2004_Human Rights Comm Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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. From 1990 to 2000, per capita income increased for all races. Per capita income in 2000 was: $27,862 for Whites; $16,727 for Blacks; $16,281 for American Indians; $19,059 for Asians; and $14,246 for Hispanics/Latinos. . In our survey, about half "strongly" or "somewhat" agree that generations of mistreatment have made it difficult for certain groups of color to achieve financial success. . In our community conversations, participants spoke about the hiring process, and shared many stories and instances of discrimination that they identified based on their own personal experiences, including discrimination based on skin color and attire; discrimination based on name; and perceived discrimination based on English language ability. . Conversations and interviews also identified a whole host of issues once individuals have been hired, including receiving lower compensation for their labor than the White employees, not being hired on a permanent basis, and being mistreated by White people who "talk down" to them and order them around. Both Hmong and Latino participants mentioned that their reputation for being "hard workers" led to exploitation in terms of being assigned more work, and more arduous work, compared to employees of other backgrounds. Many employees of color described their sense of exclusion and alienation. Education In St. Paul, 70 percent of students in the public schools are students of color. The largest groups of color are Asian students (30%), followed by African-American students (27%). Two percent of all St. Paul students are American Indian, II percent are Latino/Hispanic, and 30 percent are White. Students of color comprise 17 percent of suburban Ramsey public schools, 10 percent of Dakota schools, and 6 percent of Washington schools. Disparities in high school and college graduation rates by race are striking. The ways that racism may contribute to this include: inadequate or harmful curriculum and instruction, neglectful schools, verbal and physical mistreatment by other students based on race, and low or unreasonably high expectations for some students. Discrimination, verbal harassment, and social exclusion seem to increase from elementary school to high school. . On-time high school graduation rates differed for different racial groups in the three counties, with White (87%) and Asian students (71 %) having the highest graduation rates. On-time high school graduation rates are 57 percent for Latino students, 56 percent for American Indian students, and 51 percent for African American students. An assessment ofraclsm in Dakota, Ramsey, and Washington counties 4 January 2004