MADISON — Last week, the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families released "Race for Results: Wisconsin's Need to Reduce Racial Disparities," a report highlighting the alarming racial disparities that exist throughout Wisconsin. The report shows a gaping disparity between Wisconsin's white children and their non-white peers.
Data shows that African-American children not only fare worse than African-American kids elsewhere, but they also suffer extreme inequities when compared to white kids in Wisconsin. And while disparities are not as shocking for children from other communities of color, they are still alarming:
• Thirty percent of Wisconsin’s white children live in households below 200% of the poverty level, while nearly 80% of African-American children experience that level of economic insecurity. Meanwhile, about two-thirds of Wisconsin’s Latino and American Indian kids live in households below 200% of the poverty line.
• White adults ages 25 to 29 are three times as likely to have an associate’s degree or higher than their African-American or Latino peers.
•White children are nearly six times more likely to be proficient in 8th grade math than their black fellow students.
Closing this gap is not only the right thing to do morally, it is the smart thing to do economically. Wisconsin cannot afford to miss out on the contributions communities of color make to our neighborhoods, our state, and our nation. That is why the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families is committed to racial equity and working to create a more equitable state.
