Dom Apollon

Assessing Racial Equity Impacts in the Stimulus - Part II (Education)

The figure above shows that if the House stimulus package passes, the District of Columbia, which is 2/3 people of color, is likely to receive a good chunk of change for school modernization in comparison to the rest of the nation. From a racial equity perspective, a substantial and even disproportionate infusion of support for the schools in our nation’s capital likely can be justified given the disproportionate need and decades of neglect. This initial graphic snapshot also provides encouraging signs for the support that Louisiana, Mississippi, and New York could receive. Racial justice advocates in each of the areas will need to ensure that low-income people of color communities actually benefit from the funds. On the other hand, given the similarly great needs in our communities here in California, the state’s proximity in this figure to the national per capita spending in this category (the green line) gives me pause. Really, we could say the same about any of the POC states sitting near or below the green line. But, if you live in New Jersey, Hawaii, or particularly Nevada, you should be calling your representatives now and asking some pointed questions about why your state doesn’t more.

Click here for our previous assessment of Jobs Training spending in the House stimulus bill.

Posted at 4:29 PM, Feb 05, 2009 in Education | Permalink | View Comments