Awareness

Over history we know that policies, practices and procedures have been put into place to marginalize the African - American, Hispanic and, in reality,  all Communities of Color.

With the murder of George Floyd and Covid -19, social media brought the real hardships into the light for the world to experience. Education access is also strongly tied to housing policy, which has historically denied people of color the opportunity to leave low-income neighborhoods through generations of residential segregation shaped by both institutional and interpersonal racism (e.g., redlining, Jim Crow laws, discriminatory mortgage rates). State-sanctioned housing segregation may have officially ended in 1964 with the passing of the Civil Rights Act and Fair Housing Act, but it persists today through covert social and political means. Minnesota has one of the worst educational achievement gaps in the nation.

“In 2019, U.S. The Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), shows that Minnesota is ranked 48 in the nation with only 70% of black high school students graduating on time.”

The education achievement gap is defined as the "difference in academic outcomes between historically advantaged and disadvantaged groups", Majority of the context is based on standardized test scores between Black, Hispanic, and white students.  A June 2020 study by McKinsey suggests that given these statistics, the education achievement gap may grow an additional 15 to 20%.  These statistics are staggering and gut-wrenching. 

But why does it matter? 

At One City we believe in walking along all youth, especially youth of color and those that have been marginalized for years by giving them a voice through awareness, education, opportunities while being a support system with resources and guidance no matter their backgrounds, experiences and circumstances. The goal is to implement a safe place with partnerships in the community within schools to drive racial equity and inclusion.