Honoring Black History to Create an Equitable Future

While celebrating Black history, we also work to create a more equitable future.

Throughout Black History Month, we shared some stories across social media highlighting inspiring Black leaders who have helped shape the work we do today. We celebrate and honor their culture, triumphs, and the influential moments that brought us to where are. But celebrating Black history is not enough.

United Way of Kenosha County continues to work toward a future where Black individuals and families in our community have the same access to employment, education, health care, and housing as their white neighbors.

As part of that work, below we highlight an influential Black leader whose work aligns with our focus areas of health, education, and financial stability while also outlining a few current challenges faced by Black Americans and what our organization is doing to help solve these problems.

Health

1969: LGBTQ+ Movement

Marsha P. "Pay It No Mind" Johnson was a force to be reckoned with. She is widely known for her involvement in the Stonewall Riots and the surrounding activism that sparked the LGBTQ+ Movement in 1969. She also established a group committed to supporting transgender youth experiencing homelessness — STAR: Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries. Her relentless advocacy continues to inspire many of us today.

2021: Health Equity Task Force

Marcella Nunez-Smith has dedicated her life to researching and combatting race-related health inequities. In 2021, she was appointed to the Biden Administration to lead a task force on health equity. Her work focused on how to navigate COVID-19 response and recovery amidst marginalized communities hit the hardest.

Current Challenges

Despite Marcella's groundbreaking work, health outcomes for Black community members are still significantly worse than for whites.

• 50% of Black residents in Kenosha County have had gaps in their insurance coverage in the past 12 months, compared to 12% of white residents.
• 11% of recent survey respondents selected racism as one of the three largest health concerns.
• Black residents are 2 times more likely not to have an adequate support network for mental health resources than whites.
• In Kenosha County from 2016 to 2020, infants of Black mothers were nearly four times more likely to die in the first year of life than those of White mothers.

United Way of Kenosha County’s Work

United Way believes that an individual’s race, ZIP code, or income should never be a barrier to quality health. We work to address health inequity by:

• Fighting for improved access to health care coverage, providing residents with SingleCare Prescription Discount Cards.
• Making it easier for people to access substance abuse programs and resources, including helping to fund Hope Council's Supervised Visitation program.
• Supporting the mental health needs of our community, through resources like Catholic Charities' Community Counseling.
• Supporting programs that increase access to healthy food, like KAFASI's Meals on Wheels and the Sharing Center Nutrition Program
• Providing Youth and Family Support Groups through The LGBT Center of SE Wisconsin.

Education

1965: The Founding of the federal Head Start Program

In 1965, Edmund Gordon founded the federal Head Start Program, which is still known today for providing education, nutrition, and health care assistance to children living in poverty. He has lived out a life mission of helping black students and other disadvantaged youth achieve their full potential.

Current Challenges

The Supreme Court ruled school segregation as unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. 70 years later, systematic and institutional racism, segregation, and inequities continue to disproportionately affect Black students and their educational outcomes.

• Only 10% of Black third graders read proficiently compared to 47% of white third graders.
• 3% of Black eighth graders are proficient in math compared to 33% of white eighth graders.
• The graduation rate for Black students is 80% and 93% for white students.
• Less than 20% of Black high schoolers test college ready on the ACT compared to 56% of white students.
• 29% of Black adults have an Associate's degree or higher compared to 45% of white adults.

United Way of Kenosha County’s Work

United Way of Kenosha County fights to shift the odds for students of color and those in low-income areas. Our work includes:

• Recruiting volunteers to read with K-3rd grade students through Readers Are Leaders.
• Supporting after-school programs and extracurricular activities, such as Boys & Girls Club of Kenosha and Kenosha YMCA.
• Increasing access to high-quality reading materials through initiatives like Dolly Parton's Imagination Library and Read Across Kenosha.
• Actively participating in Building Our Future's network(s) committed to improving student outcomes.

Financial Stability

1974: Full-Employment Action Council

You might recognize Coretta Scott King's legacy by any number of her influential moments, but today, we highlight her work relating to financial stability. In 1974, Mrs. King initiated a coalition of over 100 human rights organizations who were dedicated to advocating for policy relating to equal economic opportunity.

Current Challenges

Decades of segregation, discrimination and low wages still impact the financial stability of Black families across our community, creating a racial wealth gap that is difficult to overcome.

• The median household income of a Black family in Kenosha County $44,984, compared to 79,834 for white families.
• Only 25% of Black families own a home, compared to 73% of white families.
• 72% of Black children live in households that cannot afford the basics compared to 24% of white children.
• Using data to shed light on the struggles of families considered to be ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed).
• Providing access to legal services and resources that aid victims of domestic violence through Women and Children's Horizons.

United Way of Kenosha County’s Work

Access to resources that empower people to be stable and self-sufficient is not distributed equitably throughout our communities. United Way of Kenosha County battles chronic unemployment, homelessness and financial illiteracy; issues that disproportionately affect Black individuals and families. Our ongoing work includes:

• Providing free tax preparation services for middle- and low-income families through the Free Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.
• Supporting community partners who coach adults to thrive in their careers, like Racine/Kenosha Vocational Ministry.
• Helping youth understand budgeting, savings, entrepreneurship and other personal finance skills through Asset Builders' Youth  P.O.W.E.R. Teen Money Camp.
• Increasing access to housing resources, including Shalom Center's Shelter Program.
• Providing access to the free, 24/7 resource hotline: 211.

You can get involved in United Way of Kenosha County's work and help bridge racial divides in our community through work that amplifies impact and maximizes resources to collectively strengthen and uplift Kenosha County. Stay up to date on current happenings by subscribing to our e-newsletter or browse current volunteer opportunities on Volunteer Wisconsin.