Study reveals that Blacks and immigrants lead a hard life in the Gulf South states
21st March 2016 · 0 Comments
A new study conducted by Loyola University of New Orleans found that life is hard for Blacks and immigrants in the five states nestled along the Gulf of Mexico that comprise the Gulf South. The study’s results, released Thursday in New Orleans, showed that Blacks and immigrants in the region lag behind much of the nation in measures of poverty, racial disparities and immigrants’ rights.
The inaugural “JustSouth Index” was compiled bt Loyola University’s Jesuit Social Research Institute in New Orleans.
The study ranks Louisiana lower than all other states and the District of Columbia. Mississippi secured the 50th spot; Texas was 49th; and Alabama was listed at No. 48.
Florida outshined the other Gulf South states, thanks in large part to having less-glaring racial disparities and a better record with regard to immigrants’ rights. The Sunshine State finished with a ranking of No.41.
While Thursday’s report shined a spotlight on the Gulf region, it ranked all of the states and Washington No. 41.
Vermont was ranked No. 1, followed by New Hampshire and Hawaii.
The study’s poverty measures included average household income, health insurance coverage for the poor and housing affordability.
Racial disparity rankings considered a number of variables including the degree of public school desegregation in each state, as well as wage and employment differences among the races.
The 52 percent unemployment rate among Black men in New Orleans underscored how dismal the economic picture looks for Blacks in Louisiana, which is in the midst of a major budgetary crisis that threatens to make living conditions in the Pelican State a lot worse before things get better.
Under the heading of immigrant exclusion are measures of health coverage for immigrants, percentages of immigrants age 18-25 who are neither in school nor employed and the percentage of immigrants who have difficulty speaking English.
The report concluded that less federal oversight of school desegregation over the years has led to what it calls “significant backsliding.”
“This trend toward re-segregation represents an injustice because it often means minorities are concentrated in schools that have fewer resources and face challenges attracting and retaining quality teachers,” the report said.
The report also offered suggested remedies in each category. They include redrawing school district lines and allowing more inter- and intra-district transfers in areas where segregation seems to be entrenched. The report also calls for more resources for schools serving larger numbers of minority students.
Some of the issues overlap. For instance, ensuring equal access to quality public education for minority children is among the remedies listed in a section of the report on job and income disparities.
The study’s ranking of Louisiana is not surprising considering the dismal state of public education across the state despite efforts to expand educational opportunities for underprivileged children with the expansion of charter schools and private school vouchers.
While the voucher program has helped some students to gain access to private schools that could not otherwise afford to attend these schools, it has also depleted funds sorely needed by many of the state’s underfunded public school systems, particularly in places like New Orleans.
The report on the JustSouth Index said the institute drew inspiration from the Human Development Index created by the United Nations in 1990. “Like the HDI, this index is intended to stimulate dialogue, foster accountability, and shape solutions,” the report said.
This article originally published in the March 21, 2016 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
