state of
black arizona
Volume II

state of
black arizona
Volume II
www.stateofblackaz.org

Arizona State University is pleased to collaborate with the Arizona Community Foundation and the Tucson Urban League to present the second volume of the State of Black Arizona. The African-American community has played a key role in the development of Arizona and this volume continues
an important collaborative effort undertaken to initiate and sustain dialogue between the university and the many diverse communities of our state
on issues of importance not only to African Americans but all Arizonans. The report represents an important contribution to our effort to advance a
broad understanding of the dynamics of the African-American experience in the American Southwest and underscores our explicit institutional commitment both to diversity and to teaching and research with societal impact.
In the rapidly changing and highly competitive global knowledge economy, the importance of a university education has never been greater, and the
focus in this volume on the role of higher education in advancing society is timely. During this period of economic recovery and reassessment it is
critical that Arizonans recognize that the three state universities represent the front line of engagement in shaping our response to such pressing
issues as sustainable economic development, job creation, disparities in healthcare, the housing crisis, quality of life and quality of place, and opportunity for enterprise and social advancement.
The participation of President Barack Obama in our spring 2009 commencement exercises underscored his recognition of the critical importance of
higher education. When the president addressed more than 70,000 members of the academic community, including our graduating class numbering more than 9,000, he was especially excited about our newly established program to ensure that resident undergraduates from families with
annual incomes below $60,000 admitted as incoming freshmen would be able to graduate with baccalaureate degrees debt free. We estimate
that for fall semester 2009, the President Barack Obama Scholars program will allow approximately 1,600 freshmen an opportunity to attain their
educational objectives.
The Obama Scholars program epitomizes our pledge to Arizona that no qualified student will face a financial barrier to attend ASU and underscores
the success of the longstanding efforts that have led to record levels of diversity in our student body. While the freshman class has increased in
size by 42 percent since 2002, for example, enrollment of students of color has increased by 100 percent, and the number of students enrolled
from families below the poverty line has risen by roughly 500 percent. Our success in offering access regardless of financial need is easily one of
the most significant achievements in the history of the institution.
Throughout its history ASU has championed diversity and we particularly value the perspective the report provides on Arizona students from historically underrepresented backgrounds. We reject the notion that academic excellence and inclusiveness to a broad demographic cannot be achieved
in a single institution. With our egalitarian admissions standards, the university seeks to admit all qualified students who demonstrate the potential
to succeed. Consistent with these objectives, discussions such as those presented in this report inspire the kind of teaching and research needed
to improve the educational experiences and outcomes for all Arizona students.
Many individuals inspired and guided the creation of the report, and the input of community members and civic and business leaders has been
especially invaluable. I would like to commend all those who contributed to this important document. The project is certain to inform decisionmaking on public issues and provide a valuable resource for policymakers throughout Arizona. I hope that you will find this volume to be both
useful and thought provoking, and I would like to express my appreciation for your continued support of ASU.

Michael M. Crow
President
Arizona State University

contents
II.

asu letter................................................................................................................................Michael Crow

4.

foreword.................................................................................................................................Kelly Langford and Kimberly A. Scott

8.

the state of black arizona: education and the law...................................................................Penny Willrich

22.

human capital and the state of blacks in arizona: how about those METS!..............................William F. Tate IV

34.

bridging the gap: sustainability and higher education..............................................................Rufus Glasper and Pushpa Ramakrishna

48.

confronting the brutal facts of the state of black arizona’s health:

		
58.

implications for comprehensive health education and HIV/AIDS prevention education.............Wanda J. Blanchett
credits and acknowledgements

		Portraits:

pg. 2–Duku Anokye; pg. 3–Kimberly Baptiste; pg. 6–Pat Crowell; pg. 7–Anthony Floyd; pg. 10–Dee Wheeler-Cronin; pg. 11– Rodrick Miller; pg. 16–Misha Williams;
pg. 20–Kimberly Scott; pg. 24–Stanlie James; pg. 28–Kenja Hassan; pg. 33–Brett Hudson; pg. 45–Lashawn Jenkins; pg. 46– Alyssa Robillard; pg. 47– Kelly Langford;
pg. 50–Michael Kelly; pg. 56–Essen Otu; pg. 57–Penny Willrich.

Copyright Arizona Board of Regents 2009. The sunburst logo is a registered trademark,
and the Arizona State University wordmark is a trademark of the Arizona Board of Regents.
Copyrights to original works remain with the authors.

foreword.

by Kelly Langford and Kimberly A. Scott

The State of Black Arizona   2009

5

Drawing on the superlative work from Volume I, this year’s project focuses on education. Clearly, education relates to various
topics and cannot be divorced from discussions of law, economics, sustainability, health, immigration, and housing. Therefore,
in this report and the essays that appear on our website, www.stateofblackaz.org, each author uses education as a lens to
explore other issues relevant to our schools, youth, and society in general.
The authors represent various geographic and professional perspectives. Importantly, each writer took seriously community
insight. We hosted a series of community forums during which authors shared earlier drafts of their work to gain feedback prior
to submitting final versions. As a statewide initiative, we want these essays to be accessible; use current research to inform
educational policy; and initiate long-term discussions that will encourage positive changes to all of our communities.
Although only four essays appear in this manuscript, the website hosts many other significant works. Set within each of these
four are snippets of what appears on-line. We encourage you to peruse both the written and virtual publications. It is our hope
that these essays will lead to collective action. As President Obama has said, “We have an obligation and a responsibility to be
investing in our students and our schools.”
Sincerely,

Kelly Langford, President
President, Tucson Urban League

Kimberly A. Scott, Ed.D.
Executive Editor, State of Black Arizona, Volume II

the state of black arizona:
education and the law

by Judge Penny L. Willrich, J.D. (Retired)

Ms. Willrich has practiced law in Arizona for
22 years and served as a Superior Court
Commissioner and Judge. She is currently
an Associate Professor at the Phoenix
School of Law.

The State of Black Arizona   2009

Since the early days of African American[2]
migration to Arizona, equal opportunity in education has been a primary goal for the Black
citizens of Arizona. Almost 100 years of activism has been instrumental in lifting (but not
eradicating) the stigma of slavery, Jim Crow
laws, de facto and de jure segregation, racial
discrimination, and Black citizens being treated
as second class citizens. Some proponents of
desegregation of public schools merely pushed
for African American children to be educated
in the same schools, with the same curriculum,
and by the same teachers as White students.
Proponents of social equality
through desegregation were fighting de facto and de jure laws, customs, and practices that wanted
education for African Americans
to produce an “industrious but
contented workforce” or “subordinated and controlled to perpetuate a separate and unequal social
order grounded in White fear and
greed.”[3]
As early as 1827, Black citizens
across the United States pushed
for educational equity. The philosophical underpinning for integration is the belief that if children

of African descent are exposed to
the same educational opportunities as White children there would
be recognition of Black children’s
intellectual abilities and an expectation of success would follow.
In reality, integration served as
the Americanization process for
African Americans because by
sending Black children to school
with White children, Black parents
had to relinquish the idea that
Black children would be educated
by persons sensitive to the needs
and values of Black people.
Desegregating schools in es-

sence was the laboratory for exploring whether African Americans
had adopted the White language,
customs, standards, and culture
in order to realize the advantages
of living in a homogenous community.[4] Segregation created a caste
system “to preserve race identity, purity of blood, and prevent
amalgamation.” [5] Despite the
milestones reached through dismantling the doctrine of separate
but equal, the institutional and
psychological structures of forced
desegregation have not created a
more equitable educational community for many African Americans. Arizona’s schools “function
as centers for education, sites of
socialization, and as reflections of
the city or town’s values.” [6] Immediate equalization of the socioeconomic playing field through an
educational policy of assimilation
was defeated by residential covenants that restricted where African
Americans could live.[7] Proponents
of integration recognized education as a requisite part of the for-

“

mula for social equality of African
Americans. Yet, the concept of
“social equality” presented a difficult dilemma for Blacks in Arizona.
Many argued for social equality
because they knew that “separate
could never be equal.” [8] Others
were quick to point out that social
equality with Whites was a foreign
concept to African Americans. The
push for desegregation was based
upon the financial consequences
to Arizona taxpayers. Establishing
separate school systems based
on race was not justifiable based
on Arizona’s population of African
Americans. [9]
The central theme of this essay is that the very laws designed
to end segregation and bring
about equalization in education
without regard to skin color have
not closed the achievement gap
between Black children and White
children. Moreover, the achievement gap between children of
color and White children is yet
one more vestige of a system of
education replete with a continued

 They shall segregate pupils of the African race from
…
pupils of the White race, and to that end are empowered to provide accommodations made necessary by
such segregation.”
- 1913 Arizona Legislature[1]

9

legacy of racial discrimination and
subtle, but modern, perverse practices that thwart real educational
opportunity for Black students in
Arizona.
Overt and subtle practices
within Arizona’s education system
label Black children as underachievers; purposely hamper their
learning by labeling them behaviorally disordered; group them
according to ability to maximize
achievement on standardized
testing; use exclusionary discipline
consequences of suspension and
expulsion; unwittingly contribute
to high dropout rates, illiteracy,
and the pipeline to prison; and
pair the least trained teachers with
the students who have the most
significant educational needs. This
is a call to raise the bar toward
educational achievement through
competence, quality teaching, a
culturally relevant education curriculum and parental involvement.

Separate but Unequal
“Democracy rejects any theory of
second-class citizenship. There
are no second-class citizens in
Arizona.” (Judge Frederick Struckmeyer, 1953)[10]
Many impediments have been
thrown in the paths of African
Americans seeking equal edu-

cation opportunity in Arizona.
School segregation was not a new
phenomenon to Arizona, particularly since the Arizona Territorial
Legislature enacted the segregated school doctrine as part of
the state law in 1909.[11] Professor
Matthew Whittaker states that the
atmosphere of “…White supremacy, racism and racial segregation
was firmly established” in Arizona
in that it was “the atmosphere
one breathed from day to day,
the pervasive irritant, the chronic
allergy, which made one uncomfortable and jumpy.” [12] African
Americans who migrated to the
southwest did not expect to find
the extensive segregation and
discrimination by law, custom and
practice.[13] Some African Americans thought that the exodus to
the southwest offered a haven as
the “racial promise land,” when
in reality, the struggle for racial
justice was even more imminent in
a state where the total population
of African Americans has not risen
above five percent.[14]
When Black people were
enslaved throughout the United
States, there was very little effort
made and in many cases it was
illegal to educate Black children.[15]
Though 1865 brought freedom
from involuntary servitude, this
newfound freedom provided little
if any impetus toward adequate

educational facilities for Blacks
even if it were legal to do so. Even
though most southern Whites did
not want Blacks to be educated at
all, there were Blacks and Whites
willing to risk the sanctions of law
to educate Blacks in clandestine schools.[16] The objection by
Whites to Blacks being educated
is that southern Whites did not
want to pay taxes for Black children’s education.[17]
The 1896 decision in Plessy v.
Ferguson reinforced the barriers
to educating Black children under
the separate but equal doctrine.
Mary Melcher writes that “In Arizona, racist attitudes perpetuated
by southerners, including many
former Texans, led to a harsher
form of segregation for Blacks.”[18]
Melcher characterizes mandated
segregation in Arizona as “unusual”
for a Rocky Mountain and Pacific
West state, attributing its existence
to southerners from states that
mandated segregation serving in
the Arizona legislature and the increased migration of African Americans to Arizona. Some Whites
in Arizona were accustomed to
having Blacks as servants, not as
equals. The customary position of
a servant was to be invisible and
the general belief regarding Black
children was an assumption that
they were illiterate.[19]
As African Americans migrated

to Arizona, they walked into a
combustible discourse. Integration
of the public schools was an issue
that was disruptive to the White
social order. Yet, for many school
districts in Arizona, especially
in the rural counties, the enrollment numbers were insufficient
to warrant separate schools. In
Phoenix and Tucson, the separation of African American students
from White students was wholeheartedly adopted, particularly in
elementary and middle schools.
Public schools in Arizona were organized and maintained by a plan
of segregation promulgated by a
White Legislature for White school
districts.
The adoption of “Jim Crow”
laws in Arizona officially separated
the races in health care facilities, public transportation, hotels,
marriage, voting, restaurants,
theaters, and any other establishment that served Whites.”[20] Arizona’s Jim Crow statutes and the
de facto practices that followed
“constituted a complete system
of segregation designed to isolate
and degrade Blacks; and the
segregated education for African
Americans that was grudgingly
accepted was a means to obtain
a trained yet subservient, industrious but content, work force,”[21]
regardless of the cost.
Unlike other people of color

12

“

In the most populous counties of Arizona, (Maricopa, Pima and Pinal) a diverse
and multi-cultural group of citizens who recognized the inherent inequality and
unfairness of segregation took it upon themselves to challenge the educational
mandate of segregation.”

who were subjected to “Americanization”[22] programs, African
Americans’ involuntary arrival
in the United States as chattel
introduced them to subservience
throughout domestication programs. Americanization programs
were designed to “instill (White)
American values in the new immigrant such as: love for family,
the right work ethic, patriotism,
citizenship, allegiance to country,
moral qualities to include duty,
obedience, proper dress, service,
honor, truth, and uprightness;”[23]
African Americans must have
been deemed exempt from the
Americanization process based
upon their experiences during a
400 year history of serving as
subservient plantation workers
or indentured servants and the
domestication process in place
when they disembarked from the
slave ships.[24]
School districts and state
legislators in Arizona ignored the
financial impact of establishing
“separate but equal schools” even
though the cost rose to more
than three times that of educat-

ing other students.[25] Arizona
Governor John Kibbey vetoed the
1909 school segregation law but
the Legislature overrode the veto
and school segregation became
a fixture in the enacted law of
Arizona.[26] A challenge to Arizona’s racial segregation of African
American children came as early
as 1912, when Samuel Bayless
sought injunctive relief against
the Phoenix Elementary School
District Board of Trustees because
his children had to travel a greater
distance to attend an all Black
school. Superior Court Judge
Edward Kent issued an injunction
finding that “...the educational
facilities for African American
children and White children were
not substantially equal.”[27] The
victory for Mr. Bayless and his children was short-lived because the
Arizona Supreme Court sent the
case back to the Superior Court
with specific orders to vacate the
injunction and dismiss the case.
The Arizona Supreme Court upheld
the constitutionality of Arizona’s
segregation laws based on the
United State’s Supreme Court’s

decision of Plessy v. Ferguson.[28]
The Arizona Supreme Court did
not consider it a danger that Mr.
Bayless’ children had to cross a
railroad track to get to school nor
did the Court conclude that separate but equal included substantially the same traveling distance
for Black children to go to school
as compared to White children.
In the 1912-1913 Arizona state
legislative session the Arizona
Code was revised to allow school
districts to segregate those groups
of students that the school district
“deemed necessary.”[29] This
enactment changed segregation
from a mandatory legislative principle to a permissive school district determination. In 1921, the
Arizona legislature amended the
statutes to allow school districts
to segregate high school students
under the Rule of 25 (if 25 or
more African American pupils were
enrolled). Phoenix, Tucson, Casa
Grande and Douglass segregated
Black and White high school
students; Gila Bend did not allow
Black high school students to
attend their schools at all; some

communities erected a “tent
house” for Black school children
and provided a half day of schooling; and, other communities built a
one-room “colored” school – often
placed on the grounds of a White
school, but with barriers to prevent
the Black and White children from
associating with one another (even
during recess).[30]
Though the origin of educational segregation laws were to
prohibit African American children
from attending school with White
children, often times, other children of color, particularly Hispanic
students or students of Mexican
or Spanish descent, were victims
of discrimination based on race
and language. For Hispanics and
children of Mexican or Spanish
descent, the decision to segregate them from White students
often rested on whether or not the
children were monolingual in Spanish.[31] Until 1951, Hispanics and
students of Mexican or Spanish
descent in Arizona were required
to attend separate schools or were
denied admittance into White
schools within the school districts.
[32]
Following the lead of litigants in
California, Arizona litigants of Mexican descent took their challenge
opposing segregation to the United
States District Court and secured
an injunction against the school
districts to prohibit them from seg-

The State of Black Arizona   2009

regating students based upon their
Spanish last name, or because of
the perception that students who
spoke Spanish lacked the requisite
English-language skills.[33]
Throughout the country a legal
strategy was developing to challenge the constitutionality of the
separate but equal doctrine. In
Arizona, though that legal victory
would come before the United
States Supreme Court pronouncement, little attention had been
given to the underground movement of desegregation occurring
in counties throughout Arizona
prior to the court challenges. In
the most populous counties of
Arizona, (Maricopa, Pima and
Pinal) a diverse and multi-cultural
group of citizens who recognized the inherent inequality and
unfairness of segregation took it
upon themselves to challenge the
educational mandate of segregation. Eulalia Bourne, a teacher in
Pima County, frequently disobeyed
the educational policy of English
only by allowing the students to
speak in their language of birth
and by facilitating teaching in
their language.[34] Merrill C. Windsor, principal of the Casa Grande
Central Grade School, enrolled an
African American student in 1923
despite his conflicted emotions
and extreme opposition from
the local community.[34] Louise

Henness, a Casa Grande High
School District Board member,
was determined to integrate the
high school in Casa Grande. She
diligently pushed this agenda from
1946 to 1949 and was ultimately
successful.[35] Addie Hankins
worked diligently and successfully
to garner transportation for her
children to the one-room school
in Casa Grande and she met with
county and state officials urging
that schools be desegregated.[36]
In Maricopa County, Herb Finn,
Hayzel B. Daniels, Lincoln and
Eleanor Ragsdale, Ralph Estrada,
Greg Garcia, Ruth Finn, William P.
Mahoney, Herb Ely, Stuart Udall,
William Crump, and many others
pursued equality in education.[37]
Ironically, even after segregation
was declared unconstitutional in
1953 and 1954 by Arizona courts
and the United States Supreme
Court, Casa Grande maintained
de facto segregated grade schools
until 1962.[38]
In Arizona, as in many other
states in the United States, the
law was the systemic nucleus for
denying protection and opportunities to Black people. Segregation
laws coupled with miscegenation
laws and literacy tests for voting
were enacted with callous disregard for the mandate of equality
through the Constitution of the
United States. Equality for Afri-

can Americans in Arizona was a
mere fiction. Lawyers Hayzel B.
Daniels, Herb Finn, and Stuart
Udall challenged Arizona’s public
school segregation laws based on
the precedent established in the
federal cases of Mendez v. Westminster, a 1947 California case
and Minerva Delgado v. Bastrop
Independent School District, a
1947 Texas case, both of which
declared segregation of Mexican
Americans in public schools as
violations of state law and unconstitutional under the Fourteenth
Amendment as a denial of due
process and equal protection.[39]
On November 10, 1953, Arizona Superior Court Judge Fred
Struckmeyer ruled on the African
American parents’ challenge to
separate but equal public schools,
presented in the case of Phillips
v. The Phoenix Union High School
District. Judge Struckmeyer issued a judgment in which he
said, “[T]here are no second class
citizens in Arizona.” He ruled that
the portion of the Arizona law that
delegated the power to the board
of trustees of school districts to
determine whether to segregate
or desegregate public schools as
inherently unconstitutional. In a
second Arizona Superior Court
case, Heard v. Davis, decided on
May 13, 1954 (days before the
infamous Brown decision) and in-

volving the Wilson School District,
trial court Judge Charles Bernstein
said that “…segregating members of the African and Caucasian
races is unlawful and a violation
of the Constitutions of the United
States and the State of Arizona.”
[40]
In his memorandum decision,
Judge Bernstein wrote:
The school is society’s chief
agency for conserving and transmitting its culture; educational
segregation has extra significance. A segregated educative
system is likely to transmit to
each succeeding generation
the superiority-inferiority value
attitudes of a racially conscious
society. Furthermore, it has become the primary symbol of the
Negro’s inferiority. … There are
intangible inequalities in segregation. These are more difficult
to demonstrate. However, we
know the impact on the child of
the Negro Race. These children
would seem either to be in conflict about their status or to have
resigned themselves to inferior
self-images. Our general experience as we observe human
status each day, tells us that
segregation intensifies rather
than eases racial tension. Instead of encouraging racial
cooperation, it fosters mutual
fear and suspicion which is

13

Excerpts from State of Black Arizona – Housing and Education
By Dee Wheeler-Cronin

Income inequality between the poorest families, the largest percentage being African American, and the wealthiest families, typically White, is
a commonly referenced statistic, but does not tell the complete story. When the national net wealth of Whites is compared with that of African
Americans, the net increase is significantly greater for African Americans, but there is still a huge disparity of net wealth overall. Wealth, or net
worth, is a better indicator of a family’s ability to achieve economic security and upward mobility. When the statistics are viewed in this light,
the gap is even wider.…the median income for African Americans in 2004 was $28,000 versus $48,000 for Whites. The net worth held by
African Americans, including home equity, was $11,800 or about 10% of the $118,300 net worth held by Whites. But when you subtract home
equity, African Americans held only $300 in net financial assets, or less than 1% of the $36,100 in net financial assets held by whites (Dorsey
& Lin, 2008). As summarized in more simple terms by Thomas Wilson, the vast majority of African American’s net wealth is equal to the value
of their property less the current market value, which means that such value is either an addition to or subtraction from net wealth. The impact
of the current housing crisis on local and national economies has been nothing short of devastating for individuals and families across the country….Based on figures released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Phoenix Metropolitan Area posted a three month drop in values of
over 7.5 percent and current values are down by more than 16.6 percent from a year ago. The bottom has dropped out of the housing market,
and more and more Americans, particularly African Americans and other minorities, are upside down on their mortgages. African American homeowners who do not have funds in reserve to weather periods of unemployment or undertake necessary home repairs or equipment replacements are exposing themselves to even greater economic instability.
….What, then, are the implications of the housing crisis on wealth building through homeownership? While some researchers claim to be unsure about how this crisis will affect the wealth gap, the available data is sufficient enough to draw a logical conclusion. Since most of Black
wealth is concentrated in home equity, it is logical to suggest that the wealth divide between Whites and Blacks in Arizona and across the nation will continue to widen.
A full version of this essay is available to download at www.stateofblackaz.org.

The State of Black Arizona   2009

the basis of racial violence.”[42]
On the heels of the Arizona
trial court decisions, on May 17,
1954 the United States Supreme
Court decided Brown v. Board of
Education, which ended the Plessy
“separate but equal” doctrine in
public schools.[43] The Supreme
Court wrote:
…education is perhaps the
most important function of state
and local governments. Compulsory school attendance laws
and the great expenditures for
education both demonstrate our
recognition of the importance
of education to our democratic
society. … It is the very foundation of good citizenship. Today
it is the principal instrument in
awakening the child to cultural
values, in preparing him for
later professional training and
helping him adjust normally to
his environment. In these days,
it is doubtful that any child may
reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the
opportunity for an education.
Such an opportunity, where the
state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be
made available to all on equal
terms.[44]
The Supreme Court recognized
that discriminatory educational

policies could affect the hearts
and minds of Black children in a
way that could not be undone.[45]
The Court failed to discuss how
the hearts and minds of White
children would be affected.
The law that had played such
a central role in the denial of
educational equity and equality
was deconstructed with the stroke
of a pen in a unanimous decision
of the Court. While Brown represents a major shift in the Supreme
Court’s opinion on human rights
and a fundamental change for
Arizona’s educational system, the
Arizona courts after Brown took
a more modest role in educational reform. Arizona’s legislative
scheme of segregation by choice,
the ultimate pre-Brown dismantlement of the option for segregated
schools, and the low number
of African Americans residing in
Arizona caused the educational
policies and programs in Arizona
since Brown to receive only marginal scrutiny.
After the Phillips and Heard
cases, Arizona school districts
simply closed the Black schools
and Black students began to
attend neighborhood schools or
the closest school to their home.
[46]
Thus, racial integration with
White students in Phoenix was not
immediately achieved because
relatively few Blacks lived in tradi-

tionally White residential areas and
few if any Whites lived south of
Van Buren Street in Phoenix.[47] As
more African Americans moved to
Phoenix and settled in the southern section of the city, “ in almost
every instance in education,
employment, and housing, [African
Americans] suffered some degree
of deprivation.” [48]
Subsequent legal decisions on
busing, school finance, and court
monitored desegregation plans
were not significant to Arizona’s
progress of voluntary desegregation. In Arizona, school desegregation gave the illusion of opening
new doors to African American
students in the 1960s and 1970s.
“Optimistic integrationists believed
that ending legally mandated
segregation and exclusion would
produce equality of opportunity.”
[49]
African Americans soon learned
that active participation in the
political, economic, and cultural
life of Arizona was necessary to
fight the humiliation of exclusion at
all levels.[50]
Title IV of the Civil Rights Act
of 1964 authorized the United
States Office of Education to
provide all necessary guidance to
school boards constructing desegregation plans; empowered the
United States Attorney General to
initiate legal action against school
districts to enforce desegregation;

and allowed withholding of federal
funding from school districts that
were found to be racially discriminatory.[51] Arizona as a whole was
not the subject of a desegregation plan as a result of segregating African American children; no
law suits were filed by the United
States Attorney to enforce desegregation on behalf of African
American children in Arizona.
Federal funding for Arizona school
districts was never withheld as a
result of the treatment of African American children. However,
Mexican American parents in Pima
County, with the help of California
activists, challenged the segregation continuing to occur in Tucson.
In 1969, citizens of Tucson, in a
formal public protest, claimed that
Superintendent Thomas L. Lee
and the Tucson School Board were
“ignoring the needs of students of
color and perpetuating a paternalistic system that discriminated
against them.” [52] Their claims
against the school district and
its board included: “conditions of
isolation and subordination;” “use
of denigrating language toward
students of color by teachers,
coaches and other school personnel;” “denigration of student’s
culture and language;” “exclusion
from school activities such as
student government;” “failure to
meet with students to discuss and

15

The State of Black Arizona   2009

“

In Arizona, school desegregation gave the illusion of opening new doors
to African American students in the 1960s and 1970s. “Optimistic
integrationists believed that ending legally mandated segregation and
exclusion would produce equality of opportunity.” [49] African Americans
soon learned that active participation in the political, economic,
and cultural life of Arizona was necessary to fight the humiliation of
exclusion at all levels.”[50]

acknowledge their complaints of
alleged racism;” “a need for Spanish-speaking personnel;” “children
attending school with little or no
reading ability;” “students being
tracked into low-ability and vocational education courses rather
than college preparatory courses;”
“failure to inform parents that their
children were classified as in need
of special education;” “children using outdated books and materials,
poor facilities, poor curricula, and
unqualified culturally insensitive
teachers;” “state-adopted textbooks and social studies curriculum that presented the EuropeanAmerican experience rather than
the experiences of children of
color;” and a paucity of MexicanAmerican and Black teachers and
counselors.”[53]
The Tucson Superintendent
publically denied that the conditions outlined by the parents
existed, which resulted in an

investigation by the United States
Department of Health Education
and Welfare (HEW) Office of Civil
Right (OCR) as part of the United
States Commission on Civil Rights
investigation of education in the
Southwest to ensure compliance
with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act
of 1964.[54]
Despite the key state and
national court decisions of Phillips,
Heard and Brown’s failure to bring
immediate relief to the problem
of segregation, the United States
Congress continued to enact laws
and the United States Supreme
Court continued to issue decisions that affected educational
equity. In 1965, Congress passed
the Elementary And Secondary
Education Act as a means to fund
remedial education programs for
disadvantaged children. Through
this Act, Head Start programs
were created throughout the
country, including Arizona, primar-

ily to provide poor children and
children of color with opportunities
for socialization and first-grade
readiness. For African American
children, Head Start meant race
socialization. “Race socialization is the racialized experiences
in the home and out-of-home
context that children encounter,
which help shape children’s views
about themselves and their views
concerning themselves in relation
to others.”[55]
The Health Education and
Welfare Office of Civil Rights found
that the Tucson School District
indeed discriminated against students of color on the basis of race
and national origin by its “failure
to have programs and services
for Spanish speaking students;”
“questionable recruitment and hiring practices;” “unequal educational programs;” “racially imbalanced
schools;” “over-representation of
children of color in emotional or

mental retardation and special
education classes;” and found
that the “pattern of discrimination
traced back to the 1870s.” [56]
The result of the HEW investigation led to a threat to withhold
$5.5 million in federal funds from
the school district. HEW required
the Tucson School District to
implement a “desegregation plan
that ensured all students’ access to high quality academic
programs, reduced educational
disparities, reduced academic
segregation, and reduced the
drop-out rate.” [57] When the threat
of withholding federal funds failed
to cause the school district to take
action, a group of Mexican and
African American parents sued the
Tucson School District and Board
in class action suits, Mendoza, et
al. vs. Tucson School District No.
1 and Fisher, et al. v. Lohr, et al.
The 1978 consolidated decisions
reflect a finding by the court that

17

18

many of the Tucson schools were
racially imbalanced.[58] The federal
court found that the school district
had failed to a limited extent to
dismantle the dual system but had
converted Black schools to minority schools.[59] The judge found
that the school district was in
compliance with Title VI and there
was no indication of intentional
discrimination despite the school
district’s de facto segregation.
[60]
Finally, the Court found that a
school district can not pair minority students from different races
to demonstrate desegregation.
This was a mixed victory, a finding
that de facto segregation existed
in Tucson; however a finding of no
intent to discriminate did not really
reflect the reality of the condition
for the Tucson school children.

The Illusion of
Educational Equality
“A strong and effective system of
education is one of the fundamental ways to strengthen our economy and raise living standards.”[61]
Overt, inherent institutional racism did not subside with the Court
decisions calling for the dismantlement of segregated schools. Integration became much more palatable to its foes who agreed with
the philosophy of Booker T. Wash-

ington, the founder of Tuskegee
Institute, and an African American
leader to Whites and some Blacks.
Washington’s philosophy, although
ideologically different from many
African Americans, called for a
“special kind of education for
African Americans designed to
allay White fears and to adjust
Blacks to a subordinate caste.”
[62]
This philosophy supported the
notion that “Black education was
meant to train African Americans
to perform manual labor, to serve
the needs of Whites.” [63] Perhaps,
Senator John McCain’s recent reference to Booker T. Washington’s
meeting with President Theodore
Roosevelt, during his November 4,
2008 concession speech, [64] is
symbolic of White Arizona’s philosophical adoption of the Booker T.
Washington philosophy that “Black
education was neither to upset
White supremacy nor challenge
the racial order, and all involved
knew it.” [65]
If indeed Washington’s philosophy has been in operation in
Arizona as more and more African
Americans entered the educational
system, the traditional barriers
to educational equity continue to
exists and the expectations for African American children’s progress
has been marginalized by the very
system altered by law to ensure
that they were equally educated.

Educational equality depends not
on Black children merely passing
through the school house doors
to sit next to little White boys and
White girls, but must be a philosophical value ascribed to by those
operating the school and teaching
in the classroom. In many cases in
Arizona, exclusion by segregation
has been replaced with exclusion
by discipline, special education,
tracking, standardized testing,
teacher beliefs and the No Child
Left Behind Act. In the interest of
space, I focus on the first two substitutes below. For the complete
discussion of these points, please
read the entire essay on the website, www.stateofblackaz.org.
Discipline
African American students are
five percent of the 1.1 million
students in Arizona’s schools,
yet for every 100 Black students
enrolled in school, there are nine
suspensions.[66] School districts
with the highest rates of suspension for Black children are located
in Maricopa County Arizona.[67]
The overall state rankings and the
comparative national educational
achievement of Arizona’s Black
students serves as a magnifying
glass that brings into focus all
types of disparities, both institutional and contextual. The state
and national rankings depict the

reality of being Black in an institution controlled by institutional
racism.[68] Institutional racism is
defined as laws, policies, procedures and practices that appear
neutral on their face but have a
disproportionately negative affect
on Black students.[69]
Where in the past the primary
justification for discriminating
against Blacks in education was
perceived inferiority, today it is
perceived criminality. Thirty years
of research has shown that African
American students are overrepresented in suspension and
expulsion as education-related
discipline.[70] Research further
shows that there is a direct link
between exclusionary discipline
and the pipeline to prison. And the
rate of expulsion has increased
as the pressure for academic
achievement through standardized
testing has increased. In the last
15 years, even though crime rates
have decreased, incarceration
rates of African American youth
have increased substantially. Research shows a direct correlation
between school suspension and
poor academic preparedness.[71]
Special Education
Research through the Goldwater
Institute in 2003 found that the
criteria outlined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

The State of Black Arizona   2008

of 1975 have been subjectively
used to segregate and neglect the
education of African American and
Hispanic students in Arizona.[72]
Matthew Ladner states that race
is the primary factor in assigning a
disability label to children of color
who attend school in predominately White school districts.[73]
“Black (student) underachievement reinforces stereotypes that
Black students cannot compete in
intellectual pursuits.”[74]

Conclusion and Summary
“We are our histories. What we
think, what we believe in and the
choices that we make are products of our histories.”[75]
From the State of Black Arizona
2009 Community Forums, citizens’
words of wisdom and reactions to
the presentation of this historical
backdrop on education and the law
in Arizona provided the following
five recommendations:
1. African American students
in Arizona must be treated
fairly, with appreciation of
their culture, in a learning
environment that nurtures
their abilities to succeed,
and through a curriculum
that values diversity;
2. African American children

should not be placed in
“tracked-based” educational
settings because it lessens
their entire school experience and reinforces negative
learning stereotypes;
3. Teacher bias toward students
of color must be eliminated
in order to have a school
environment conducive to
learning for all, regardless of
race or ethnicity;
4. O
 verrepresentation of
Arizona’s African American
students subjected to disciplinary expulsion and suspensions must be eliminated
in order to eliminate the
cradle-to-prison pipeline; and
5. For Arizona’s educational system to ensure that no child is
left behind, parents must be
involved in critical decision
making regarding their child’s
achievement.
Desegregation of public schools
in Arizona has not brought the
gains for African American achievement or closed the achievement
gap that was envisioned by parents
and activists. Perhaps it was naïve
for so many to believe that integrated schools would offer wholesale improvement to the plight

of African Americans. As so aptly
stated by Lasana Hotep in State of
Black Arizona, Volume I, “African
Americans have a long journey
ahead … in raising the education
proficiency of our students.”[76]
While we celebrate Arizona’s
educational achievements since
1909, our celebration must not
be a void, and we must recognize
the pressing issues that are still
thwarting Black children’s achievement at the same level as White
children. In Arizona, race relations
will not improve as long as the
education of any disadvantaged
group of people are frustrated by
law, policies, and programs; or
when the institution serves as a
vehicle for oppression that shatters
the aspirations of achievement for
any child. n
Endnotes
[1] Statutes of Arizona, 1913. Subdivision 2 of Paragraph 2733, proscribing
the powers and duties of the Board of
Trustees of School Districts.
[2]

The terms “African American” and
“Black” will be used interchangeably
throughout this article, with both having the same meaning of referring to
children or people of African descent.

[3]

United States Department of the
Interior, Racial Desegregation in Public
Education in the U.S. (National Park
Service, 2000), p. 27.

[4]

J.E. Carlson, Jr. The Assimilation of
Aliens a Civic Duty. Arizona Teacher
and Home Journal, 18(3) (1929), pp.
75-80.

[5]

Berea College v. Kentucky, 211 U.S.
45, 51 (1908).

[6]

 ary Melcher, “This is Not Right”: RuM
ral Arizona Women Challenge Segregation and Ethnic Division, 1925-1950.
Frontiers, 1999.

[7]


Bradford
Luckingham writes: “Segregated schooling persisted …largely
because of cultural and residential
factors.” Phoenix: The History of a
Southwestern Metropolis, 49 (1989).

[8]

Id. at 134.

[9]

Id. at 134.

[10]

 hillips v. The Phoenix Union School
P
District, No. 72909, Opinion and
Order p. 2. (Maricopa County Superior
Court, 1953).

[11]

Luckingham at p. 62.

[12]

 atthew C. Whitaker, Race Work: The
M
Rise of Civil Rights in the Urban West,
p. 11 (University of Nebraska Press,
2005.

[13]

 uintard Taylor. Seeking Sunbelt FreeQ
dom: African Americans in the urban
southwest, 1865-1970. Magazine
of History, 18(1), pp.17-20 (October
003). ProQuest Education Journals.

[14]

Id. at 17.

[15]

J ohn Hope Franklin and Alfred A.
Moss, Jr., From Slavery to Freedom,
A History of African Americans, 7th
ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994),
99-100, 188.

[16]

J anet Duitsman Cornelius, When I Can
Read My Title Clear: Literacy Slavery,
and Religion in the Antebellum South
(Columbia University of South Carolina
Press, 1991).

[17]

 nited States Department of Interior,
U
at p. 27.

[18]

Melcher, at p. 5.

19

The State of Black Arizona   2008

[19]

 nited States Department of Interior,
U
at p. 27.

[20]

Id.

[33]

T erry Goddard, The Promise of Brown
v. Board of Education: A Monograph
(March 2005).
Melcher at p. 1.
Merrill C. Windsor File at the Casa
Grande Historical Society. Cited in
Melcher at p. 6.

[21]

Id.

[34]

[22]

 mericanization is defined as the
A
process of unifying native and foreign born in perfect support of the
principles for which America stands,
namely liberty, union, democracy,
and brotherhood. In Alfred E. White,
Americanization, the Mexican Group.
San Francisco, Ca: R & E Research
Associates, (1971, p. 3).

[35]

[23]

[24]

[25]
[26]

[27]

 erman R. Lucero, Plessy to Brown:
H
Education of Mexican Americans in
Arizona Public Schools During the Era
of Segregation. (Unpublished Dissertation, 2004, p. 35).

[36]

Melcher, p. 8

[37]

Id. at 7-8.

[57]

[38]

Luckingham, pp. 133-143.

[58]

Id.

[39]

Melcher, p.10

[59]

Id.

[40]

 nited States Department of Interior
U
at p. 67.

[60]

Id.

[61]

 lan Greenspan, September, 2003
A
testimony to the United States
Congress, 33rd Annual Legislative
Conference of the Congressional Black
Caucus, Washington, D.C. (September
26, 2003).

[62]

 nited States Department of Interior,
U
p. 30.

 eard v. Davis, No. 77497. MemoH
randum Opinion, pp. 2-3 and 5. May
13, 1954.

[43]

Brown, p. 494.

[44]

Brown, p. 493.

[45]

Brown, p. 494.

[63]

Id. at 31.

[46]

Luckingham, at p. 162

[64]

[47]

Id. at p. 163.

Melcher, at p. 5.

[48]

Id. at p. 164.

 ary E. Gill and John Goff, Joseph
M
H. Kibbey and School Segregation in
Arizona, The Journal of Arizona History,
21(3), 411. (Winter, 1980).

[49]

J ay P. Heubert (Editor), Law and
School Reform: Six Strategies for
Promoting Educational Equity. (Yale
University Press (2000), p. vii.

 ameron v. Bayless, 126 P.273,
D
274(1912).

[50]

Luckingham at pp. 145-146.

[51]

 nited States Department of Interior,
U
at p. 80.

[52]

Maritza De La Trinidad, Collective
Outrage: Mexican American Activism
and the Quest for Educational Equality
and Reform 1950-1990, (unpublished
Dissertation, 2008, p. 210).

 enator John McCain in acknowledgS
ing his defeat and conceding that
Senator Obama had won the bid to
be the 44th President of the United
States said, “This is a historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans
and for the special pride that must
be theirs tonight. I’ve always believed
that America offers opportunities for
all who have the industry and will
seize it. … A century ago, President
Theodore Roosevelt’s invitation of
Booker T. Washington to dine at the
White House was taken as an outrage
in many quarters. America today is a
world away from the cruel and frightful
bigotry of that time.” Retrieved from
www.forbes.com/2008/11/05/mccainconcession-phoenix-biz-beltway-cx.

T he Underground Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio aptly has on display a “slave
pen,” a 10 by 10 room in which newly
purchased slaves were chained together, beaten, denied the use of their
own language, taught a cryptic from of
English, and assigned to either being a
field-hand or house servant.

Arizona Code of 1913, section 2750.
Id. Melcher, pp. 6-7.
Collective Outrage: Mexican American
Activism and the Quest for Educational
Equality and Reform, 1950-1990.
Maritza De La Trinidad (unpublished
dissertation – Department of History,
the University of Arizona, 2008), pp.
84-102.
Luckingham, pp. 133-143.

[53]

Id. at pp. 210-219.

[54]

Id. at p. 220.

[55]

 elissa Landa, Crossing the Divide
M
the Divide: A Phenomenological Study
of Childhood Literacy and Teachers
who choose to Work with Children in

[67]

Id. Alhambra Elementary School District
is shown to have 17 suspensions of
Black students for every 100 enrolled;
Cartwright Elementary District has 12
suspensions of Black Students for every
100 enrolled, and Mesa Unified School
District has 9 suspensions of Black
students for every 100 enrolled.

[68]

J .R. Feagan. Systemic Racism: A
Theory of Oppression. (Rutledge,
2006).

[69]

 andall. America’s Whitest Law
R
Schools. http://www.academic.udayton.
edu/TheWhitestLawSchools/2005

[70]

 amela Fenning and Jennifer Rose,
P
Overrepresentation of African American
Students in Exclusionary Discipline: The
Role of School Policy, Urban Education,
42(5), p. 536 (November 2007).

[71]

Linda M. Rafaele Mendez. Predictors
of Suspension and Negative School
Outcomes: A Longitudinal Investigation
in Johanna Wald and Daniel J. Losen
(eds.), New Directions for Youth Development: Deconstructing the School to
Prison Pipeline, No. 99, (Fall 2003.).

[72]

 ace and Disability: Racial Bias in
R
Arizona Special Education.

[73]

 atthew Ladner. Center for Educational
M
Opportunity: Mislabeling Harms Arizona’s Minority Students. Tucson Citizen
(April 11, 2003).

[74]

 inkfield F. Twyman, Jr. , The Biggest
W
Mistake of Her Life (July 21, 2006).
www.intellectualconservative.com

[75]

J oel Spring, a Native American scholar
and author.

[76]

L asana Hotep, An Analysis of Arizona’s
Education System and its impact on African Americans. In The State of Black
Arizona, (February, 2008), p. 42.

Trinidad, at p. 228.

[42]

[29]

[32]

 nited States Commission on Civil
U
Rights, Ethnic Isolation of Mexican
Americans in Public Schools of the
Southwest, Report I: Mexican Education Study, (Washington, D.C.: U.S.
Commission on Civil Rights, 1971). In
De La Trinidad, supra at p. 220.

 eard v. Davis, No. 77497. Judgment
H
and Order, p.1. May 13, 1954.

Id., citing to Plessy v. Ferguson, 163
U.S. 537 (1896).

[31]

[56]

[41]

[28]

[30]

High Poverty Schools. (Unpublished
Dissertation, 2007, p. 7).

[65]

 nited States Department of Interior,
U
p. 31.

[66]

 hildren’s Defense Fund, 2007 Cradle
C
to Prison Pipeline Report – Arizona.

21

human capital and the state of
blacks in arizona:
how about those METS!
by William F. Tate IV, Ph.D

Dr. Tate is the Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished
University Professor in Arts & Sciences and
Director, Center for the Study of Regional
Competitiveness in Science and Technology at
Washington University in St. Louis.

The State of Black Arizona   2009

In the early part of the 21st Century, the
impact of the extension of product and labor
markets, expanded global competition, and
infusion of technology in the latter part of the
past century have significantly changed all sectors of the economy. Moreover, technological
advances across science and engineering have
radically altered the nature and quality of information available to citizens.
Many state and local governments have acted in response
with bold campaigns to further develop the skills and understanding
of citizens in their regions. States
across the country have commenced endeavors to stress the
significance of fostering capacity
in science (Building Engineer and
Science Talent, 2006; Battelle
Technology Partnership Practice
& SSTI, 2006). The motivation
for capacity building in science is
buttressed by two long standing
national goals (Kamen & Benovot,
1992). First, states are seeking
an economic benefit by amassing highly competent intellectual
human capital. Second, a science
education of superior quality is
seen as foundational for building a
literate citizenry who must be able

to make political and personal
choices on the basis of contemporary bioscience, burgeoning technology, environmental science,
and other areas of science and
engineering influencing the human
condition. Science education in
the United States and Arizona, the
focus of this paper, must attend to
two interconnected challenges—
the inadequate quantity of science
literate citizens and the quality of
school science learning experiences. These two challenges are
captured in the outcomes of international comparisons of science
achievement (Gonzales et al.,
2004). According to the report,
Rising Above the Gathering Storm:
Energizing America for a Brighter
Future, students in the United
States fail to achieve at levels that

generate the desired competitive
advantage relative to other countries (Committee on Prospering
in the Global Society of the 21st
Century, 2007). While the desired
degree of competitive advantage
is infrequently described in commentaries of this type, it is apparent that in national assessments
of science proficiency, performance grows worse in later grades
(Berliner & Biddle, 1997; Grigg,
Lauko, & Brockway, 2006). The
international and national science
attainment developments are also
a concern with respect to the aim
of building a scientifically literate citizenry (Center for Science,
Mathematics, and Engineering
Education, 1998).
The state of Arizona has embarked on a set of human capital
strategies that are directly and
indirectly linked to the advancement of mathematics, science,
engineering, and technology
(METS). Discussions of education
and economics include a renewed
emphasis on METS education.
Researchers, policymakers, and
community leaders have argued
that the opportunity to learn in
METS disciplines is foundational
to the attainment of economic
access and full citizenship in the
information technology era. In her
2008 State of the State Address,
Governor Janet Napolitano out-

lined specific education priorities
linked to METS. The priorities described include new expectations
and standards mandating more
mathematics and science in high
school. In addition, the governor
discussed the need to build an
assessment system aligned with
new and more rigorous graduation
requirements. A renewed focus
on early childhood education and
kindergarten was highlighted in
the address as well. Governor
Napolitano stated:
“It’s also time to end the fiction that a high school diploma
is the final goal of education
or that a student should be allowed to drop out at the age of
16. An Arizona diploma should
demonstrate that a student is
fully prepared for higher education, whether in a technical
or vocational setting, a community college, or a university.
Yes, we should make reasonable alternatives available for
students who can’t succeed in
a regular classroom. And the
dropout age should be raised
to 18 years old…Our education
system is linked to the needs
of Arizona’s economic future.
There is no separation. We need
more teachers. We need more
engineers, scientists, urban
planners, water specialists and
entrepreneurs. We have worked

23

ardently, from preschool to community college and university,
to increase the quality of an
Arizona education, and then to
align education as a whole to
the needs of Arizona’s economy.” (Napolitano, 2008)
The governor has argued that
Arizona’s economic future is linked
to state-level advances in human
capital development. While empirical evidence does not always
support this logic, the argument
is nevertheless important and
worthy of additional commentary.
The purpose of this essay is to
describe relevant METS indicators
with a specific focus on the status
of Blacks in Arizona. The essay is
organized into four sections. The
first section is a brief and somewhat narrow review of the value
of education. A full discussion of
the value of education is beyond
the scope of this essay. However,
in light of Governor Napolitano’s
address and related vision, a
short technical commentary is
warranted. The second and third
sections are an examination of indictors related to Black Arizonans
and METS competencies. The
essay will conclude with a set of
recommendations to inform future
research, policy, programming,
and practices.

Value of Education
The purpose of this section is
to describe the value of education
in terms of individual economic
benefit and broader benefits
to a state. Day and Newburger
(2002) developed a useful model
to determine synthetic work-life
estimates for full-time workers
by educational attainment. Their
model provides a framework to
conceptualize the relationship
between Black educational attainment in Arizona and work-life
estimates. They created synthetic
estimates of work-life earnings
by using the working population’s
one-year annual earnings and
summing their age-specific average earnings for people ages 25
to 64. The sum totals estimated
what individuals with comparable
educational levels could expect
to earn, on average, in today’s
dollars, during a hypothetical 40year work-life. According to Day
and Newburger (2002), a typical
work-life is defined as the period
from age 25 through age 64.
While the beginning and ending
ages of a work-life vary, this range
of 40 years provides a practical
benchmark for many individuals.
The resulting sums represent what
individuals with the same educational level would expect to earn
on average in 1999 dollars, in a
hypothetical 40-year work-life.

The State of Black Arizona   2009

Figure 1. Synthetic Work-life Estimates for Full-Time,
Year-Round Workers by Educational Attainment
(Numbers in 1999 dollars)

25

(Source: Derived from Jennifer Cheeseman Day and Eric Newberger, 2002)

Work-life Earning
Estimate [2]

Annual Average
Earnings

Work-life
Impact

Annual
Impact

$950,100.00
(25,797)

$23,752.50

High school graduate

$1,226,570.00
(14,583)

$30,664.25

$276,470.00

$6,911.75

Some college

$1,494,990.00
(29,240)

$37,374.75

$544,890.00

$13,622.25

Associate degree

$1,563,705.00
(46,903)

$39,039.63

$613,605.00

$15,340.13

Bachelor degree

$2,140,860.00
(35,559)

$53,521.50

$1,190,760.00

$29,279.00

Not a high school graduate

[2]

The numbers in parentheses when added to or subtracted from the estimate provide the 90 percent confidence interval.

The Current Population Survey
(CPS) was used to generate the
work-life estimates. The following
equation describes the estimates,
where work-life earnings equal the
sum of all the average earnings of
workers of each age from 25 to
64 years old. [1]
work-life earnings =
x=64

∑ average (earnings)age(x)
x=25

The work-life estimates of this
model depend upon several assumptions. First, the estimates
assume current cross-sectional
earnings reasonably capture patterns in future earnings. Second,

the estimates do not take into
consideration work history, past
performance, or other factors
that may influence pay. Third, the
estimates do not take into consideration future productivity gains in
the economy, and, therefore, the
estimates may be low.
Figure 1 provides synthetic
estimates of work-life earnings,
average annual earnings, work-life
impact, and annual impact. Using
the category, ‘Not a high school
graduate’ as the base, each
level of educational attainment is
compared with the base to provide
a work-life impact estimate. On
average, work-life earnings for
a non-high school graduate are
about 77 percent of the work-life

earnings of a high school graduate. The estimated difference in
work-life earnings between a high
school graduate and non-graduate
is $276,470. This difference is
the work-life impact estimate. The
estimated annual difference is
$6,911.
Figure 1 illustrates the positive
relationship between educational
attainment and work-life impact
estimates. Although the estimates
do not reflect a causal relationship, this synthetic model is a
useful tool to think about the im[1]

portant role that education plays
in work-life estimates for Blacks in
Arizona. Other benefits associated
with improving our education attainment may include: more state,
local, and federal tax revenues;
public services decreases; and
greater social gains (see Belfield
& Levin, 2007 for details on these
advantages in the California context). Going forward, an assumption of this essay is that there
is a relationship between Black
Arizonans’ educational attainment
and work-life estimates.

To account for the limited sample size of the Current Population Survey, three years
of sample data from the March 1998, 1999, and 2000 CPS were consolidated into a
single data set for analysis. The earnings data were adjusted to reflect 1999 dollars using
the Consumer Price Index. Additionally, average earnings were generated on consolidated
age groups rather than on single years of age.

26

Excerpts from Economic Challenges and Opportunities:
New paradigms for developing the 21st century workforce
By Rodrick Miller and Brett Hudson

…[A]s the American economy continues to struggle, African Americans and other minorities will suffer the worst part of this ugly economic
decline if no definitive actions are taken. That said, opportunities abound from the policy, entrepreneurial, and community perspectives that
aim to reverse the current trajectory and better the African American condition. Education, in the broadest sense of the word, is the single
most important factor in determining how the African American community adapts and fares in the changing global state.
•E
 ducation is critical to long-term economic success, and education must be more global, interdisciplinary, and keenly focused on reasoning ability;
•S
 cience, math, and technology are the cornerstone of innovation, and there is a direct correlation between innovation and economic opportunity;
• T he African American community must take responsibility for the education of its population and seek a comprehensive array of public,
private, and community options, as there is no singular solution to the complex challenges facing the African American community;…
The current economic trajectory for the African American community is not positive, and the consequences of non-action are dire.
….[T]he traditional models of education are inadequate for the demands of a 21st Century workforce in which the skills required to perform
optimally change constantly. This new workforce must be able to learn continuously, analyze quickly, and solve problems in an interdisciplinary fashion. The current trajectory of the U.S. economy….should be viewed as a distinct opportunity to redefine what it means to be an
American and, particularly, a Black American. Economic integration, technological disruption and convergence, and the fear of the decline of
the American superpower provide a unique space in which to craft policy, engage the private sector, and build community.
Community Recommendations
•…
 .. years of integration and policy discussions have failed to produce commensurate educational opportunities and equitable performance between Blacks and Whites. These traditional measures remain worthwhile points to continue to pursue; however, a model that
recognizes the failures of the system and places the onus on community, parents, and community groups to bridge this gap is the most
viable option for success in the near term.
•…
 .models must be developed around innovating in the way materials are taught in a culturally conscious and relevant way. These models
must also force students to take a more active role, become engaged in, and find relevancy in their studies.
• T he African American community must augment the traditional education model with extracurricular education that is culturally sensitive,
affordable, and practical. It is especially important to focus on science and technology.
•A
 frican American students must be trained in foreign languages and cultures to take advantage of the opportunities provided by foreign
investment in the U.S. and globalization.
 frican Americans must partake in private-sector involvement in education to increase sectoral employment. “…We also need im•A
mediate and targeted investments in basic education for lower-skilled working adults” (Maguire, S. (2008, December 3). Jobs Going Begging in Some Fields. Retrieved 30 2009, 2009, from CNN: www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/02/maguire.job.training/index.
html?iref=mpstoryview).
A full version of this essay is available to download at www.stateofblackaz.org.

The State of Black Arizona   2008

Figure 2. Job Zones, Categories linking Educational
Attainment and Jobs
(Source: EPE Research Center, 2007)

pattern align with Black Arizonans
educational attainment in the
2000 Census? In this report, the
Glasper and Ramakrishna essay provides statistics necessary
to consider this question. Their
analyses of the 2000 U.S. Census
came to similar conclusions—the
majority of Black Arizonans are
not attaining education beyond
the high school diploma. What
interventions and incentives might
result in reversing this trend? The
work-life estimates of jobs associated with Zones 3 and higher represent one incentive structure. The
major intervention offered by any
state in this country is its system
of public education.

Zone 1

 equires high school diploma or GED, formal training someR
times required to obtain a license

Zone 2

 equires high school, perhaps some vocational training or
R
job-related experience; associate’s degree or bachelor’s
degree could be needed

Zone 3

 ocational school, on-the-job experience, or an associate’s
V
degree, bachelor’s degree sometimes required

Zone 4

Bachelor’s degree, but some do not

Zone 5

 achelor’s degree is the minimum requirement; some
B
require graduate education

(Source: EPE Research Center, 2007)

31.4

32.5

33.1

34.4

35

Arizona

30

United States

25
20
14.1

13.8

15

13.1
14.2

10
6.4

6.8

Threat to METS:
Empty-Seat Problem
Arizona state standards in
METS education may clearly spell
out learning goals for all students that reflect a greater level
of cognitive demand than once
was deemed attainable. However,
there are numerous challenges to
achieving the METS goals spelled
out in Arizona’s state standards.
One challenge is what might best
be described as the empty-seat
problem. If students are not in
school, they cannot learn METS
subject matter as articulated in
state standards. School dropout is
a direct threat to the advancement

27

Figure 3. Percentage Distribution of Workers by Job Zones,
Arizona and United States

Percentage

Snapshot of Arizona Job Market
One focus of the discussion is
on the educational background
required to participate in the
recent job market of the state. On
the basis of the 2005 American
Community Survey, EPE Research
Center (2007) reported each
state’s distribution of workers
across the five job zones defined
by the United States Bureau of
Labor Statistics. The categories
are outlined in Figure 2.
According to the EPE Research
Center (2007), there is a positive relationship between job zone
and salary. Typically, jobs in Zone
3 or higher require a high school
diploma plus substantial postsecondary education or training as
a minimum qualification. Figure 3
illustrates that nearly 53 percent
of Arizona jobs are classified in
Zones 3 and higher. This percentage is calculated by taking the
sum of Zone 3, Zone 4 and Zone
5. This pattern is very consistent
with the percentage of jobs in the
United States classified in Zones
3, 4, and 5. Nearly 1.5 million
jobs in Arizona were classified in
Zones 3 and higher. The Arizona
median annual income and median years of education required
for jobs in Zone 3 and higher is
$40,666 and 13.5 respectively
(EPE Research Center, 2007).
How does the Arizona job zone

5
0

Zone 1

Zone 2

Zone 3

Zone 4

Zone 5

28

The State of Black Arizona   2009

of the METS workforce and related
literacy in Arizona’s Black community. Failure to complete high
school is also financially devastating if work-life income estimates
are accurate. According to the
Arizona Department of Education
(2008), nearly 3,800 Black Arizonans were classified as school
dropouts in the three academic
years beginning in 2005.[3]
What are some of the predictors and moderating influences on
dropping out of school? It might
be surprising to learn that some
METS indicators are related to
dropout patterns. Neild and Balfaz
(2006) examined 8th grade data
for the entire first-time freshman
cohort in the Philadelphia school
district. This cohort of students
constituted the projected high
school graduation class of 2000.
The cohort study identified two
factors from 8th grade that gave
students at least a 75 percent
probability of dropping out of
school: 1) having an 80 percent
or lower attendance rate in 8th
grade (that is, missing at least five
weeks of school), and 2) earning
a failing final grade in mathematics and/or English during 8th
grade. More specifically, of the
[3]

8th-graders who attended school
less than 80 percent of the time,
78 percent became high school
dropouts. In addition, of those
8th-graders who failed mathematics, 77 percent dropped out of
high school.
In their review of the dropout
prevention research literature,
Kennelly and Monrad (2007)
discovered that mathematics
performance in 6th grade was
related to on-time graduation
from high school. In addition, their
report recommended implementing a system of catch-up courses,
benchmarking, progress monitoring, and specialized high school–
preparatory classes to improve
the transition to high school. The
report also suggested that educators monitor first-quarter and
first-semester freshman grades
and offer academic supports immediately to those who are failing
or on track for failing.
Other factors are also related
to school dropout. According to
South, Haynie, & Bose (2007),
adolescent residential and school
mobility is linked to an increased
risk of dropping out. Their study
found an increased risk of dropping out among mobile and non-

The dropout figure was calculated based on the Arizona Department of Education
annual dropout rate studies conducted on the 2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008
academic years. The reports can be found at the website listed in the reference.

mobile students attending schools
with high rates of mobility. This
finding was partially attributable to
lower levels of school attachment
and weaker academic achievement in high-mobility schools.
Other important predicators related to school dropout are family
characteristics including: socioeconomic status, family structure,
family stress (e.g., death, divorce,
family mobility), and mother’s age.
Alexander, Entwistle, and Kabbani
(2001) reported that students
classified as low-socioeconomic
status (SES) had a dropout rate
four times higher than students of
higher SES. According to a United
States Department of Education
report (1999) and Bridgeland,
Dilulio and Morison (2006), students drop out of school because
of social and academic reasons
including:
• Don’t like school
• Perception that adults in
school do not care about
students
• Failure to develop sufficient
comfort in school setting
• Poor academic achievement
• Retention at a grade level
Dropping out of school is often
based on the cumulative effect of
many factors over time. If METS
advancement is the goal for

Arizona, and with Black Arizonans
in particular, then the drop out
phenomenon must be addressed.
This problem is directly related to
the challenge of generating greater
work-life income, employment
opportunities, and overall valueadded to the return on Arizona’s
investment in human capital.
METS Attainment:
College Readiness
The ACT examination is a
curriculum-based measure of college readiness. ACT components
include measures of academic
achievement in mathematics,
science, English, and reading.
The ACT test is not a mandatory
college entrance examination.
Many post-secondary institutions
require the SAT. Some institutions
of higher education do not have
testing requirements as part of
their admission process. Moreover, some high school students
are not pursuing college study.
Thus, these students may choose
not to take the ACT. As a result of
these factors, the ACT is limited for purposes of system-wide
evaluation. However, nationally the
number of Black students taking
the ACT is on the rise. In 1998,
100,647 Black students took the
ACT (“The Widening Racial Gap
in ACT College Admission Test
Scores,” 2008). A decade later in

29

30

Figure 4. ACT College Readiness Benchmark Scores
(Source: ACT, 2008)

ACT Subject Test

Benchmark
Score

Corresponding College
Coursework

Reading

21

Social Sciences

Mathematics

22

Algebra

Science

24

Biology

English

18

English Composition

Figure 5. Percentage of Black Arizonans in 2008 High
School Graduating Class attaining ACT College Readiness Benchmark Scores (N=444)
(Source: ACT, 2008)

ACT Test

Percentage
Attaining
Ready Score

Percentage Not Ready

Reading

35

65

Mathematics

23

77

Science

9

91

English

48

52

All Four

6

94

2008, more than 178,000 Black
high school seniors took the ACT,
an increase of 77 percent. The
ACT scale scores range from 1 to
36. For Blacks, the 2008 median
composite ACT score (average of
the reading, mathematics, science, English scores) was 16.9.
The average composite ACT
score for Black Arizonans in the
five-year period between 2004
and 2008 has ranged between
18.4 and 18.8 (N = 1944) (ACT,
2008). The composite score is
a useful measure to compare
performance across demographic
groups, however, a close examination of Black Arizonans’ specific
discipline-based college readiness
is possible.
The ACT reports college readiness benchmark scores. A benchmark score is the minimum score
linked to a 50% chance of attaining a B or higher or about a 75%
chance of earning a C or higher in
the corresponding credit-bearing
college course. The benchmark
scores are calculated based on
empirical studies of actual performance by college students. Figure
4 provides the ACT college readiness benchmark scores.
Figure 5 reports the percentage of Black Arizonans in the
2008 high school graduating class
attaining ACT college readiness
benchmark scores who took the

examination. The data provide
insight into the college readiness
of this self-selected group of 444
Black Arizonans.
The ACT college readiness
benchmark scores in content
areas directly related to METS
preparation, mathematics and
science, indicate a large majority
of the examinees were unprepared
for college level study in these
areas. A majority of the 2008
examinees also were not prepared
for college level study in English
or the social sciences. Historically,
an important school factor related
to ACT test performance is an opportunity to study in a cognitively
demanding college preparatory
curriculum. Many states including Arizona have recognized the
need to provide all students with
a more demanding high school
program of study. There are two
related policies that are not generally mentioned when new, more
rigorous high school standards
are implemented. The first is that
new, more demanding standards
in grades 9-12 require a highly
competent secondary teaching
workforce. This is especially true
in METS education. Hogrebeand
and Tate (in press) found that
schools with more concentrated
percentages low-SES and minority
students achieved higher science
proficiency scores when they had

The State of Black Arizona   2009

a greater percentage of courses
taught by highly qualified teachers and more of their teachers
were regularly certified. A second
related policy that is often not
mentioned is that new, more
demanding secondary standards
require a system-wide effort to
prepare students in elementary
and middle schools.
Final Remarks
The call for greater METS understanding and skills in Arizona
secondary schools is an important
signal and opportunity. However,
achieving desired outcomes will
require a system-wide effort. Attaining the METS competencies
associated with college readiness
is strongly linked to cognitivebased employment skills, worklife income, and a broader set of
societal benefits. An ACT study
(2006) demonstrated that college readiness skills as measured
by the ACT examination are the
same mathematics and reading
proficiencies required for specialized vocational employment. Many
vocational jobs require a high
school diploma and some additional training. These opportunities
would be classified in Zones 3 and
higher in the EPE assessment. In
sum, whether pursuing college at[4]

tainment or specialized workforce
skills, Black Arizonans require a
high quality METS education. To
achieve this reality will necessitate
sustained public-private partnerships and extraordinary civic
capacity. The recommendations
that follow are offered to support
the advancement of not only Black
Arizonans, but all citizens of the
state.
• Collective cognition matters
when the goal is sustained
reform of METS education.
To that end, the state of
Arizona in partnership with
universities, civic organizations, and corporations
should invest additional
funds into the advancement
of the Arizona Initiative for
Mathematics and Science or
a complementary effort. [4]
Distinguishing features of this
initiative should include a
comprehensive METS-related
data archive, geographic
focus on science attainment
and industrial development,
engagement with a range
of stakeholders, and clear
commitment to communicating research findings to many
publics (see Tate, 2008).
A particular focus of the

See http://educationpartnerships.asu.edu/content/arizona-initiative-math-science-education

“

31

Dropping out of school is often based on the
cumulative effect of many factors over time. If
METS advancement is the goal for Arizona, and
with Black Arizonans in particular, then the drop
out phenomenon must be addressed.”

research function should be
on the state of affairs associated with racial/ethnic groups
in METS education.
• Engineering change requires
sound indicators that describe the nature and extent
of system-wide progress.
The state of Arizona should
conduct predictive validity studies of current METS
related indicators. It is not
clear how useful current
measures are for supporting
the advancement of school
improvement in underserved
communities. It is very
important for educators,
parents, and the community
to understand the utility of a
measure. It appears that like
the state of Michigan, the
Arizona State Department of
Education should investigate
the potential value-added of
using the ACT (or a similar
indicator system) as a key
measure for secondary

schools (see JBHE, 2008).
As outlined in this essay, the
ACT has conducted predictive validity studies relating
its scoring system to college
and workplace readiness.
This type of information is
vital to public understanding
of METS education.
• Differences in academic
achievement and attainment
among racial/ethnic groups
reflect the fact that the
variation in family resources
is greater than school resources (Miller, 1995). This
family resource gap can be
addressed by developing
funding and infrastructure to
support pre-teen and teen
programs (before and after
school) that focus on both
academic and non-cognitive
skills and understandings.
This effort should be supported by state and foundation funding. Local civic and
social organizations are often

32

the appropriate implementers of teen programming.
• Investigate the potential of
making engineering a core
high school experience.
Traditionally, engineering
programs have been part
of desegregation magnet
programs designed to court
middle-class families. Arizona
state standards in mathematics and science provide
the foundation to expand into
comprehensive engineering education in secondary
schools. The state of Arizona
should establish engineering
education standards and a
teacher certification program
in the area of engineering.
Arizona universities and colleges would need to comply
and develop engineering
certification programs.
• More rigorous METS standards and ambitious graduation targets call for high
quality teachers. The state of
Arizona and school districts
must ensure that low-SES/
high minority schools have
a full complement of METS
certified teachers (and in
other school subjects and
elementary school as well).
This is generally a school
district function. However,
it is vitally important that

the State of Arizona and the
corporate community create economic incentives to
support the recruitment and
retention of a high quality
METS education workforce in
both elementary and secondary schools.
• Adults have transitioned out
of the Arizona K-12 education system. Unfortunately,
many will not have the skills
to compete in a technologybased economy. The State
of Arizona, local school
districts, civil rights organizations, and other civic actors
have the potential to assist
young adults. The revenue
and organizational structure
to create and promote METS
education opportunities
and other developmentally
appropriate programming
(academic and social skills
development) for young adult
learners presents an opportunity for a joint civic capacity building effort. n
Acknowledgments
The St. Louis Center for Inquiry
in Science Teaching and Learning (CISTL) is supported by the
National Science Foundation’s
Centers for Learning and Teaching (CLT) program. This material is
based upon work supported by the

National Science Foundation under Award No. ESI-0227619. Any
opinions, findings, and conclusions
or recommendations expressed
in this publication are those of
the author and do not necessarily
reflect the views of the National
Science Foundation. I would like to
thank Debra Barco for her review
of a version of this essay.
References
ACT. (2006). Ready for college and ready
for work: Same or different? Iowa City,
IA: Author. Retrieved from January 12,
2009, from http://www.act.org/research/policymakers/reports/workready.
html.
ACT (2008). ACT high school profile report:
The graduating class of 2008, Arizona.
Iowa City, Iowa: Author. Retrieved January 12, 2009, from http://www.act.org/
news/data/08/pdf/states/Arizona.pdf.
Alexander, K. L., Entwisle, D. R.,& Kabbani, N. (2001). The dropout process
in life course perspective: Early risk
factors at home and school. Teachers
College Record, 103, 760-822.
Arizona Department of Education (2008).
Dropout rate study report. Phoenix,
Arizona: Author.
Battelle Technology Partnership Practice and SSTI (2006, April). Growing
the nation’s bioscience sector: State
bioscience initiatives 2006. Retrieved
December 26, 2008, from http://www.
bio.org/local/battelle2006/.
Belfield, C. R. & Levin, H. M. (2007,
August).The economic losses from
high school dropouts in California
(Policy Brief 1). Santa Barbara, CA: The
California Dropout Research Project,

University of California at Santa Barbara
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Berliner, D. C., & Biddle, B. J. (1997). The
manufactured crisis: Myths, fraud, and
attack on America’s public schools.
White Plains, NY: Longman Publishers.
Bridgeland, J. M., Dilulio, J. J., & Morison, K. B. (2006, March). The silent
epidemic: Perspectives of high school
dropouts. Washington, DC: Civic Enterprises. Retrieved January 12, 2009,
from http://www.silentepidemic.org/
pdfs/thesilentepidemic306.pdf.
Building Engineering and Science Talent.
(2006). Making Missouri a national
leader in mathematics, engineering,
technology and science (A data book
for Governor Blunt’s summit). San
Diego, CA: Author. Retrieved December
26, 2008, from http://governor.mo.gov/
mets/metsleader.pdf.
Center for Science, Mathematics, and
Engineering Education. (1998). Every
child a scientist: Achieving scientific literacy for all. Washington, DC: National
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Committee on Prospering in the Global
Economy of the 21st Century. (2007).
Rising above the gathering storm:
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Day, J. C., & Newberger, E. (2002, July).
The big payoff: Educational attainment
and synthetic estimates of work-life
earnings (Population Division No. P23210). Washington, DC: U.S. Census
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to aim for. Bethesda, MD: Author.
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dc/2007/40jobs.pdf.

Gonzales, P., Guzmán, J. C., Partelow,
L., Pahlke, E., Jocelyn, L., Kastberg,
D., et al. (2004). Highlights from the
trends in international mathematics and
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2005-005). U. S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences.
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Grigg, W. S., Lauko, M. A., Brockway, D.
M. (2006). The nation’s science report
card: Science 2005 (NCES 2006466). U. S. Department of Education,
National Center for Education Statistics: Washington, DC: U. S. Government
Printing Office.

Neild, R. C., & Balfanz, R. (2006).Unfulfilled promise: The dimensions and
characteristics of Philadelphia’s dropout
crisis, 2000-2005. Baltimore: Center
for Social Organization of Schools,
Johns Hopkins University. Retrieved
January 12, 2009, from http://www.
csos.jhu.edu/new/Neild_Balfanz_06.pdf.
South, S. J., Haynie, D. L., Bose, S.
(2007). Student mobility and school
dropout.Social Science Research, 36,
68-94.
Tate, W. F. (2008). “Geography of Opportunity”: Poverty, place, and educational
outcomes. Educational Researcher, 37,
397-411.

Hogrebe, M. & Tate, W. F. (in press).School
composition factors that moderate and
predict tenth-grade science proficiency.
Teachers College Record.

The widening racial gap in ACT college
admission test scores. (2008, Autumn),
The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, 61, 16-17.

Kamen, D. H. & Benavot, A. (1991). Elite
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pubs/socialpromotion/index.html.

Kennelly, L., & Monrad, M. (2007). Approaches to dropout prevention: Heeding the early signs with appropriate
inventions. Washington, DC: National
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12, 2009, http://www.betterhighschools.org
Miller, L. S. (1995). An American imperative: Accelerating minority educational
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az.us/documents/sos/2008/2008%20
SOS%20Address%20EDUCATION.pdf

bridging the gap:
sustainability and higher education

by Chancellor Rufus Glasper, Ph.D and Pushpa Ramakrishna, Ph.D
Maricopa Community College District

Dr. Glasper is currently the Chancellor of the
Maricopa Community College District.
Dr. Ramakrishna is currently a Biology Faculty
at Chandler/Gilbert Community College.

The State of Black Arizona   2009

The United States is facing myriad challenges
today with the state of the economy, the energy and climate crisis, the lack of equitable
healthcare, the increasing costs of higher education, national and global security issues, and
the planet’s diminishing resources combined
with increasing consumption and population. It
is critical for higher education to take a leadership role and find novel ways to help address
these immense issues.
Educating responsible and
informed citizenry as well as the
leaders of tomorrow in order to
bring about ecological and social
equity among the different strata
of society is critical to improving
quality of life for all people today
and for future generations. What
would be powerful and effective is
a thematic-based education under
whose umbrella it is possible to
not only address many aspects
of the above challenges, but to
also integrate instruction across
academic disciplines while connecting to real-life experiences.
The subject of sustainability is an
ideal theme for cross-disciplinary
education and workforce development. Sustainability includes

improving the quality of life for
present and future generations
and encompasses social and
racial equity, economic freedom,
and health and environmental
justice. The Brundtland Commission (1983) defined sustainable
development as “meeting the
needs of present generations
without compromising the ability
of future generations to meet their
own needs.”
The United Nations has designated the years 2005 to 2015
as the decade of education of
sustainable development. According to the American Association of
Community College’s resolution on
global sustainability, “Sustainable
development means simultane-

ously creating flourishing ecosystems, healthier communities, and
stronger economies. Education for
sustainable development recognizes that more informed choices
as consumers, investors, workers,
and community members can
improve the quality of life for us
and for people around the world.
As globalization continues, our
students need the knowledge and
skills to help build a sustainable
society” (AACC, 2007). Highereducation institutions need to
prepare our students with a strong
educational foundation to be a
productive and flexible workforce
and to train them specifically for
green jobs.

Correlation Between
Quality of Life and
Educational Attainment
National Trends
In order to improve quality of life
among people of all races, U.S.
census data was analyzed and
compared between African American and White populations. Quality
of life can be measured by comparing trends in poverty level and
educational attainment between
populations. For purposes of clarity, simplicity, and ease of reading,
a comparison of the population of
Blacks/African Americans and the

population of Whites only will be
used in this essay. For our complete analysis, please download
the full version of our essay from
www.stateofblackaz.org. In short,
we find the following:
•A
 Census 2005 analysis of
30-year data comparison
shows only a marginal decrease in percentage of poverty rate of African Americans
compared to White Americans
(Kruse, 2006).
•W
 hen comparing the educational trends from 1975 to
2005 for high-school graduation rates, African American
graduation rates are approaching the rates for White
Americans for high-school
graduation. However—
• T he higher education trend for
African Americans is improving at a much lower rate.
•W
 hile the high-school education rate has improved
significantly, the comparative
poverty rate has not improved.
•A
 nd as William Tate’s essay
in this volume suggests, the
times require individuals to
have more knowledge-based
education than skills-based
education. This is particularly
true for African American
Arizonans.

35

Figure 1. Comparison of Household Income between Blacks/
African Americans and Whites in Arizona

50

Blacks

44.2

Whites

40
33.7

32.5

31.9

30
21.0

20

16.6
8.0

10

4.7

4.6
2.1

Annual Income

15
0
er
Ov

99
9
-1
49
,
0

10

60

-9

9,
99

9

99
9
-5
9,
30

th
an

29
,

99
9

0

ss

Since 72% of Blacks/African
Americans live in Maricopa County, this essay will focus mainly on
Maricopa County. The population
of Maricopa County is 3,072,149,
of which 2,376,359 are White and
114,551 are Black/African American. For Maricopa County, the
Black or African American poverty
rate is 20% as compared to 6.3%
for Whites (126,343/ 2,006,481).
These staggering disparities point
to the great economic burden
facing the Black/African American
community with issues of unemployment, rising energy costs,
drought, and pollution. Higher education and training in workforce
development could help bring
people out of poverty. The community college system provides a
bridge for students from poverty to
prosperity.

Percentage

Trends in Arizona
Arizona’s total population according to Census 2000 (p. 2) is
5,130,632 people. The number
of Blacks/African Americans in
Arizona is 158,873. Figure 1 illustrates a comparison of household
income between the Black/African
American and White population in
Arizona. Analysis of Figure 1 shows
that 44.2% of the Black/African
Americans household income is
less than $29,999 as compared
to 31.9% of White households.
4.7% of White households make
over $150,000 whereas only 2.1%
of the Black/African American
households make over $150,000.
A study of the educational attainment data for Arizona demonstrated that 81% of Blacks/African
Americans have a high-school
diploma or higher and 23.5% have
a bachelor’s degree or higher. The
trend in Arizona also shows that a
college education helps improve
quality of life for present and future generations.
Figures 2 and 3 provide a
comparison of geographic distribution of African Americans/Blacks
(Fig. 2) versus Whites (Fig. 3)
in Arizona by county. The Black/
African American populations are
concentrated in Maricopa, Pima,
and Pinal counties. There are
fewer Blacks/African Americans in
rural Arizona.

Le

36

The State of Black Arizona   2009

Figure 2. Blacks/African Americans in Arizona by County
(Source: American Fact Finder - US Census Bureau, 2000)

37

Figure 3. Whites in Arizona by County
(Source: American Fact Finder - US Census Bureau, 2000)

Coconino

Coconino

Navajo
Mohave

Navajo
Apache

Mohave

Apache

Yavapai

Yavapai

La Paz

La Paz

Gila
Maricopa

Gila
Maricopa

Greenlee
Pinal

Greenlee
Pinal

Graham

Yuma

Graham

Yuma

Pima

Pima
Cochise

Population
500 or Less
501 - 10,000
10,001 - 25,000
25,001 - 50,000
50,001 - 75,000
75,001 - 100,000
100,001 +

Santa
Cruz

Cochise

Population

4,604 - 10,000
10,001 - 500,000
500,001 - 750,000
750,001 - 1,000,000
1,000,001 - 1,250,000
1,250,001 - 1,500,000
1,500,001 - 1,750,000
1,750,001 - 2,000,000
2,000,001 - 2,250,000
2,250,001 - 2,500,000

Santa
Cruz

38

“

As educators, we have a strong moral responsibility to have discussions on environmental justice and
social equity issues as a part of education for every
student. This will help pave the path to economic
freedom for our students. It is our duty to preserve,
protect, and cherish our earth for future generations.
A Native American proverb states, “We do not inherit
the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our
children.” Improving the quality of life for our future
generations is critical so that we can live on this
earth on a sustainable basis.”

Maricopa County Community
College District
Maricopa County Community
College District, one of the largest
community college districts in the
United States, has over 250,000
students and strives to bring quality education to all people in an
affordable manner. The Maricopa
Community Colleges, comprised of
10 colleges, two skill centers and
numerous education centers, are
dedicated to educational excellence and to meeting the needs
of businesses and the citizens of
Maricopa County. Figure 4 and
Figure 5 compare the poverty rate
of Blacks/African Americans and
the White populations in the Maricopa service areas.
In the combined areas surrounding Phoenix College, GateWay Community College, and
South Mountain Community
College, 16.05% of Whites and
25.69% of Blacks are in poverty.
In the Estrella Mountain Community College service area, as
defined by the college, 9.58% of
Whites and 19.17% of Blacks are
in poverty.
Such glaring disparities in the
poverty level are a call for action.
It is a call to help those in the
Black/African American community
in these areas and across Arizona
who are living in poverty. It is a
call to end hunger, find affordable
housing, educate, train, and help

people get employment. It is to
make health care affordable so
that no child suffers from treatable
diseases, and to help with issues
of air and water pollution. In order
to create such healthy, vibrant
communities, the people living
below the poverty level need to be
educated and trained for new jobs
such as green jobs.
In Arizona, for a family of four,
wages below $20,446 are considered below the poverty rate
(Figure 6). Whereas to live life well
in Arizona, a family of four needs
to make $55,369. In MaricopaCounty (Figure 7), for a family offour, the poverty rate is the same
as for Arizona, but in order to live
well, a family must earn $61,006
(Living Wage, 2008).
A call to action is required in
order to help people move out
of poverty wages and into living
wages. This requires the creation
of green job opportunities through
training and education. The majority of green jobs require at least a
two-year degree after high school
and act as a good stepping-stone
for increasing family wages and
moving upwards to a livable wage.
It is imperative that higher-education institutions work together to
offer programs to educate people
on green jobs.

The State of Black Arizona   2009

39

Figure 4. Maricopa Community Colleges 2000 Census Black/African American Poverty Rate by Census Tract
(Source: US Census 2000)

Poverty
Rate
Poverty Rate
Less than 1%
1.1% - 10%
10.1% - 25%
25.1% - 50%
50.1% - 75%
75.1% - 90%
90.1% - 100%

PVCC

GCC

SCC
EMCC

PC
GWCC

EMCC
CGCC
GWCC
GCC
MCC
PVCC
PC
RSC
SCC
SMCC

Estrella Mountain
Chandler-Gilbert
Gateway
Glendale
Mesa
Paradise Valley
Phoenix
Rio Salado
Scottsdale
South Mountain

RSC
SMCC

MCC

CGCC

40

Figure 5. Maricopa Community Colleges 2000 Census White Poverty Rate by Census Tract
(Source: US Census 2000)

PovertyRate
Rate
Poverty
Less than 1%
1.1% - 10%
10.1% - 25%
25.1% - 50%
50.1% - 75%
75.1% - 90%
90.1% - 100%

PVCC

GCC

SCC
EMCC

PC
GWCC

EMCC
CGCC
GWCC
GCC
MCC
PVCC
PC
RSC
SCC
SMCC

Estrella Mountain
Chandler-Gilbert
Gateway
Glendale
Mesa
Paradise Valley
Phoenix
Rio Salado
Scottsdale
South Mountain

RSC
SMCC

MCC

CGCC

The State of Black Arizona   2008

41

Figure 6. Arizona Wages

Figure 7. Maricopa County Wages

(Source: Living Wage, 2008)

Living Wage
Poverty Wage

30

17.79
7.25

Two
Adults

9.83

One Adult,
One Child

7.25
7.81

One
Adult

7.25
6.49

0

7.25
6.68

Two Adults, Two Adults,
One Child Two Children

7.25
5.04

Two
Adults

9.30

7.25

5

One Adult,
One Child

14.12

Dollars

9.83

7.25
7.81

7.25
6.49

One
Adult

7.25
6.68

7.25
5.04

0

8.34

5

15

10

22.62

20.51

12.78

Dollars

15

10

Minimum Wage

25

20

16.07

20

Living Wage
Poverty Wage

Minimum Wage

25

29.33

26.62

30

(Source: Living Wage, 2008)

Two Adults, Two Adults,
One Child Two Children

42

Excerpts from Grandma’s Green:
The key to sustainability in the African American community may simply be in putting it to work to improve quality of life
By George Brooks, Jr., Ph.D.

Since its arrival on this earth, mankind’s primary occupation has been to improve its quality of life. Most of the countless innovations and
achievements, both good and bad, created over our species’ thousands of years of existence have a foundation in this one simple fact. An
excellent example of this reality is provided in how African Americans made ingenious use of the resources and tools at hand in order to survive
slavery, Jim Crow, and all of related challenges to their progress (Nalebuff and Ayres, 2003; Whitaker, 2005, 2008; Alozie, 2008). To maintain
their/our dignity with hope for a better future and higher standard of living, we literally had to “make a way out of no way.” Within this history
lies the context for us to Flip the Script within the sustainability argument. Consider then the question, what if the goal of Sustainability was
changed from its current environmental focus to improving human quality of life?
….The redefinition of Sustainability I propose is not a new concept. It is part of most cultures that our grandmothers knew well and put to good
use. Consider what our grandmothers and great grandmothers who lived through the depression did to prosper…. They knew that to survive
they had to keep their family and community together, healthy, housed and well fed. They knew how to stretch a dime and turn it into a dollar,
plant a garden; reuse, renew, rebuild; and how to do more with less. They knew how to create value. They knew how to sustain. Our grandmothers were green (Brooks, George B. 2008. Grandma was green. Southwest Green magazine. HYPERLINK “http://www.sw-”www.sw- green.
com. 1 (1): 4-5.)
….As did our grandmothers, there are today individuals and agencies that are using these rules to harness the power in sustainability and
improve the quality of life within Arizona’s African American community. For Example: In November of 2008, Knowledge, Education, Youth and
Society (KEYS) launched a garden planting and community center renovation at the KEYS Community Center main site (South Mountain Village, Phoenix). More than 100 youth, residents, master gardeners, and members from local churches attended.
•S
 tarting with a small test garden, neighborhood youth began to learn the concepts of applied sustainability. They were taught how personal
responsibility and an eco-friendly strategy could leave a positive footprint on the earth while helping their community and their families at
the same time. Some of the vegetables produced were also to go back to the KEYS pantry demonstrating servant leadership. All of these
things combined provided the students with the foundations to become the Green Collar workers of tomorrow and to create sustainable
value in their communities today.
• T he youth participating in this program that were initially very disconnected and uncaring about their neighborhood are now starting to
show pride in their work. In addition they are now starting to take the skills learned here back to their homes.
A full version of this essay is available to download at www.stateofblackaz.org.

The State of Black Arizona   2008

Training and education for the
green job revolution
To help mobilize people out
of poverty and prepare them for
green jobs, higher-education
institutions in Arizona have begun
community-oriented education
that integrates green concepts
and sustainability themes into the
curriculum. Curricula are being
revised to include problem-based
and service learning. Discussions on science, technology, and
society are being incorporated
in the classroom. Through such
programs, instead of just a few
leaders and environmentalists
talking about the green economy,
more people can take the initiative; they can look for educational
and training opportunities and
find ways to better their quality
of life. As environmental lawyer
and activist Van Jones said, “We
want to build a green economy
strong enough to lift people out
of poverty. We want to create
green pathways out of poverty and
into great careers for American
children. We want this green wave
to lift all boats. This country can
save the polar bear and people,
too” (Jones, 2008, p. 16). The
variety and range of green jobs are
great and provide opportunities for
entry-level positions and significant advancement. People living
in low-income neighborhoods are
more vulnerable to environmental
injustice due to effects of soil,

water and air pollution. According
to the Climate of Change Study
(Hoerner & Robinson, 2008,
p.12), “African Americans are far
less responsible for global warming pollution than non-Hispanic
Whites. African Americans are
responsible for only 9% of carbon
dioxide emissions, in contrast to
76% for non-Hispanic Whites.”
Though not as responsible for
the actions causing the climate
change, Blacks/African Americans
are more vulnerable to the effects
of climate change due to harsher
weather patterns, drought, and
energy costs in Arizona. One way
to combat inequity is through education and awareness of issues
about climate change.
The higher-education institutions in Maricopa County are well
positioned to prepare students for
the imminent green job revolution.
Arizona State University’s School
of Sustainability (SOS) has the
first program in the United States
that offers a full-fledged degree in
sustainability geared for the 21st
century. Arizona State University’s
SOS program is bringing about
multidisciplinary learning approaches and community engagement; students are exposed
to innovative problem solving in
sustainability through interconnections between research domains
and curriculum. SOS works closely
with ASU’s Global Institute of
Sustainability (GIOS) to provide

“

We want to build a green economy strong enough
to lift people out of poverty. We want to create
green pathways out of poverty and into great careers for American children. We want this green
wave to lift all boats. This country can save the
polar bear and people, too.”
Van Jones, Environmental Lawyer and Activist

a comprehensive program for
students that bridges education,
research, and partnership with
businesses in the community for
internship opportunities. Through
offerings of a B.A. or a B.S. degree
in sustainability, students learn
about factors that determine the
sustainability of human institutions, organizations, cultures, and
technologies in different environments.
In order to build a knowledgebased workforce and help create
a better informed citizenry and
leaders of tomorrow, the Maricopa
Community Colleges are also taking a leadership role for the green
revolution. The Maricopa Community College governing board has
adopted a sustainability resolution.
In addition, Chandler-Gilbert Community College has incorporated
sustainability and global learning
into the college’s strategic plans
for 2007-2012. The colleges have
made a commitment to sustainability and built it into the curriculum as well as into campus
operations and service to the

community. The Maricopa Sustainability Initiative strives to educate
and inspire students toward making the world more sustainable
for future generations. It is an ad
hoc group that exchanges ideas
regarding learning pedagogy, innovative teaching and best practices.
Through articulation pathways,
students from Maricopa Community Colleges can effectively
transfer to Arizona State University
programs.
Arizona State University and
seven of the Maricopa Community Colleges have joined
national initiatives such as the
National Teach-In held on January 30-31, 2008, and February
4-5, 2009. The National Teach-In
events are important because
they foster discussion in a holistic
non-ideological manner among
millions of students across the
nation. Due to the efforts of the
Maricopa Sustainability Initiative at the Maricopa Colleges,
thousands of students gathered
together to discuss solutions for
climate change on diverse topics

43

44

such as the intersection of race,
ethnicity, and sustainability; and
understanding our individual and
national carbon footprint; and the
future of food and energy. Students engage in a multidisciplinary
dialogue with a global perspective
on key sustainability issues among
classes such as biology, economics, English, history, math, political
sciences and, women’s studies.
Through partnerships among the
ten colleges, Maricopa County
Community College District has
worked to energize students about
sustainability.
Local political leaders have
been invited to the colleges so
that students are able to ask
questions and dialogue about public policy, energy, and social issues
relating to climate change. Many
times legislation is drafted without
any input from the community,
and views of people of color from
low-income neighborhoods are not
often sought out. Programs where
political leaders are brought into
dialogue with students in order
to answer hard-hitting questions
can bring about positive change in
the community. Service-learning
programs in higher-education
institutions can be used to make
people more aware of community issues. Community colleges
and the communities they serve
are interwoven. For example, the
service area of GateWay Community College has a Superfund

site. Discussion about the issues
related to industrial pollution of
ground water systems in college
classes and through service-learning projects makes the education
more pertinent and beneficial
to the students, thus motivating them to learn. Education can
empower students with knowledge
and help them become agents of
broad-based societal change in the
community. There are many community-oriented programs that can
help one become educated about
sustainability and green jobs.
Green jobs
A political mandate for the
green economy is the first step in
the creation of green jobs. President Barack Obama has created a
mandate for change by putting together a new energy plan (Obama,
2008), which will:
• Provide short-term relief to
American families facing pain
at the pump;
• Help create five million new
jobs by strategically investing
$150 billion over the next 10
years to catalyze private efforts
to build a clean energy future;
• Within 10 years, save more oil
than we currently import from
the Middle East and Venezuela;
• Put one million, mostly American-made, plug-in hybrid cars
that can get up to 150 miles
per gallon on the road by
2015.

• Ensure 10% of our electricity
comes from renewable sources
by 2012, and 25% by 2025;
and
• Implement an economy-wide
cap-and-trade program to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050.
President Obama said, “Today
we begin our work in earnest of
making sure that the world we
leave our children is just a little bit
better than the world we inhabit
today” (Obama, 2008). Highereducation institutions need to
prepare themselves for the education and training of students for
the five million new jobs that are
going to be created according to
Obama’s energy plan. Students
in Arizona will need to be ready for
the imminent green job revolution.
According to the Maricopa
Community Colleges Workforce
Development Office (2008), some
of the key industry areas where
people can get educated and
trained for green jobs are alternative energy generation (solar, wind,
geothermal, etc.); automotive
production, repair, and conversion related to alternative fuels;
food production using organic and/
or sustainable techniques; green
building, landscaping, and retrofits
to increase efficiency and conservation; recycling, composting, and
use of recycled materials in new
products; hazardous waste reme-

diation; manufacturing related to a
wide range of sustainable technologies (alternative energy, alternative transportation, sustainable
home products, etc.); parks/open
space maintenance and expansion; public transportation; and
water and wastewater treatment.
This is a great opportunity for
Blacks/African Americans to get
trained and educated to acquire
the knowledge and skills needed
for green jobs. Higher-education
institutions need to position themselves to retrain the workforce for
green jobs such as retrofitting old
buildings. Nearly 40% of energy
is wasted through old residential
and commercial buildings. There
is a need for a trained workforce
to retrofit old buildings and also to
construct new buildings that are
energy efficient with renewable
energy systems. Companies that
produce renewable energy such
as solar, wind, and geo-thermal
systems create more green jobs
and also help conserve energy
and put power back onto the
national grid. There are companies
such as HDR that link students to
internships and job opportunities
in sustainability (HDR, 2008). Due
to the abundance of sunlight in
Arizona, solar companies Solano
and Starwood Solar, in partnership
with the power company APS, are
planning to open two of the largest
solar power plants in the nation
in 2012 and 2113 respectively.

These solar plants are geared
to serve over 143,000 Arizona
homes. Such investments in solarenergy industries can triple the
number of green jobs in Arizona.
The Salt River Project (SRP) operates a 200-kilowatt photovoltaic
system at the Agua Fria Generating Station in Phoenix, as well as
two 100kW PV systems installed
at the Rogers substation in Mesa
through the SRP’s EarthWise Energy program. Partnerships between
companies and higher-education
institutions can help in workforce
development for green jobs.
Recommendations to Create
an Economic Engine through
an Educational Pipeline for
Green Jobs
• Each college will set up a
sustainability task force comprised of community leaders
and members from feeder
high schools and the universities. The job of the task force
is to oversee sustainability
programs, set the curricula to
foster the needs of the workplace, and ensure that colleges adhere to the Maricopa
Sustainability Resolution.
• Each college will partner with
community groups such as the
U.S. Green Building Council,
Sierra Club, Green Chamber
of Commerce, and professional associations such as the
American Institute of Archi-

tects to create service-learning
opportunities for students.
This will help create an awareness of community issues and
integrate it into the educational
experience.
• Each college will partner with
institutions such as the Greater
Phoenix Black Chamber of
Commerce, Greater Phoenix
Economic Council, Greater
Phoenix Urban League, Opportunities for Industrial Council
and various chambers of commerce for mentoring and internship opportunities for Black
/African American students.
• Each college will create interdisciplinary faculty teams
across the sciences, economics, business, and social
sciences to provide opportunities for relevant student-led
projects.
• Each college will encourage the
Black/African American youth
of Arizona to become active in
national organizations such as
the Hip Hop Caucus, Step It
Up, League for Young Voters,
Energy Action Coalition, Power
Vote and the Environmental
Justice and Climate Change
Initiative.
• Each college will create a
2+2+2 educational pathway
for students. The sustainability education pipeline creates
bridges between the last two
years of high school with two

years at a community college,
and finally with the last two
years at a university. Articulation and transfer pathways
between the Maricopa Colleges
Sustainability programs with
ASU’s School of Sustainability
will enable a smooth transition for students. Such bridge
programs are especially useful
to attract students into college
classrooms and programs that
will allow students to transition
into green jobs.
• Each college will identify at-risk
Black/African American highschool students and provide internship opportunities for them
by partnering with industries.
The industry then provides
scholarships for students to
attend higher-education institutions.
• Partner with businesses to
have mentoring opportunities,
practicum, guest lecturers, etc.
It is important for educators
to use a positive approach to the
myriad of issues facing today’s
society, and to focus on solutions.
Higher education and training for
jobs can enable people of all races
to attain economic independence.
Education and economic freedom
leads to improved quality of life,
the ability to afford rising healthcare costs and combat pollution
problems.
The interdisciplinary nature of

sustainability education enables
students to take action in their
own lives, get involved in campus
culture and bring about change
in the community. It is critical to
educate students to become wellinformed responsible citizens who
want to create a positive impact
in this world. President Obama’s
personal example of using education to get out of poverty is
inspiring to all people nationally
and globally. With a leader such
as President Obama, there is hope
for all people of all races. In addition, his energy policy and call
for green jobs can help the nation
at this time of financial crisis. The
creation of five million green jobs
under President Obama’s plan is
a mandate for higher-education
institutions across the country to
train and educate people for green
jobs. President Obama’s efforts
to bring about sweeping social
change can help lift the nation
from the crisis that it is facing
today.
As educators, we have a strong
moral responsibility to have discussions on environmental justice
and social equity issues as a part
of education for every student.
This will help pave the path to economic freedom for our students.
It is our duty to preserve, protect,
and cherish our earth for future
generations. A Native American
proverb states, “We do not inherit
the earth from our ancestors;

we borrow it from our children.”
Improving the quality of life for our
future generations is critical so
that we can live on this earth on
a sustainable basis. In addition to
educating students for the green
economy to attain economic freedom, it is imperative to educate
our students about societal issues
and inculcate civic responsibilities
to prepare them to make informed
decisions about local, national,
and global issues.
Acknowledgements
Our sincere appreciation to the
employees of the Office of Institutional Research at Maricopa
Community Colleges for providing
data for the essay. n
References
American Association of Community
Colleges. (2007). AACC resolution on
sustainable development. Retrieved
November 10, 2008 from http://www.
aacc.nche.edu/About/Positions/Pages/
ps11272007.aspx
Brundtland Commission. (1983). Retrieved
Nov 14, 2008 from http://www.un.org/
documents/ga/res/42/ares42-187.htm
Committee on Science, Engineering,
Public Policy. (2007). Rising above the
gathering storm: Energizing and employing America for a brighter economic
future. Washington, D.C.: National
Academy Press.Retrieved February 7,
2009 from http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11463&page=1
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.
(2004). African Americans and climate
change:An unequal burden. Retrieved
November 18, 2008 from http://www.

cbcfinc.org/pdf/AAClim_chg_final.pdf
HDR, One company, many solutions.
(2008). Retrieved November 30, 2008
from http://www.hdrinc.com/3/default.
aspx
Hocker, C. (2008). Environmental awareness: Blacks measure favorably.
Retrieved Nov. 14, 2008 fromhttp://www.
snre.umich.edu/newsroom/200828/
environmental_awareness_blacks_measure_up_favorably
Hoerner, J.A.& Robinson, N. (2008). A
climate of change: African Americans,
global warming and a just climate policy
for the U.S. Retrieved Nov. 15, 2008
from http://www.ejcc.org/coc_execsum.pdf
Jones, V. (2008). The Green Collar Economy: How one solution can fix our two
biggest problems. New York: HarperOne
Publishers.
Kruse, M. (2006). Educational attainment
and poverty rates. Retrieved Nov. 22,
2008 from http://krusekronicle.typepad.
com/kruse_kronicle/social_indicators_
series/
Living Wage Calculator. (2008). Retrieved
Nov. 29, 2008 from http://www.livingwage.geog.psu.edu/states/04
Maricopa Community Colleges Workforce
Development. (2008). Retrieved on
Dec. 1, 2008 from http://www.maricopa.
edu/workforce/energy.php
Mishel, L., Bernstein, H., &Shierholtz, J.
(2008). The state of working America
(2008 – 2009) http://www.stateofworkingamerica.org/swa08_00_execsum.pdf
Obama, B. (2008).President Obama’s
New Energy Plan. Retrieved on Nov. 30,
2008 from http://change.gov/agenda/
energy_and_environment_agenda/
U.S. Census Bureau: American Fact Finder.
(2000). Retrieved Nov 15, 2008 from
http://www.census.gov/main/www/
cen2000.html

confronting the brutal facts of the
state of black arizona’s health:
implications for comprehensive health education
and HIV/AIDS prevention education
by Wanda J. Blanchett, Ph.D

Dr. Blanchett is currently Dean and Ewing
Marion Kauffman/Missouri Endowed Chair
in Teacher Education, School of Education,
University of Missouri-Kansas City.

The State of Black Arizona   2009

The health disparities that exist in the African American community nationally and in the
state of Arizona must be conceptualized as a
social justice issue as they weaken a community’s overall health, ability to sustain itself, and
ability to achieve economic independence and
prosperity. Consequently, the nation’s educational system, economic prosperity, and overall
sustainability are inextricably linked. Given that
many of the behaviors that African Americans
engage in, which place them at a much higher
risk for heart and cardiovascular disease, diabetes, HIV/AIDS infection, and sexually transmitted diseases, begin early in life, the most
effective way to decrease their risk is through
education.
Accordingly, we must ensure
that all African American children
and youth have access to culturally responsive comprehensive
health education prior to the development of unhealthy behaviors
and practices. While comprehensive health education is needed at
all levels in the African American
community, my focus in this essay
will be primarily on PK-12 students.
Notwithstanding many calls

(e.g., Blanchett, 2000; Blanchett & Praeter, 2006 ; Pardini,
2002/03; Rodriguez, Young, Renfro, Asencio, & Haffner, 1996;
Skripak & Summerfield, 1996)
for all students to receive developmentally appropriate comprehensive school health education
including HIV/AIDS prevention
education, many students are still
not consistently educated in this
area and the idea of contextual-

izing these issues within the larger
context of social justice is even
more foreign for some educators.
In recent years much attention
has been given to the importance of infusing social justice
philosophy into education and
the professional preparation of
educators (Cochran-Smith, 2004;
Gay, 2000; Murrell, 2006). The
social justice discussions, however, have primarily centered on
preparing educators to teach for
social justice with little attention
given to comprehensive health
education, let alone sexuality and
HIV/AIDS prevention education.
Surprisingly, despite considerable
emphasis having been placed on
teaching for social justice over the
last decade, rarely has the field
of education embraced or even
recognized comprehensive school
health education including HIV/
AIDS prevention and sexuality education as critical elements in the
quest to teaching for social justice.
Astonishingly, many African American communities have done little
to advocate for comprehensive
health education as a component
of the larger struggle for social
justice. In fact, in some instances,
despite startling health disparities
and risk behaviors, some in the
African American community have
been advocates for abstinenceonly health-education curricula.

Comprehensive health education is aimed at increasing students’ quality of life by preventing
some of the most serious health
problems and issues associated
with youth (Blanchett, 2008).
Thus, comprehensive health
education is designed to prevent
youth from experiencing lifelong
consequences associated with
their youthful and unhealthy living behaviors including sexual
unintentional and intentional
injury (i.e., injuries associated with
sexual activity) and death; tobacco, alcohol, and other substance
use and addiction; sexual risk
activities that result in unintended
pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections; unhealthy dietary
patterns; and lack of physical
activity (Frauenknecht, 2003). To
ensure that all students do indeed
have access to developmentally
and culturally appropriate HIV/AIDS
prevention and sexuality education, educators and the public
alike must embrace these issues
as components of the larger social
agenda of teaching for social
justice. Advocates must demand
for adequate education preparation programs that ready all school
personnel to teach all students
— including students of color and
students with disabilities.
Access to information such as
HIV/AIDS prevention and sexuality

49

education that allows one to take
control over his or her life and to
make informed decisions is a basic component of social justice in
a democratic society (Blanchett,
2008). As illustrated above, comprehensive health education encompasses a wide range of content and targets a variety of skills
and behaviors; but for the purpose
of this essay, my discussion of
comprehensive health education
will be limited to the HIV/AIDS
prevention and sexuality education
components of comprehensive
school health education. Also, for
the purposes of this essay, social
justice is defined as “… a disposition toward recognizing and eradicating all forms of oppression and
differential treatment extant in the
practices and policies of institutions” (Murrell, 2006, p. 81). The
institution that is the focus of this
essay is the institutional practice
of teacher-preparation programs.
In this essay, I will attempt to situate the need to provide HIV/AIDS
prevention and sexuality education
to all students including students
with disabilities and students of
color within the larger context
of teaching for social justice. To
do this, I will first discuss African
Americans health disparities at
both the national and state (Arizona) levels and and why HIV/AIDS
prevention and sexuality education
is particularly important for African

Americans and other students
of color, including students with
disabilities. Third, I will make the
case for providing comprehensive
health education as a component
of the larger struggle for social
justice. Fourth, practice strategies for moving toward a healthier
Black Arizona as a component of
social justice preparation for all
educators will be offered. Lastly, I
will provide policy implications of
addressing comprehensive health
education in the state of Arizona
as a social-justice issue.
Taking a Look Behind the
Curtains: National and
Arizona African American
Health Disparities
For decades now, we have seen
health disparities in the United
States on the basis of gender,
race/ethnicity, education level,
disability, geographic location, and
income with some of the most
disturbing disparities being associated with African Americans. For
example, even though the infant
mortality rate in the United States
is down considerably, the infant
mortality rate for African American
infants is more than double that of
White babies (U.S. Department of
Health & Human Services, 2006).
Similarly, African Americans’
death rate from heart disease
and all combined cancers is 40%
and 30%, respectively, higher

“
The State of Black Arizona   2009

51

Excerpts from Better Than Surviving…Celebrating Life!
The Untold Stories of Heroes
By Ngozi Ogbuawa, Misha Williams, Wanda M. Thompson
Center for African American Health Arizona (CAAHAZ, pronounced “cause”)

Africans and African Americans have long been a people of stories. Stories have been told by the shaman in the village, the self-appointed
historian/elder in the family circle, or the neighborhood orator. Storytelling is an art to be valued and shared. It is the vehicle many of us
use to learn and teach our most revered lessons. The CAAHAz hopes that by sharing vignettes of brave and courageous individuals who
triumphed over disease, you will be inspired to take additional measures to ensure your own good health and be more aware of your options.
These stories show that we truly are fighters, survivors, and heroes.
MiAsia Pasha (Phoenix, Arizona)
MiAsia Pasha is a vivacious woman with an indomitable spirit. Upon meeting Ms. Pasha, no one would surmise that this glorious vision of
beauty and health is HIV positive. MiAsia’s first husband, unbeknownst to her, was living on the “down low.” He died in 1991, and his partner
died in 1986; however, her husband had been sleeping with men since the age of 16! After her husband died, she took an HIV test. It was
positive, but she had no symptoms and was quite healthy, so she lived in a state of denial for 10 years.
In 2001, she developed complications after having a tooth pulled. She lost weight, and antibiotics were ineffective. Tests revealed that
she had approximately 4 T cells. MiAsia essentially gave up and went back to the Midwest to be with her family and die. By the time she
returned home, she had withered to 120 lbs. She refused to take her HIV medication.
MiAsia’s best friend motivated her to fight for her life. That Christmas, she said to MiAsia, “God told me there is no room in heaven for
you.” Her overwhelming love and support pushed MiAsia to fight for her life, change her attitude, eat properly, and take her medications.
Initially, MiAsia wanted to die rather than confront the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS. She also had negative experiences with her
medical care. One doctor told her to continue taking medication that made her sick. Lacking strength to argue, her family found her a much
more compassionate doctor.
In 1991, she was not aware of the impact HIV/AIDS had on the African-American community. Now she is fully aware of the impact and
has this to say about the disease:
“ HIV has made me aware of my purpose on this earth, to be an advocate for the disease. It has made me aware of the need for advocates within our community. I think people need a role model who is both positive and a survivor that they can look to and say ‘she is
doing well.’ To the African-American community, I would say let go of the stigma and ignorance. HIV is not a death sentence, get tested
and LIVE! Dare to be Aware! You only have one body, take care of it!”
A full version of this essay is available to download at www.stateofblackaz.org.

52

than Whites. What is even more
disturbing is the fact that African
American men’s death rate from
prostate cancer is double that of
Whites. African American women
have a higher breast cancer death
rate than White women, African
Americans’ HIV/AIDS death rate is
seven times that of Whites’, and
the African American death rate
from homicide is six times the
rate for Whites (U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services,
2006). According to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), “… Of all racial and ethnic
groups in the United States, HIV
and AIDS have hit African Americans the hardest. The reasons
are not directly related to race or
ethnicity, but rather to some of
the barriers faced by many African
Americans” (Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 2007) in
our society and their continued
oppression.
This increased susceptibility for
HIV/AIDS is associated with living
in poverty, higher rates of sexually transmitted diseases, and the
social and cultural stigma associated with negative attitudes,
beliefs, and treatment aimed
toward African Americans living
with HIV or AIDS and/or individuals
who are perceived to engage in
behaviors that might place them
at risk for HIV infection (Centers
for Disease Control and Preven-

tion, 2007). As a result of these
conditions, African Americans are
more likely to experience more
illness and health problems. While
African Americans make up only
13% of the U.S. population, they
account for 49% of all individuals who get HIV and AIDS (CDC,
2007). Additionally, once African
Americans contract HIV, they are
more likely to not receive proper
treatment and to die from an HIVrelated illness. Unfortunately, we
have seen similar trends in African
Americans’ death rates when the
national data is disaggregated by
states, as is the case in Arizona.
The leading causes of death
for Black Arizonans mirror the top
two leading causes of death for
African Americans nationally, and
reflects that Blacks are more likely
to die from heart and cardiovascular disease followed by cancer.
The third leading cause of death
for Black Arizonans is accidents,
while the third leading cause of
deaths nationally for Blacks is
stroke. Black Arizonans also have
the highest rates of HIV/AIDS and
sexually transmitted disease infection in the state.
Why is HIV/AIDS Prevention and
Sexuality Education Important
for All Students?
Today’s youth have a number of
risk factors that increase the likelihood that they experience future

health problems and a decreased
quality of life (Blanchett, 2008).
Therefore, comprehensive school
health education is critical to
increasing their very survival. Further, the marginalized social positioning of African Americans and
other students of color, as well as
that of students with disabilities in
our society coupled with specific
risk factors and behaviors, underscores the importance of addressing these issues within the framework of social justice. Risk factors
and behaviors that place young
people at risk include, but are
not limited to, substance abuse,
family and social violence, sexual
activity, and teenage pregnancy
(Baker, 2005; Frauenknecht,
2003). Although the percentage
of American youth who are sexually active decreased slightly from
54% in 1991 to 45.6% in 2001, a
large percentage of youth are still
sexually active prior to adulthood,
and it appears that many of them
may not be receiving the information that they need to make safe
and informed decisions (Pardini,
2002). However, only slightly
over half of sexually active youth
reported using condoms in previous studies of risk behavior (Kann,
Warren, Harris, Collins, Williams,
Ross, & Kobe, 1996). The findings of these sexual risk behavior
studies highlight the need to
consistently provide developmen-

tally and culturally appropriate
comprehensive health education
including HIV/AIDS prevention and
sexuality education to all students
as a component of their PK-12
curriculum. Because “comprehensive school health education
can help youth obtain the greatest benefits from education and
become healthy and productive
adults” (Frauenknecht, 2003,
p. 2), the Department of Health
and Human Services, through its
Healthy People 2010 campaign,
is trying to increase the proportion
of all high schools that provide
comprehensive health education
to their students (Frauenknecht,
2003). Unfortunately, even with
such targeted campaigns, students with disabilities are often
not included at all and African
American students, though often
included, may not be able to fully
access the information offered
because it lacks cultural relevance
for them.
The Case: HIV/AIDS Prevention
and Sexuality Education Is A
Social Justice Issue
Providing HIV/AIDS prevention and sexuality education to
students with disabilities, African
American students, and other
students of color, is a socialjustice issue because social
justice purports to eradicate
educational disparities and the

The State of Black Arizona   2009

impact of prejudice and discrimination (Blanchett, 2008). Failure
to consistently provide HIV/AIDS
prevention and sexuality education to all students privileges those
youth who do receive it and better prepares them to participate
in all facets of life while at the
same time oppressing students
who are not consistently provided
information (Blanchett, 2008).
If information is provided, but is
not accessible to students due
to their learning characteristics,
the cultural disconnect between
students and the curriculum and/
or between students and teachers
further oppresses these populations. For example, while there are
not great disparities between the
rates at which adolescents are
sexually active on the basis of race
or ethnicity, as illustrated earlier,
there are indeed, great disparities
in African American students’ risk
for HIV/AIDS and their White middle-class peers (Blanchett, 2008).
There is also little being done in
teacher preparation programs to
help educators more effectively
teach this population (Blanchett,
2006). Failure to provide students
of color with culturally responsive
HIV/AIDS prevention and sexuality education limits their ability
to protect themselves from HIV
infection, unwanted pregnancy,
sexually transmitted diseases,
and other health problems while

privileging their White middle-class
peers whose cultures and learning styles are indeed reflected in
existing curriculum. Also, African
American students’ continued high
rates of sexual activity, sexually
transmitted diseases, unwanted
pregnancies, and HIV infection may reinforce prejudice and
discriminatory perceptions that
many Whites have of them. Above
all, these practices keep African
American and other students of
color oppressed.
Similarly, students with disabilities have a long history of being
oppressed and marginalized by our
society, and unfortunately, African
American students are disproportionately identified as having a
disability (Blanchett, 2008). For
students with disabilities, marginalization has taken on a variety of
forms including, but not limited
to, denial of their sexuality and
sexual rights through involuntary
sterilization and denial of their
right to participate in all facets of
life without needing to be “fixed”
(Blanchett, 2000). Although, for
the most part, involuntary steriliza-

“

tion, involuntary institutionalization, and denial of educational
rights for students with disabilities
have been eradicated, inadequate
access to HIV/AIDS prevention
and sexuality education because
of discrimination and prejudice
concerning their sexuality constitutes further social injustice. Lack
of information potentially diminishes these students’ quality of
life and may make them less able
to protect themselves from HIV
infection, sexual abuse, unwanted
pregnancy, sexually transmitted
diseases, etc. Moreover, such
practices maintain the marginalized position of students with
disabilities in our society and allow
them to continue to experience
further prejudice and discrimination.
Are Educators Prepared to
Address the Health Education
Needs of Today’s Youth?
Many teacher-preparation programs have yet to fully understand
and embrace social justice even
in its most basic form of preparing
candidates to confront and decon-

struct their own privilege, racism,
sexism, classism, and biases
around issues of sexuality (Ferri
& Conner, 2005). To be sure, it is
impossible for teachers to address
inequities and oppression of any
kind in the lives of others without
looking internally at their own roles
in contributing to and maintaining
inequities and oppression. In fact,
Sleeter (1996) asserts that teachers who are committed to social
justice must adhere to at least
four principles of operation. While
these principles are applicable to
all teachers, she believes they are
especially useful to White teachers
who may not have ever engaged in
social activism or confronted the
realities of oppression. According to Sleeter (1996), teachers
who teach for social justice must:
1) “Recognize the aspirations
oppressed groups have for their
children and the barriers, both
interpersonal and institutional,
that persistently thwart their efforts”; 2) “Seriously learn to work
as an ally with the community”; 3)
“Advocate for children from these
[oppressed] communities in the

… Of all racial and ethnic groups in the United States, HIV and AIDS have hit
African Americans the hardest. The reasons are not directly related to race or
ethnicity, but rather to some of the barriers faced by many African Americans.”
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2007

53

54

broader civic life”; and 4) “Seriously teach children and youth to
act politically, to advocate both individually and collectively for themselves and for other marginalized
people” (p. 246). If all teacherpreparation programs were committed to these principles, that
would be a step in the right direction. Given that most preparation
programs do not include issues of
sexuality at all, it is reasonable to
conclude that even in those rare
instances when issues of sexuality
are infused into teacher-education
curriculum and programs, these
issues are not addressed within
the larger context of teaching for
social justice.
Although educators agree that
the most effective way to prevent
the spread of HIV infection is to
provide comprehensive health
education to all students prior to
them becoming sexually active,
and no later than seventh grade,
it appears that teachers might not
be equipped to meet this challenge due to their poor preparation
in this area (Blanchett, 2008).
Even though elementary health
education is most commonly
provided by regular classroom
teachers, only 31 states require
elementary teachers to complete
health coursework for certification
(Stone & Perry, 1990 as cited in
Skripak & Summerfield, 1996),
and it seems that few teacher-

preparation programs are even
addressing this issue in their program curriculum. In their study of
169 teacher-education programs,
Rodriquez et al. (1996) found
that only 14% required a health
education class for all of their preservice teachers and none of the
programs required a sex education
class for all pre-service teachers.
Additionally, only 61% of programs
studied required their healtheducation certification students
to take sexuality courses and only
12% offered courses that even
mentioned HIV/AIDS in the class at
all (Rodriquez et al., 1996). By the
few indicators available, it appears
that educators are not prepared
to address these issues with any
group of students, let alone with
African American youth.
Moving Toward a Healthier
State of Black Arizona: Practice Recommendations
Building upon Blanchett & Prater (2005) and Blanchett (2008), I
propose that classroom teachers
and teacher educators must be
knowledgeable about eight major
areas in the context of teaching
sexuality and HIV/AIDS prevention
to all students as a component of
social justice:
The importance of addressing the
HIV/AIDS prevention education
needs of all students including

students with disabilities, African Americans, and other students of color as a component
of teaching for social justice.
The learning characteristics of all
students including those with
disabilities and students of color
and their particular HIV/AIDS risk
factors and behaviors, as well
as how disabilities and cultural
differences can affect HIV/AIDS
prevention instruction.
How issues of race, class, culture,
and gender can impact all students, including students’ with
disabilities sexuality risk behaviors and access to appropriate
HIV/AIDS prevention education.
Comfort discussing and addressing issues related to HIV/AIDS
prevention such as death and
dying, sexuality, disability, and
the intersection of sexuality
with disability, race, class, and
culture.
Familiarity with developmentally
and culturally appropriate HIV/
AIDS curriculum and instruction
for all students.
Expertise in adapting and modifying HIV/AIDS prevention education curricula and instructional
materials and strategies for students with varying abilities and

cultural frames of reference.
Skills in forming and maintaining
collaborative relationships with
professionals, parents, families,
and communities essential to
educating all students.
Willingness of teacher candidates
to deconstruct their own biases and perceptions regarding
students’ behaviors, risks, and
issues of sexuality including students with disabilities, African
Americans, and other students
of color.
Moving Toward a Healthier
State of Black Arizona: Policy
Recommendations
To ensure that African American youth are more knowledgeable and better prepared to make
lifelong decisions that will move us
toward a healthier state of Black
Arizona, I propose the following
policy recommendations:
Mandatory developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive comprehensive health
education including HIV/AIDS
prevention education for all PK12 students including African
American students and those
with disabilities.
Inclusion of comprehensive health
education knowledge, skills,

The State of Black Arizona   2009

and disposition standards (such
as the one described in the
proceeding section) in state and
national professional educators’
standards for certification and
licensure.
Mandatory developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive
comprehensive health education
including HIV/AIDS prevention
and sexuality education training
for all community-based youth
educators and service vendors
(e.g., after-school programs,
Boys and Girls Clubs) to ensure
that African Americans and
other youth consistently receive
recent and accurate information
in this area.
The allocation of resources to develop, implement, and evaluate
effective developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive
comprehensive health education curriculum including HIV/
AIDS prevention and sexuality
education.
Mandatory healthy meal and wellness programs in all settings
including schools that serve
African American children and
other youth.
The allocation of resources to
develop, implement, and
evaluate effective developmen-

tally appropriate and culturally
responsive community-based
wellness programs and activities
for African American children
and other youth.
In conclusion, if social justice
is indeed as Powers & Faden
(2006) claim “The Moral Foundation of Public Health and Healthy
Policy,” it is reasonable to expect
that a concerted effort would be
made to ensure that those most
vulnerable, marginalized, least
privileged, and most in need would
have access to appropriate health
education, services, and resources (Blanchett, 2008). Our African
American children and youth, as
well as students with disabilities,
are some of the most vulnerable
in our society so we must develop
and implement practices and policies that will ensure their safety
and the overall sustainability of the
nation as a whole and the African
American community in particular. Let us start by improving the
health of Black Arizonans. n
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55

credits and acknowledgments
The State of Black Arizona, Volume II is
the result of work and commitment of
many people and organizations. We thank
everyone who contributed time, energy
and resources to making this project a
reality. In particular, we’d like to acknowledge the following:

Arizona Community
Foundation
Jacky Alling
Janita Gordon
Michael Kelly
Megan Brownell

Arizona Public Service
Joanna De’Shay
Tammy McLeod

Arizona State University
Alt^I
Justin Harding
Matthew Rhoton
Mary Lou Fulton Institute and
Graduate School of Education
George Hynd
Kimberly Scott
Joan Sherwood
COMPUGIRLS Intern
Kyra Tyler

Office of the President
Michael Crow
James O’Brien
Denise Quiroz
Office of Public Affairs
William Dabars
Kenja Hassan
Nancy Jordan
Virgil Renzulli
Terri Shafer
Barbara Shaw-Snyder
Creative Services
Jennifer Bostick
Tom Story
Steve Swain
Kyle Thompson
Ryan Karner
State of Black Arizona
Student Interns
Elodie Billionaire
Channetta Curtis
Gautam Singh
Laquitta Smith
Molita Yazzie

Maricopa County
Community College
District Chancellor’s Office
Rufus Glasper

Copy Editors
Mindy Lee
Kara McAlister

The Maricopa County
Community College District
Office of Institutional
Effectiveness

State of Black Arizona
Advisory Committee
Rod Ambrose
Duku Anokye
William Anderson
Lisa Aubrey
Kimberly Baptiste
Vanessa Brown
George Brooks, Jr.
Pat Crowell
Lasana Hotep
Rodrick Miller
Elsie Moore
Robert Morris
Ngozi Ogbuawa
Bruce Relf
Alyssa Robillard
Wanda Thompson
Penny Willrich
Dee Wheeler-Cronin
Contributing Writers
Additional and full-length essays available
for download at: stateofblackaz.org
Lisa Aubrey
Wanda Blanchett
George Brooks, Jr.
Patricia Crowell
Rufus Glasper
Brett Hudson

Views and opinions expressed in the State of Black Arizona, Volume II are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily
represent those of Arizona State University, the Arizona Board of Regents, The Arizona Community Foundation, Arizona Public
Service, other organizations or corporations supporting the State of Black Arizona, or the SBAZ Advisory Council.

Jacqueline Mahoney
Rodrick Miller
Robert L. Morris, Jr.
Ngozi Ogbuawa
Pushpa Ramakrishna
William Tate
Wanda Thompson
Dee Wheeler-Cronin
Misha Williams
Penny Willrich
Tucson Urban League
Kelly Langford
Other community support
African American Legislative Days
Committee, Arizona State Senator
Leah Landrum Taylor
Center for African American Health
Arizona, Wanda Thompson
City of Phoenix Councilman
Michael Johnson’s Office
Greater Phoenix Urban League,
Mel Hannah
Rio Salado Community College
South Mountain Community College,
Kenneth Atwater
University of Arizona South
Wells Fargo Bank Arizona, Lydia Aranda
For more information contact:
Kimberly A. Scott
Mary Lou Fulton Institute and
Graduate School of Education
PO Box 870211
Tempe, AZ 85287-0211