Wisconsin has the largest gap between the well-being of white and black children in the country

From [HERE] Milwaukee community leaders have been speaking out about racial disparities and the struggles of hard-working, well-meaning African-American families to get ahead for decades. Now, a new report from the Wisconsin Council on Children & Families confirms that Wisconsin has the largest gap between the well-being of white and black children in the country.

While the well-being of white children in Wisconsin ranks tenth nationally, the well-being of Latino children ranks seventeenth, Asian children are thirty-seventh, African American children rank a horrendous 46th – a full thirty places lower than white children. This disparity is by far the worst in the country.

The WCCF report, Race for Results: Wisconsin’s Need to Reduce Racial Disparities, highlights disturbing realities that are hurting Wisconsin’s children. The report contains rankings in numerous categories of well-being, including high school graduation, family and community income, math and reading proficiency, and family education. In addition to rankings, the report also highlights some key facts:

• Eighty percent of black children live in households below 200% of the poverty level, compared to thirty percent of Wisconsin’s white children.

• White adults in Wisconsin, age 25 to 29, are three times as likely to have an associate’s degree or higher, compared to their African-American or Latino peers.

• White children are nearly six times more likely to be proficient in eighth grade math than black children.