Prepared for Phyllis Wheatley Community Center
by The Census Project
Allan Malkis 348-8550
Executive Summary i
Population by race 1
Poverty 3
Employment 5
Single Parent Families 8
Children of Working Parents 10
Education Levels of Persons Age 25 and Over 11
High School Dropouts 12
Children of Color in the Education System 14
Languages Spoken 15
Home Ownership 17
Overcrowded Housing 18
This report was prepared at the request of the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center by Allan Malkis of the Census Project. No portions of this report should be reproduced or reprinted without attribution to the Census Project or the Urban Coalition.
The Urban Coalition and Wilder Research Center are cooperating on a joint project to provide grass-roots, community organizations with access to 1990 Census information. Our purpose is to give citizens, neighborhood groups and other organizations information that can help them organize their communities, plan projects and gain financial support. The project will specialize in information about low income people, communities of color and center city neighborhoods in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Both Wilder Research Center and The Urban Coalition have access to computerized Census data and sophisticated computer mapping.
In addition to answering requests for data, project staff will also meet with grass roots organizations to offer assistance and develop the groups' capacity to use information. Community and neighborhood groups would define their concerns. Then, project staff can suggest ways that Census data could be useful in addressing those issues.
Both organizations will produce research reports based on the 1990 Census data describing trends and analyzing specific issues. These reports will be available later this year.
Organizations interested in obtaining 1990 Census information are encouraged to call project staff Laura Lambert at Wilder Research (647-4606) and/or Allan Malkis at The Urban Coalition (348-8550).
Perhaps the most significant change of the decade was the arrival in Sumner-Glenwood of a large Southeast Asian refugee population. These new residents live primarily in public housing units concentrated in that neighborhood. Faced with an unfamiliar language, lack of skills and formal education, many of these newcomers live in poverty and rely heavily on public assistance programs. Interestingly, Asian youth in 1990 had relatively low numbers of high school dropouts.
It is also important to note that the Near North community is less the center of the African American community than it had been in 1980. The area was home to 38% of Minneapolis' African Americans in 1980, but only 33% in 1990, despite an increase in African American residents over the decade.
The six neighborhoods differ amongst themselves in significant ways. Poverty rates increased drastically in Harrison and moderately in the rest, except for Willard-Hay. Correspondingly, the percent of adults employed dropped in all neighborhoods except Willard-Hay, where it increased. Jordan and Willard-Hay neighborhoods continue to have good employment rates, relatively low poverty levels and moderate rates of single parent families with children. These two neighborhoods also have the highest percentages of homeowners. It is worth noting that Jordan is predominately White (65%) while Willard-Hay has an African American majority (65%).
Poverty has increased significantly since 1980 in Near North Minneapolis. At the same time, educational attainment is up among adults age 25 and older, while the percentage of youth age 16-19 who were out of school without graduating has declined. Part of the increase in poverty rates may be due to the increase in the refugee population, but this is not the whole story. The figures here suggest that we look carefully at any assumption that an increase in the overall level of educational attainment will lead automatically to economic success. It may be that poverty has risen considerably among those with less education, even though they represent a smaller percentage of the population.
Between 1980 and 1990, the population of the Near North community changed significantly in racial make up. The total population of Near North Minneapolis (the six neighborhoods south of Lowry Avenue) grew by 4.5 percent or 1500 persons between 1980 and 1990, while the percentage of people of color rose from 40 percent to over 61 percent. The White population declined by 6,700, while the Asian population more than tripled from near 1,000 to over 3,800. The African American population also increased by 4,600. Despite this increase, the community's share of Minneapolis' total African American population declined from 38% to 33%. This means that even more African Americans moved into other parts of the city than North Minneapolis.
Table 1.NEIGHBORHOOD POPULATIONS BY RACE, 1990
Neighborhood African American Asian White Hispanic Total
American Indian American (may be any
race)
Harrison 1,485 77 581 1,345 118 3,536
Hawthrne 1,850 514 304 3,219 203 6,032
Jordan 2,017 414 208 5,000 226 7,737
Near North 4,153 124 323 1,530 117 6,175
Sumner Glenw'd 965 60 2,184 122 73 3,336
Willard Hay 5,489 168 246 2,376 149 8,409
NEAR NORTH TOTAL 15,939 1,357 3,846 13,592 471 32,225
The six neighborhoods in the community reflect this pattern of changing
population (see Chart 1, above). Jordan and Hawthorne have a majority of White
residents (64% and 53%), while African Americans are the largest racial group
in Harrison, Near North and Willard Hay. In Sumner Glenwood, over 95% of the
residents are people of color, nearly two thirds of them being Asian Americans.
This is a major change since 1980, when there were no Asian/Pacific Islanders
in the neighborhood. Sumner-Glenwood has changed from being 80% African
American in 1980 to being primarily Southeast Asian in 1990. The number of
African American residents in that neighborhood dropped from 1,626 to 965
during the decade. The change in percentage reflects both an increase in
Southeast Asian population and a decrease in African American residents.The chart below shows that the largest population change occurred in Sumner-Glenwood, which increased its population by over 1,000.
Table 2.POPULATION CHANGES, 1980-1990
BY NEIGHBORHOOD
Neighborhood 1980 Population 1990 Population 1980-90 Change Harrison 3,140 3,536 + 396 Hawthorne 6,036 6,032 - 4 Jordan 7,861 7,737 - 124 Near North 5,911 6,175 + 264 Sumner Glenwood 2,095 3,336 +1,241 Willard Hay 8,678 8,409 - 269
Although the population of Minneapolis has stabilized, the number of low-income people living in the city has grown dramatically. The total population declined very slightly, but the number of people living below the poverty level went from 48,000 to nearly 66,000. Over 18% of all Minneapolis residents were living in poverty in 1990.
When we look at North Minneapolis, we see the same tendencies. In 1970, there were five census tracts in this community where over 25% of the residents lived in poverty. In 1980, there were two more, and by 1990 there were another four for a total of eleven. By 1990, there were only two census tracts out of thirteen in this community with poverty rates under 25%. The 1990 poverty rates for Near North Minneapolis residents are:
For children under 6 in this community, the poverty rate is 63 percent. For children age 6 to 11, the rate is still 49 percent. For children of color, the rates are higher yet. The table below gives the poverty rates for children of each race in the Near North community.
Table 3.CHILD POVERTY RATES BY RACE, 1990
ALL CHILDREN UNDER AGE 18
Race Total African American Asian Other White
American Indian
Kids in 7,062 (55%) 4,165 (59%) 261 (49%) 1,738 (81%) 138 (52%) 760 (27%)
Poverty
Poverty statistics are high and growing in most of the six neighborhoods. The chart below shows the change from 1980 to 1990 in the percentage of residents living in poverty for each neighborhood. The greatest jump in the poverty rate occurred in Harrison, which went from under 20% to over 50% poor in the decade. The least change occurred in Willard Hay, which has the lowest poverty rate (22.6%). Three of four residents of Sumner-Glenwood neighborhood, which includes a large number of public housing units, are living in poverty.
Table 4.POVERTY RATES BY NEIGHBORHOOD, 1980-1990
Neighborhood 1980 1990 Poverty 1980-90 Change
Poverty Rate Rate
Harrison 19.5 50.6 +31.1
Hawthorne 20.9 34.6 +13.7
Jordan 12.2 26.4 +14.2
Near North 37.1 47.1 +10.0
Sumner Glenwood 60.2 75.8 +15.6
Willard Hay 19.9 22.6 +02.7
The changes between 1980 and 1990 in some neighborhoods were dramatic. In 1980, Harrison had an employment rate of 63 percent, fourth among the neighborhoods and above the Near North community rate of 61 percent. By 1990, the percentage of employed adults age 16 to 64 in Harrison was down to 52 percent, a drop of 11 points. In contrast, the employment rate rose slightly for Willard Hay, from 64 percent in 1980 to 67 percent in 1990.
Table 5. EMPLOYMENT RATES BY NEIGHBORHOOD, 1980-1990
Neighborhood 1980 Employment 1990 Employment 1980-90
Rate Rate Change
Harrison 63% 52% -11
Hawthorne 64% 62% -2
Jordan 70% 67% -3
Near North 52% 47% -5
Sumner Glenwood 21% 15% -6
Willard Hay 64% 67% +3
Why use the Employment Rate instead of the
For comparison, lets look at the employment and unemployment rates for the six neighborhoods in 1990.
Table 6.
TWO LOOKS AT EMPLOYMENT RATES BY NEIGHBORHOOD, 1990
Neighborhood 1990 Employment 1990 Employment Difference
Rate 1 Rate 2
Harrison 52% 86% +34
Hawthorne 62% 83% +21
Jordan 67% 87% +20
Near North 47% 78% +31
Sumner Glenwood 15% 62% +47
Willard Hay 67% 89% +22
The Employment Rate 1 figure shows us that only 15% of the adults in the Sumner-Glenwood neighborhood are working. By leaving out people who are not looking for work (not in the official labor force), the official Employment Rate 2 tells us that 62% of potential workers in Sumner-Glenwood have jobs. The 47 percentage point difference occurs because there are many unemployed people who are not looking for work and thus don't get included in the official figures as potential workers. Neither statistic is wrong, they just give different views of the same picture, and emphasize different ways of looking at what's happening in the city.
Employment rates are not the same for residents of all races. In 1990, residents of color were much less likely than White residents to be employed. The table below shows the number of adults age 16 and over who were working, unemployed or not in the labor force for the Near North community by race. Calculating the traditional employment statistics concludes that only 7.2% of African Americans were unemployed (255 of 3,553). But a look at the number of adults not in the labor force shows that only half of all adult African Americans (3,298 or 50.7%) in Near North community were working in 1990, compared to nearly 60 percent of all White adults. Overall, less than half of adult residents of color had jobs in 1990 (46.8%), compared to an official employment rate of nearly 84 percent. Again, those without jobs include both people unable to find work and others who cannot work or who have chosen to attend school or stay home with a family, rather than seek a job.
Table 7.EMPLOYMENT STATUS BY RACE, 1990
ADULTS AGE 16 AND OVER
Work Status African American Asian Other Race White Total
American Indian
Working 3,298 2,196 2,437 257 3,316 11,504
Unemplo yed 255 636 617 104 473 2,085
Not In Labor 2,954 2,173 2,398 182 1,795 9,502
Force
TOTAL 6,505 5,005 5,452 543 5,584 23,091
Table 8.NUMBER OF SINGLE PARENT FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN
AS A PERCENT OF ALL HOUSEHOLDS AND FAMILIES
Neighborhood Single Parent Percent of All Percent of All
Families with Households Families
Children
Harrison 330 26.3% 45.4%
Hawthorne 594 27.4% 45.9%
Jordan 601 22.4% 33.6%
Near North 703 31.6% 53.8%
Sumner Glenwood 315 35.7% 46.3%
Willard Hay 757 27.1% 37.7%
At the same time, the neighborhoods in Near North have one of the highest percentages of households which are families in the city. While the overall share of households in Minneapolis which are families has declined from 51.3 percent to 48.3 percent since 1980, the family household share in the Near North community was 65 percent in 1990. This was the highest of all eleven communities in the city.
The table below shows that the percent of households which are single parent families with children is highest among African Americans and American Indians in the Near North Community.
Table 9.SINGLE PARENT FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN
BY RACE IN NEAR NORTH COMMUNITY, 1990
1 Parent African American Asian Other Race White Total Families 7w/ American Indian Kids Number and 2,131 (58%) 191 (66%) 191 (27%) 23 (33%) 764 (25%) 3,300 (42%) Percent
Are single parent families bad for children? There is considerable disagreement. Some say that children are harmed by growing up without both a father and mother in the household. Others say the major problem is not the lack of two parents but the high poverty rates for single parents with children. If a single parent had adequate income, their family would be equally safe and nurturing for children.
How many children live in these single parent families? In Minneapolis as a whole, 36.3 percent of all children under age 18 are living in single parent families. In the Near North community, the comparable percentage is 46%, considerably higher. But this community rate masks significant differences among neighborhoods. As the chart on the next page shows, three of the six neighborhoods (Jordan, Sumner-Glenwood and Willard Hay) have rates similar to the city average, while the other three have much higher percentages of children living with only one parent.
Table 10.TOTAL CHILDREN UNDER 18 IN ONE PARENT FAMILIES
NUMBER AND PERCENT, BY NEIGHBORHOOD, 1990
Neighborhood Total Children Children in One Percent of Children
Under 18 Parent Families in One Parent
Families
Harrison 1,315 774 58.9%
Hawthorne 2,215 1,112 50.2%
Jordan 2,733 1,020 37.3%
Near North 2,345 1,431 61.0%
Sumner Glenwood 1,865 692 37.1%
Willard Hay 3,107 1,224 39.4%
TOTAL 13,580 6,253 46.1%
In the city of Minneapolis, 55 percent of all children under age 6 live in households where all of the parents present are working. For children age 6 to 17, the figure is 65.1 percent. In Near North, the figures are 37.2 percent and 52.3 percent. As the chart below shows, however, there is a wide range of figures among the six neighborhoods. Hawthorne and Jordan have percentages of children in working parent families close to those for the city as a whole. Sumner-Glenwood has the lowest rate, because most of the families there are headed by unemployed parents receiving public assistance.
Table 11.NUMBER OF CHILDREN IN WORKING PARENT FAMILIES,
BY AGE OF CHILDREN AND NEIGHBORHOOD, 1990
Neighborhood Number of Percent of All Number of Percent of All
Children Under Children Under Children 6-17 Children 6-17
6 in Working 6 in Working in Working in Working
Parent Homes Parent Homes Parent Homes Parent Homes
Harrison 149 28.7% 383 53.1%
Hawthorne 422 49.6% 813 65.5%
Jordan 503 54.4% 907 59.8%
Near North 318 33.2% 540 48.0%
Sumner 72 9.8% 113 11.8%
Glenwood
Willard Hay 312 39.5% 1114 60.6%
The chart below shows that the percentage of high school graduates and college attenders among residents of each neighborhood was higher in 1990 than in 1980 in 1990 than in 1980, except in Sumner-Glenwood. Despite this increase in educational attainment, however, we know that poverty has actually increased in each neighborhood.
Table 12.EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT BY NEIGHBORHOOD, 1980-1990
Neighborhood 1980 High 1990 High 1980 College 1990 College
School School Attenders Attenders
Graduates Graduates
Harrison 56% 64% 25% 34%
Hawthorne 53% 63% 15% 27%
Jordan 65% 65% 24% 38%
Near North 57% 61% 26% 34%
Sumner 30% 30% 6% 12%
Glenwood
Willard Hay 64% 73% 31% 41%
Table 13.COMPARATIVE DROPOUT STATUS OF YOUTH
IN NEAR NORTH MINNEAPOLIS, 1990
Area Number of Dropouts Pct. of All Youth
Age 16-19 Age 16-19 Who Are
Dropouts
Near North 445 21%
Community
Remainder of 1,650 11%
Minneapolis
City Wide Total 2,095 12%
Among the six neighborhoods, the 1990 dropout percentages ranged from a low of 15% in Willard Hay to a high of 27% in Jordan. Interestingly, these dropout rates are lower than those from 1980 (see Table 12, below). At that time, dropout percentages ranged from 23 to 35%, with over one third of the youth age 16-19 in Hawthorne, Jordan and Sumner Glenwood out of school without having graduated. For the city as a whole, the percent of 16-19 year olds out of school without graduating was 16% in 1980, compared to 12% in 1990. Outside the Near North community, the dropout rate decreased from 14% in 1980 to 11% a decade later.
Table 14. HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT RATES AMONG YOUTH AGE 16-19
BY NEIGHBORHOOD, 1980-1990
Neighborhood 1980 Dropout 1990 Dropout 1980-90
Rate Rate Change
Harrison 27% 23% -4%
Hawthorne 35% 23% -12%
Jordan 35% 27% -8%
Near North 27% 22% -5%
Sumner Glenwood 32% 20% -12%
Willard Hay 23% 15% -8%
The high school dropout rate among youth of color in the Near North community is lower than that among White youth. The table below shows that the dropout rates are highest among American Indian and White youth. These figures do not fit the assumptions we have about dropout rates among students of color (see next section) and may be due to sampling error in the census figures. It seems safe to conclude, however, that African American and Asian youth in the Near North community are not dropping out of high school at higher rates than White youth. Note that the census figures are not the same as annual public school dropout statistics, which may show a different picture.
Table 15. HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT RATES AMONG YOUTH AGE 16-19
BY RACE, NEAR NORTH COMMUNITY, 1990
Youth 16-19 Not African American Asian Other Race White Total In School, Not American Indian Graduate Number 229 51 41 0 124 445 Percent 19% 45% 14% 0% 24% 21%
The school system is consistently failing students of color. The benchmark and competency tests are used to "track" students into different sets of courses and expectations. Those labeled as in need of remedial classes have much less opportunity to acquire the academic skills needed for higher education. The high teen age dropout rates and lower educational achievement among adults reflect these limited opportunities.
For more information on the educational system in Minneapolis and St. Paul, see the recent report Children of Color: A Wake-up Call to the Community released by the Communities of Color Program.
Table 16.NON-ENGLISH SPEAKERS, 1980-1990
Area 1980 Spoke 1990 Spoke 1980 Spoke 1990 Spoke
Other Language Other Language English Poorly English Poorly
Near North 1,982 (7%) 4,470 (14%) 232 (1%) 2,627 (8%)
Community
Minneapolis 25,777 (7%) 32,307 (9%) 3,000 (1%) 13,488 (4%)
A major reason for this, of course, was the increased population of Southeast Asians. As the next table shows, there were nearly 1,600 Sumner Glenwood residents whoä spoke Southeast Asian languages at home by 1990. Most of these(1,325 or 83%)ä spoke English poorly. These Southeast Asian language speakers in Sumnerä Glenwood represent half of all those who spoke English poorly across the sixä neighborhoods.
Table 17.SOUTHEAST ASIAN LANGUAGE SPEAKERS
BY NEIGHBORHOOD, 1990
Neighborhood Speak Southeast Speak Southeast Percent of Community
Asian at Home Asian at Home and Total of SE Asian Poor
Speak English Poorly English Speakers
Harrison 458 (15%) 319 (70%) 14%
Hawthorne 279 (5%) 179 (64%) 8%
Jordan 143 (2%) 70 (49%) 3%
Near North 186 (4%) 159 (85%) 7%
Sumner Glenwood 1599 (55%) 1325 (83%) 59%
Willard Hay 240 (3%) 208 (87%) 9%
Table 18.NUMBER AND PERCENT OF HOME OWNERS, 1980-1990
Neighborhood 1980 Home Owners 1990 Home Owners Harrison 462 (34.5%) 371 (31.8%) Hawthorne 925 (37.6%) 721 (33.1%) Jordan 1,895 (64.3%) 1,553 (57.9%) Near North 647 (30.5%) 638 (28.3%) Sumner Glenwood 4 (0.5%) 10 (1.2%) Willard Hay 2,014 (66.7%) 1,845 (66.8%)
Table 19. CROWDED RENTAL HOUSING UNITS, 1990
Neighborhood Crowded Rental Percent of Rental
Units Units Crowded
Harrison 163 20.5%
Hawthorne 195 13.4%
Jordan 72 6.3%
Near North 217 13.5%
Sumner Glenwood 369 43.8%
Willard Hay 305 27.4%