All-In Nation: an America That Works For

All-In Nation An America that Works for All a collaboration between tHe center for american progress and policylink edited by vanessa c árdenas and saraH treuHaft All-In Nation An America that Works for All a collaboration between tHe center for american progress and policylink edited by vanessa c árdenas and saraH treuHaft Table of Preface vii Executive 1 by angela glover Summary Contents blackwell and by vanessa cárdenas neera tanden and Julie Ajinkya cHapter one 7 cHapter TWO 25 cHapter tHree 31 Creating an Charting New America’s Future All-In Nation Trends and Workforce by ruy teixeira and Imagining an by antHony carnevale JoHn Halpin All-In Nation and nicole smitH by robert lyncH and patrick oakford An Equity-Focused 49 cHapter FOUR 53 cHapter five 79 Policy Agenda for Infrastructure: Building Healthy America Supporting Communities Communities for So All Can Thrive a Healthy Nation by saraH treuHaft by stepHanie boarden and erin Hagan 50 personal essay Gov. Ed REndEll (d-PA) 76 personal essay dR. RoBERT Ross cHapter six 107 cHapter seven 139 cHapter eigHt 165 Education and Job Jobs, Income, and Americans in Readiness for a Assets: Economic Waiting: Immigration Prosperous America Security for All Reform for a by melissa lazarín by cHristian weller, saraH Stronger Nation treuHaft, and Julie Ajinkya by vanessa cárdenas and 104 personal essay Jeanne butterfield GEoffREy CAnAdA 134 personal essay lAwREnCE summERs 162 personal essay Ai-jEn Poo cHapter nine 195 cHapter ten 225 Conclusion 249 Locked-Up Potential: Democratic by carl cHancellor A Blueprint forEnsur- Participation and ing Justice for All Civic Leadership in by Julie Ajinkya a Diverse Nation 188 personal essay by vanessa cárdenas miChElE AlExAndER 222 personal essay 192 personal essay AmERica fERRERA mARiAn wRiGhT EdElmAn Acknowledgements 252 About the 258 Contributors Preface by angela glover blackwell, founder and cHief executive officer, policylink; and neera tanden, president of tHe center for american progress ost Americans do not realize becomes that America’s diversity will help ensure how rapidly the racial and that the U.S. economy remains cutting edge in ethnic makeup of the country the 21st century. Simply put, our diversity is our is changing or what this holds strength. M for the future. The 2012 election heralded a new political reality. But the far-reaching Yet too many people of color are being left out and implications for the nation’s economic growth and left behind. Longstanding inequities have resulted security have not been fully explored. in significant gaps in education, employment, health, and wealth among the fastest-growing popu- America’s diversity turns out to be an extraordi- lation groups—the very communities the nation nary asset in an increasingly competitive global depends on to provide the workforce, innovators, economy. As author Richard Florida has observed, entrepreneurs, and business leaders of tomorrow. “[t]he evidence is mounting that geographical For instance, from 2007 to 2010 black family wealth openness and cultural diversity and tolerance are fell 31 percent, while Hispanic family wealth fell not by-products but key drivers of economic prog- 44 percent. By contrast, white families only lost ress.”1 For instance, economic historians who study 11 percent of their wealth over this period. These why some societies experienced rapid economic disproportionate drops exacerbated pre-existing development over the past two centuries while oth- disparities. Whereas before the recession, nonwhite ers grew more slowly have discovered that greater families were a quarter as wealthy as white families, cultural diversity has “beneficial effects … on the by 2010 they were only one-sixth as wealthy. Clos- advancement of … knowledge-intensive industrial ing these gaps, improving the life chances for all to technology.”2 Indeed, the more we learn about reach their full potential, is good for both those lag- how innovation develops through the mix of dif- ging behind and for the entire nation. ferent ideas, cultures, and attitudes, the clearer it Preface vii The equity agenda—just and fair inclusion into a Meeting the challenge means creating jobs and busi- society in which all can fully participate and pros- nesses that build the capabilities of all people to per—is the best approach to secure a bright Ameri- participate and benefit, while bolstering long-term can future. It also has become a matter of urgency. competiveness. It also means removing the barri- ers to success for low-income people and people of Today, most babies born in the United States are color, especially those that keep so many children children of color. Within three decades, America from realizing their dreams and potential. Equity- will have no clear racial or ethnic majority and driven growth requires that we expand the oppor- more than half the population will be people of tunities that have always defined the American color. We are on our way to becoming what has Dream: opportunities to start businesses, to live in been called a “world nation.” But if the racial dis- healthy communities, to attend good schools from parities plaguing the country today hold constant pre-kindergarten to college. While the private sector as the United States becomes majority people of must take the lead in producing inclusive growth, color, it will mean lower growth for our nation, government must establish the right framework of lower wages for our people, as well as a lower stan- policies, investments, and strategies to guide that dard of living. In short, we simply cannot maintain growth. In short, we need a strategy that ensures the American way of life we all believe in and cher- that we grow together, not apart. ish while at the same time leaving half the country behind. That is why we all have a stake in an econ- In crafting this strategy, it is critical that we draw omy that works better for everyone. from the vast knowledge and experience of local communities and civic leaders. We find inspiration This remarkable demographic shift here at home from stories of community renewal such as the is converging with a new global economic order. rebuilding of the South Bronx in New York City in Information, ideas, products, and capital are dis- the 1980s led by the Comprehensive Community persing across the world, creating vast entrepre- Revitalization Program; the revitalization of Bos- neurial opportunities. ton’s Roxbury/North Dorchester neighborhood spearheaded by the Dudley Street Neighborhood Globalization also challenges the United States Initiative in the 1990s; and the sustainability plan- as never before to build an economy that works ning for the Lakota Sioux Pine Ridge Reservation in for everyone, not just the wealthy few. Growing South Dakota led by the Thunder Valley Community diversity offers us boundless potential to meet the Development Corporation in this decade. Underly- challenge if we adopt a growth model grounded in ing this work is the energy, creativity, sweat, and the American ideals of fairness, equity, and oppor- often tears of the local residents, leaders, and staff tunity for all. of community-based organizations, businesses, viii All-In Nation: An America that Works for All Kately vo, right, plays handball with her friends after a weekly worship service at Cao dai Temple of California in Garden Grove, Calif., sunday, jan. 31, 2010. AP PhoTo/Jae C. honG foundations, and institutions. Looking forward, as on our demographic destiny and why it is in our col- our nation seeks to leverage the demographic trans- lective best interest to do so. formation to realize a deeper democracy and a more vibrant economy, our approach must be directly Ai-Jen Poo, who spearheaded the National Domes- informed and closely tied to the innovation and wis- tic Workers Alliance, reminds us that Americans dom of local leadership. are interdependent not only economically but also through our caring relationships—and that com- As two women of color, we cannot help but marvel prehensive immigration reform is needed to fortify as we reflect on this moment. From the scars of his- these connections across the lines of race, class, and tory, America has emerged with the very resources generation. Former Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Ren- it needs to thrive and prosper: a workforce that can dell reflects on how the Interstate Highway System be unrivaled in breadth and depth of talent; youth fueled the growth of the middle class in the 1950s, hungry for opportunity and very much at home in and he calls for big thinking and bold investments an interconnected world; and engaged communities again to ensure prosperity for generations to come. that can renew and strengthen our democracy in a Lawrence Summers argues that rectifying racial dis- landscape of racial difference and political complex- parities and providing opportunity for all Americans ity. Indeed, the United States, with all of its diver- is critical for the country’s future economic prosper- sity and resilience, is poised to ensure that America ity. Equally crucial is the recognition that every child remains the world’s preeminent economic power. can learn—a lesson 30 years of work in Harlem have taught Geoffrey Canada—and that education policy This is not to minimize what it will take. On every can improve the odds for poor children at the scale measure of well-being or distress—economic secu- needed for the nation to succeed. rity, academic achievement, access to health care and fresh food, incarceration—communities of color The contributors to these pages work across the suffer disproportionately. In this book, Michelle spectrum of issues and settings—from the streets Alexander points to the almost unfathomable fact to the halls of government and philanthropy to the that more African Americans are under correctional ivory tower.

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