The State of Black Hartford 2016
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ii The State of Black Hartford 2016 Published by the Urban League of Greater Hartford, Inc. Adrienne W. Cochrane, J.D. President and Chief Executive Officer Urban League of Greater Hartford, Inc. Stanley F. Battle. Ph.D. Editor Ashley L. Golden-Battle, M.A. Content Editor iii Urban League of Greater Hartford 2016-2017 Executive Committee Officers Chair Paul Dworkin, MD Executive Vice President of Community Child Health Connecticut Children's Medical Center Vice Chair Nicole Hughey 2nd Vice President | Enterprise Diversity & Inclusion Travelers Treasurer/Finance Committee Chair Earl Exum Vice President, Global Materials & Logistics Pratt & Whitney- UTC Secretary Andrea Comer Executive Director CBIA Education 2016-2017 Board of Directors Stanley Battle, Ph.D. Professor and Director of the MSW Program in the Department of Social Work and Latino Community Practice University of Saint Joseph, West Hartford, Connecticut Claudio Borea Co-Founder Smart Cap Innovations, LLC Janice Castle Director of Community Engagement Hartford Mayor's Office Adrienne W. Cochrane, J.D. President and Chief Executive Officer Urban League of Greater Hartford Andrea Comer Executive Director CBIA Education iv Paul Dworkin, MD Executive Vice President of Community Child Health Connecticut Children's Medical Center Earl Exum Vice President, Global Materials & Logistics Pratt & Whitney- UTC Michael Parker Regional Senior Vice President Comcast Nicole Hughey 2nd Vice President | Enterprise Diversity & Inclusion Travelers Edwin Shirley Partner Fairview Capital Partners Angela Woods Director Corporate Outreach ESPN v Dedication Dedicated to the people of Hartford vi Acknowledgement The State of Black Hartford 2016 was published with support from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. The editors would like to acknowledge Antoinette Collins, M.L.S., who graciously served as a manuscript reviewer. Thank you to Ryan Cochrane, B.A., for the cover acquisition and design. vii Table of Contents Introduction 1 Adrienne W. Cochrane, J.D., President & Chief Executive Officer Urban League of Greater Hartford, Inc. Executive Summary 16 Stanley F. Battle, Ph.D., Editor Education in Hartford: The Sheff Challenge 21 Stanley F. Battle, Ph.D. Black and Brown Hartford: The Retention and Graduation of College Students of Color 32 Peter Rosa, Ph.D. Economics: A Promise of Hope (A Brief) 37 Stanley F. Battle, Ph.D. The State of Black Hartford (Editorial): Promises, Paychecks, and Ownership Opportunities 41 Amos Smith, MSW Hartford Promise Zone (A Brief) 47 Honorable Senator Christopher Murphy, (CT), J.D. Breakdown: An Examination of African American Population in Hartford (A Brief) 49 Maris Dillman Who Are They?: African American Youth 58 Rodney L. Powell, M.Ed. Blackness, LLC 76 Yan Searcy, Ph.D. Strategic Academic Mentoring of Undergraduate Black and Latino Males: Initial Findings 88 Yan Searcy, Ph.D. & Quintin Robinson, Ph.D. Historical Persecution Reaction Complex (HPRC): Exploring a Link Between 98 Racial Identity and Poor Leadership Outcomes Yan Searcy, Ph.D. The Black Church: Role and Meaning in the Urban Black Community 123 Kimberly Hardy, Ph.D., MSW Faithworks: A Paradigm Shift for Community Survival 134 Shelley D. Best, D.Min, viii An Exploratory Study of African Jamaican Women’s Health Beliefs around Male 150 Condom Use and Negotiations in Relationships Yvonne Patterson, Ph.D. Social Health of Black Hartford 175 Eunice Matthews, Ph.D., LCSW The Criminal Justice System: The ABC Man—An Artist, Muralist, Playwright Cop 188 Speaks Images Clyde Santana, MA Police, Race, Mass Incarceration & Resilience 204 Trevor Johnson, J.D. Conclusion 229 About the Editors 233 About the Authors 235 Mission Statement 240 About the President 240 1 Introduction Urban League of Greater Hartford through the Years Adrienne W. Cochrane, President and Chief Executive Officer Urban League of Greater Hartford has created a rich tapestry inextricably woven into the fabric of its namesake city. From humble beginnings to present day, the League has remained at the forefront of social justice and economic parity for very low to moderate income individuals and families in urban pockets of Hartford. More than 3,000 individuals and families are served annually through a continuum of services in five broad programmatic thrusts: Adult Education; Economic Enrichment; Health and Wellness; Workforce Development and Training; and Youth Development. Debuting in Hartford against the back drop of the tumultuous civil rights era of the 1960s, and just two months after President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law, the Urban League quickly established itself as a dynamic catalyst for change. The League was born in 1964 during an explosive period of change, both in Hartford and the country. African American leaders in North Hartford recognized the similarities and ties to the civil rights struggles of their brothers and sisters in the south which resulted in asking the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to visit and speak at the University of Hartford. By all accounts, Dr. King’s visit ignited a flame that signaled the beginning of a decade marked by challenges to the status quo. Shortly after Dr. King’s visit, early architects and pioneers of the Urban League Movement in Hartford issued a joint invitation to National Urban League President Whitney M. Young. Not one to disappoint, Young delivered a rousing, impassioned plea to executives from Aetna, United Technologies (UTC), Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, and United Way imploring them to support an Urban League affiliate in Hartford. Rachel Milton, an African American community activist and leader; Marion Grant, the well-connected sister of actress Kathryn Hepburn; and Norris O’Neill, a local politician and attorney spearheaded this effort which soon gained the attention of the National Urban League Board of Trustees. It was clear that Hartford was poised and determined to join this dynamic Movement. By spring 1964, Trustees for the national office welcomed Urban League of Greater Hartford as the 66th affiliate. Armed with a modest budget of $42,000, the League officially opened for business at 53 Allyn Street on September 14, 1964. The first program was 2 Employment Services. One month later, an enthusiastic crowd of job hopefuls arrived for the first Open House. The dynamic and charismatic William “Bill” Brown became the first executive director in 1964 and served until his retirement in 1983. Affectionately called “Dean of the East Coast” and “Mr. Urban League,” he established a legacy of effective programs in housing, job training, education, financial literacy, and later, youth development. His leadership cemented the Urban League presence in Hartford through his good-natured ability to balance the needs of various stakeholders while keeping the integrity of the League—and his own— firmly intact. At the height of the civil rights movement, he masterfully built consensus and promoted collaboration that bridged communities that at times were disparate. Bill Brown’s two decades of service to a city and Urban League he loved would define the grassroots movement for opportunity and justice that still exists today. The need for housing, education, and employment opportunities for African Americans in Hartford spurred the League’s quick growth and solid support from corporations and foundations, both in the 60s and successive decades. In 1965 Aetna Life and Casualty recognized the unique opportunity to develop diverse local talent by providing the League funding to support job training programs. In 1967, Aetna sponsored the nation’s first computer training program to be conducted by a company using its own facilities and in 1968, Aetna again partnered with the League to establish HI-GEAR, a driver training initiative to assist 100 minority youth in qualifying for careers requiring driving skills. By 1967, Urban League satisfied all requirements for the Standard of Admission to the Greater Hartford Community Chest, now United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut, effectively making the League eligible for funding. The following year, a Summer Skills Bank was established to help high school and college students find summer employment. Soon, Travelers joined forces with the League to graduate its first Modern Office Skills Training (MOST) class, and hired all 10 female graduates in its Hartford offices. That same year, Hartford National Bank and Trust began a Teller Aptitude program to create better job opportunities for non-whites. Urban League established a Housing Department in 1965, and with the assistance of the Greater Hartford Council of Churches, established a home down payment fund to help low income families purchase homes. By 1968, Housing Now, Inc. was developed by the League in 3 partnership with the Council of Churches, Society for Savings and the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, with the steadfast goal to help low income families purchase homes. Receiving substantial grants from the National Urban League to train unskilled Hartford workers bolstered the League’s employment initiatives during the latter part of the 1960s. Funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation to explore methods of transporting core- city unemployed to job training in suburban plants provided an additional boost. The establishment of the Church Academy at Central Baptist Church, would have an impactful presence in Hartford for the next three decades, by providing training and employment opportunities for hundreds