higher Education Report

[8] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/06/04/black-americans-face-higher-covid-19-risks-are-more-hesitant-to-trust-medical-scientists-get-vaccinated/)

[9] https://www.vera.org/publications/state-incarceration-trends/colorado

[10] Colorado Dept. of Public Safety, October 2019 (pg. 9) http://cdpsdocs.state.co.us/ors/docs/reports/2019-SB15-185-Rpt.pdf

[11] ACLU Report: https://www.aclu-ia.org/sites/default/files/tale_of_two_countries_racially_targeted_arrests_in_the_era_of_marijuana_reform.pdf

[12] Race in the Heartland. University of Iowa and the Iowa Policy Project. Colin Gordon. October 2019. https://files.epi.org/uploads/Race-in-the-Midwest-FINAL-Interactive-1.pdf

[13] Why are black, hispanic students suspended more often? NorthJersey.com. https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/education/2019/03/22/nj-has-one-nations-worst-racial-gaps-school-suspensions/3140484002/

[14] WNYC investigation of data from 2009-2013. https://project.wnyc.org/nj-foster-care/