The Urban League of Central Carolinas is ratcheting up its efforts to combat ethnic disparities in the Charlotte region.

In its newly released book, “Faces of Reality: State of Ethnic Charlotte,” The Urban League of Central Carolinas seeks to quantify ethnic gaps in economics, education, health and social justice. It also proposes solutions to address each erea.

Its latest move includes the release of a new book, “Faces of Reality: State of Ethnic Charlotte,” that seeks to quantify ethnic gaps in economics, education, health and social justice.

The book covers Mecklenburg and eight surrounding counties and will be released today with an evening reception at the Levine Museum of the New South.

“During a time when we find our region and nation in competition with the rest of the world, this book and initiative could not be timelier,” ULCC President Patrick Graham, who served as the publication’s chief editor, told Qcitymetro.com. “[The book] is going to drill down a little deeper into some of the reasons why we have disparities.”

Patrick Graham

“Faces of Reality” is a part of the State of Ethnic Charlotte movement, which was created to develop policy solutions for communities facing disparities.

“The movement is more about trying to get people galvanized around policy,” Graham said. “We have been meeting with over 160 individuals, representing more than 30 companies. Our dialogue sessions over the course of a year have revolved around these disparities, and the book is actually a reflection of those meetings.”

The movement began after a UNC-Charlotte/Urban Institute study revealed alarming ethnic disparities in the region.

“There is no doubt that the book will cause some people to feel uncomfortable,” said Astrid Chirinos, executive director of the Latin American Chamber of Commerce and essay contributor to the book. “The disparities between ethnic groups in our community are wider than even I expected.”

A big gap to bridge

Graham said he was most alarmed by the large gaps that exist in median income.

“African Americans and Latinos are making almost half of what European and Asian Americans are making,” he said.

Even when African Americans and Latinos attain higher levels of education, he said, they remain at a disadvantage because they often carry higher levels of debt as well.

The findings coincide with Pew Research Center data showing that gaps in wealth between European Americans and minorities are at a 25-year high.

“It has become more important for us to wake people up to this reality,” Graham said. “It gives you reason to pause and question why you have such a large income disparity.”

Beyond black and white

“Faces of Reality” focuses on five major ethnic groups - European Americans, African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans and Asian Americans.

Graham said he decided to take the local study beyond black and white after he reviewed data from the National Urban League’s “The State of Black America” report. By including various ethnic groups, he said, lessons can be learned not only from groups that are doing well, but also from those doing poorly.

“I looked at the Asian communities and saw how well they were doing in terms of entrepreneurship and in the technical field,” said Graham. “I felt there were things we could learn from them.”

To put those lessons into action, the Urban League is enrolling more women in its fiber optics and broadband training program and encouraging them to pursue careers in engineering and pharmaceuticals.

“So many of those households (facing disparities), particularly in the African-American community, are headed by women -- close to 70 percent,” Graham said. “If we can train women in non-traditional jobs such as those in the blue collar fields or in the sciences, we can have an increase of income that can occur rather quickly in those households.”

Playing catch up

Graham says the African-American community will slip further behind if communities facing grave disparities continue to be ignored.

“We are wasting a lot of human capital,” he said. “The greater community doesn’t always realize it, but they definitely have a vested interest in the achievement of communities that face disparities. These communities can provide a wealth of knowledge. They can provide a greater work force, and many of our best and brightest leaders have come out of communities that face disparities.”

In order for the entire region prosper, Graham said, the entire community must work to ensure that all residents not only have equal access to financial and educational opportunities but that they thrive in those opportunities.

A plan of action

Graham said he intends to use the book as a springboard to move the greater community beyond conversation into action.

“One of the most important things out of all of this is that we are trying to get the community to really set numerical goals in terms of decreasing disparities and meet that challenge,” he said. “Instead of just saying we want to be inclusive, put some actual numbers and some metrics with that, which will tell you if we are actually shrinking disparities and becoming more inclusive or not.”

Some of the goals outlined by the group for the next three years include:

• Implement policies and initiatives that will reduce the drop-out rate by 20 percent in communities with drop-out rates above 40 percent.
• Increase lending to minority-owned businesses by 20 percent.
• Provide training and initiatives to reduce minority unemployment (particularly for African Americans) by 10 percent.
• Increase homeownership for qualified minorities (particularly Hispanics and African Americans) by 10 percent.

Today's reception at the Levine museum begins at 6:30 p.m. The event will include a Q&A session and community dialogue around the issues addressed in the book. The organization also will outline further steps.

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