Structural Barriers to Racial Equity in Pittsburgh: Expanding Economic Opportunity for African American Men and Boys

R E S E A R C H R E P O R T Structural Barriers to Racial Equity in Pittsburgh Expanding Economic Opportunity for African American Men and Boys Margaret C. Simms Marla McDaniel Saunji D. Fyffe Christopher Lowenstein October 2015 A B O U T T H E U R B A N I N S T I T U T E The nonprofit Urban Institute is dedicated to elevating the debate on social and economic policy. For nearly five decades, Urban scholars have conducted research and offered evidence-based solutions that improve lives and strengthen communities across a rapidly urbanizing world. Their objective research helps expand opportunities for all, reduce hardship among the most vulnerable, and strengthen the effectiveness of the public sector. A B O U T T H E H E I N Z E N D O W M E N T S Primary funding for this report was provided by The Heinz Endowments, which supports efforts to make southwestern Pennsylvania a premier place to live and work, a center for learning and educational excellence, and a region that embraces diversity and inclusion. Copyright © October 2015. Urban Institute. Permission is granted for reproduction of this file, with attribution to the Urban Institute. Contents Acknowledgments iv Executive Summary v Structural Barriers vi Conclusion vii Introduction 1 Study Concept and Design 4 Applying a Structural Barriers Perspective 4 Tasks Undertaken 5 Organization of the Report 7 The Economic Position of African American Men in Pittsburgh 9 The Data 9 Experiences of African American Men 11 Why Now: Themes from Interviews about the Perceived Urgency for Better Inclusion 14 Barriers to Economic Advancement 16 Geographic Isolation 16 Exclusion from Important Social Networks 17 Structural Barriers to Employment 21 Access to Job Training and Preparation 21 Recruitment, Hiring, and Promotion Policies 24 Lasting Effects of a Criminal Record 27 Structural Barriers to Business Development 30 Access to Management Knowledge, Experience, and Exposure 30 Access to Markets and Business Connections 32 Access to Capital 34 Access to Knowledge and Information Exchange 38 Conclusions 41 Strategies for Change 41 Promoting Effective Use of Data 43 Appendix A. Study Methods 45 Notes 52 References 53 About the Authors 55 IV A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S Acknowledgments We would like to thank The Heinz Endowments for its support of the research that produced this report, the foundation’s African American Men and Boys Advisory Board for it insights, and the anonymous respondents who participated in our focus groups and interviews. The Urban Institute strives for the highest standards of integrity and quality in its research, analyses, and policy recommendations. Urban scholars believe that independence, rigor, and transparency are essential to upholding those standards. Funders do not determine research findings or influence scholars’ conclusions. As an organization, the Urban Institute does not take positions on issues. Urban scholars and experts are independent and empowered to share their evidence-based views and recommendations shaped by research. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders. E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y V Executive Summary Among the region’s residents, Pittsburgh’s African American men have historically and disproportionately faced unprecedented barriers to economic opportunities. This study, supported by The Heinz Endowments, focuses on structural barriers that contribute to persistent racial disparities in the Pittsburgh region. Structural barriers are obstacles that collectively affect a group disproportionately and perpetuate or maintain stark disparities in outcomes. Structural barriers can be policies, practices, and other norms that favor an advantaged group while systematically disadvantaging a marginalized group. A community touched by race-based structural barriers can be identified by the racial and economic stratification of its residents; Pittsburgh, like many large cities in the United States, fits that description. We began the study in January 2014 with four goals: 1. to document the racial disparities in African American and white men’s access to employment, financial services, and business development opportunities by using large, publicly available data sources, as well as aggregate local data collected and disseminated by regional organizations and institutions; 2. to identify structural barriers by examining policies, practices, and norms that likely contribute to disproportionate outcomes by race; 3. to recommend strategies Pittsburgh’s philanthropic community and other key stakeholders could adopt to begin dismantling structural barriers; and 4. to identify measurable indicators of barriers Pittsburgh stakeholders could use to gauge the region’s progress in reducing barriers over time. This report focuses primarily on the first two goals. Recommendations for strategies to dismantle str