Report studies racial disparities in California

A new report called “Race Counts” is highlighting racial disparities across the state, looking at how communities of color fare in key areas. The Advancement Project California looked at seven issues to show that race counts —

-Democracy
-Economic Opportunity
-Crime and Justice
-Access to Healthcare
-Healthy Build Environment
-Education
-Housing

Based on that, Monterey County is ranked 19th highest in racial disparity. Economic opportunity and healthcare access shows the biggest differences.

“We find that whites are five times more likely to hold manager positions than their Latino counterparts,” said Megan McClaire, director of health equity for Advancement Project California. “When we look at internet access, we find that Asians have the best with 95%, Latinos are at 68%. Wo we’re finding that in Monterey County, in particular, Latinos are faring the greatest burdens with some of these outcomes.”

It also found fewer Caucasians in poverty while Native Americans reported more. In terms of employment, Pacific Islanders reported high employment numbers. On the other side of the spectrum, African Americans were 20% lower.

“Racism, poverty, all that stuff is alive and well and it’s not gone away,” said Regina Mason, president of the Monterey County Branch of the NAACP.

Mason said she wasn’t surprised by the results of the report. She believes African Americans and Latinos are seeing some commonalities.

“I think that I consider the Latinos are being treated like the African Americans once were because now they’re the domestics that are working in the restaurants. They’re doing a lot of the labor that the African Americans once did in this county. So I think working together with our Latino brothers and sisters, which we’ve always done, is going be something that can help Latinos overcome what their issues are.”

Mason said it’s up to the people to make a change, in the ballot booth.

We also looked at some of the other counties on the Central coast. Santa Cruz County is ranked “low disparity,” in the 27th spot, while San Benito ranked 53rd.