Social justice groups watching how $787B is distributed

For decades, government researchers, scholars, foundations and nonprofits have documented racial disparities across income, educational attainment, homeownership, wealth accumulation, health status, incarceration and employment, a report released Tuesday notes.

But social justice groups working on race and poverty are gearing up to make sure that those in charge of administering funds allocated in the $787 billion stimulus package, signed by President Barack Obama Tuesday, do so in a way that is inclusive.

During a national “Race and Jobs” conference call that coincided with the bill signing, Dominique Apollon, director of research for the Applied Research Center, said that at the same time that people of color are a growing part of the nation’s population, the national median income for families of color lags behind the income of white families.

Apollon announced the release of “Check the Color Line, 2009 Income Report,” which highlights the family income gaps between races nationally and state by state.

The research was conducted by ARC, based in California, and the Center for the Study of Social Policy in Washington, D.C.

“We want to focus on how to advance viable policy alternatives that will benefit everyone,” Apollon said. “People of color are hurting in this country as far as incomes are concerned. Jobs have to be a key part of closing that gap.”

Nationally, the median annual income earned by whites in 2007, the latest year of available data, was $68,083, compared to $42,074 for Latinos and $40,259 for blacks. In Connecticut, white families earned a median income of $90,494, compared to $43,916 to Latino families and $50,878 for black families.

“Moving forward to eliminate inequity demands a new understanding of the reasons for the persistent gap between whites and people of color, and a critical assessment of what can be done now to close the gap.

Too often, instead of addressing the institutional and structural causes of these inequitable outcomes in communities of color, the reasons for these failures have been attributed solely to personal responsibility, poor choices and inadequate work ethic,” the report says.

Fred Redman, vice president of United Steelworkers of America International, said discussions are taking place with the construction trades about recruiting apprentices of color and women as infrastructure projects take shape that will use the stimulus money.

“In 2007, women were 46 percent of all workers but they were over-represented in low-wage jobs,” Redman said.

He advocated the growth of the labor movement as an avenue for lifting families into the middle class and voiced support for the Employee Free Choice Act, still under debate in Congress.

Julian Mocine-McQueen, a field organizer for Green For All, said the legislation presents an opportunity for training and jobs in weatherization and improving energy efficiency in government, commercial and residential structures, but public-private partnerships will be needed for those efforts to work.

“The scope is very large,” he said.

Green For All advocates for the creation of green economy job and entrepreneurial opportunities at the local, state and federal levels, particularly in disadvantaged communities.