skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina s congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Myorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

African-Americans in WV Report: A Legacy of Inequality

play audio
Play

Tuesday, February 16, 2010   

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The American dream is still not open to everyone in West Virginia . . . That's the conclusion of a new report issued in connection with the current Black History Month. Reverend James Patterson of Charleston, executive director of the Partnership of African-American Churches, is co-author of that report, "Legacy of Inequality," a study of racial and economic disparities in West Virginia. He says a large part of the African-American community came to the state because it promised a chance for education and opportunity, and the report shows similar or even higher levels of education among black West Virginians compared to the majority of the state. In spite of that, African-Americans have nearly twice the poverty rate.

To Patterson, that means the promise of social mobility is broken.

"'Go to school, get a good education and you'll be able to get a good job and you'll be able to do well.' This data is saying to us that that isn't holding true. So then the question becomes, 'Why?'"

Patterson notes there is a lot the state can be proud of in its history of race relations. From the very beginning, African-Americans could join the United Mine Workers, and held important positions in the union. He says in the 19th and early 20th centuries, blacks moved to West Virginia because of greater equality in jobs and education.

"African-Americans came here, by and large, to improve themselves, the whole racial climate being somewhat better, particularly for those who came from the south."

To address the current inequities, the report recommends a statewide Office of Minority Affairs. Patterson says that otherwise these issues slip through the cracks.

"Someone has to be minding the store, holding agency heads accountable and holding systems accountable."

Some observers say America has succeeded in getting past its painful racial history. But Patterson says the report shows African-Americans here are paid 20 percent less than the median wage, and have an infant mortality rate more than 1.5 times that of whites.

The full report is available at the Partnership Web site, www.paac2.org, or from the West Virginia Center On Budget and Policy, www.wvpolicy.org




get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021