OAKLAND — A first-of-its kind report on racial equity in Oakland highlights some unsettling realities for African-Americans in the city, including that they are 12.95 times more likely than whites to be arrested for a felony, 8.6 times more likely than whites to be jailed and 23.68 times more likely than whites to have force used against them by a law enforcement officer.
In addition to gauging public safety inequities in Oakland, the study issued last week by the City University of New York highlighted racial inequities in economy, education, public health, housing, and neighborhood and civic life categories. What sets the study apart from others is that it used data to quantify inequity across institutions in the city, and gives the city a “score” from 1 to 100, with 100 being the highest possible level of equity. Oakland scored a 33.5 out of 100.
“We have heard a lot of anecdotal information, but now you have the actual data analyzed in a particular way that actually affirms what people have been saying, and shows us where we should focus,” said Oakland Department of Race and Equity program analyst Jacque Larrainzar.
Mayor Libby Schaaf said she’s not surprised by the city’s low score, since the inequities pointed out in the study are deeply rooted, and many in the city have been fighting to change them for decades. The report helps Schaaf and other city officials diagnose problems and set priorities, she said.
“This report has some uncomfortable truths; it shows in very clear statistics what so many people know and feel every day: extreme disparities based on race in this city,” Schaaf said during an interview. “Even in a beautiful, progressive city like Oakland, it’s extremely important that everyone recognize that institutional racism exists, it is present, and in order for us to disassemble it we have to understand it.”
The mayor is hosting several community discussions regarding the report, the first last week in East Oakland. A second meeting is scheduled 5:30 p.m. July 24, at the West Oakland Public Library and a third will be 7 p.m. July 31 at City Hall.
In the study, the six categories, or themes, were further broken down into topics, and under those, indicators, which were also rated on a scale of 1 to 100 in terms of racial equity.
The public safety category showed the greatest level of inequity, with a 17.3 out of 100 score. The study showed that African-Americans were also 37.62 times more likely to be a homicide victim than an Asian person and 16.19 times more likely than a white person. An African-American juvenile was 112.63 times more likely than a white juvenile to be arrested for a felony.
In the public health category, the greatest inequities were identified in substance abuse emergency department visits, childhood asthma emergency department visits and new HIV diagnoses. African-Americans, according to the report, were 15.66 times more likely to visit an emergency department for a substance-abuse related issue than Asians.
One statistic pointed out in the education category was that African-American students enrolled in Oakland Unified schools during the 2016-17 school year were 8.11 more likely to be suspended than white students.
Inequities also were identified in teacher representation of the student body, high school readiness and third-grade reading proficiency.
“The report shows clearly that while our city and our schools have seen some success, there is much work still to be done. Equity is one of our district’s core values, and it is something that we are focused on improving every day,” said Oakland Unified spokesman John Sasaki. “This report will help guide us as we determine where our resources will best be used to benefit all students, and ensure that each one of them has every opportunity as their peers, no matter the color of their skin or where they came from.”
In the economy category, financial health and business development had the lowest scores. The indicators for those topics included business ownership, contract awarding, long-term business vacancy, access to healthy financial institutions, median household income and poverty rates.
Homelessness, notices of eviction and overcrowded housing were the lowest scoring indicators in the housing category. African-Americans represented the largest number of homeless people in Oakland.
The city scored highest in neighborhood and civic life, at 50.6 out of 100. The lowest scoring indicator was pedestrian safety, the highest was equal access accommodations for civic engagement.
