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**The Status of EqualOpportunity for Minorities in Moorhead, Minnesota**

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**Chapter3**

**Findingsand Recommendations**

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**OpeningComment**

TheU.S. Commission on Civil Rights is an independent, bipartisan agency of thefederal government charged with studying discrimination or denials of equalprotection on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, ornational origin. State Advisory Committees, such as the Minnesota AdvisoryCommittee, operate in each state to advise the Commission on matters within thejurisdiction of the Commission. 

Toensure independence and bipartisanship, State Advisory Committees areconstituted to include individuals representing major political parties, a broadspectrum of political philosophies, and different races, religions, andgeographic regions of the state. The Minnesota Advisory Committee is alsoindependent of any national, state, or local administration, politicalorganization, or advocacy group.

Inthe past five years, the Minnesota Advisory Committee has examined a number ofrace-related issues, including news media stereotyping of minorities; theenforcement of civil rights by local, state, and federal enforcement agencies;equal educational opportunity; and affirmative action. Since all of thesestudies were conducted in the eastern part of the state, the Minnesota AdvisoryCommittee decided to go to Moorhead to examine race relations in the westernpart of the state.

Inthe experience of the Minnesota Advisory Committee, Moorhead is probably similarto most other cities in Minnesota regarding the state of ethnic and racerelations. So although the particular degree and manifestation of racial andethnic problems and tensions in Moorhead might vary from that of other Minnesotacommunities, the essential issues concerning race and ethnic relations in thecity of Moorhead are likely typical of other communities in many respects.

Tothat end, the Minnesota Advisory Committee notes that for the most part overt,egregious racist behavior and attitudes are not tolerated by the vast majorityof people, white or people of color, living and working in the metropolitanMoorhead area. Though this is a positive situation, it does not mean thatprejudice and bigotry do not exist or that discrimination in employment,housing, and education does not occur.

TheCommittee finds that in Moorhead among the majority population there is an�illusion about inclusion.� This lack of consciousness about racial andethnic prejudice allows white individuals to honestly maintain a support for ajust and equal opportunity society, without having to accept any personalresponsibility either for an unjust, unfair, and unbalanced system or forworking toward a resolution of the problem.

Theresult becomes observable in Moorhead and in many other parts of the state. Theminority and white communities exist as virtually separate communities, with theminority community disproportionately relegated to the lessdesirable jobs, housing, and educational programs. Since there are few open andvisible manifestations of overt discrimination, there is no easily identifiedlocus of the problem and no simple, direct way to address latent bigotry andprejudice in the Moorhead community.

Inrecent years, local political leaders and community organizations have engagedin efforts to improve the climate of race and ethnicrelations and to eliminate discrimination. Still,startling disparities and inequalities along racial and ethnic lines persist in the Moorhead metropolitan area. Consider:

-  Minorities remain concentrated in the    lowest paying and least desirable clerical and service sector jobs, while    whites dominate managerial and professional jobs (see table 2.2).Per capita income for minorities is    significantly lower compared with income of whites (see table 2.1).Minorities disproportionately do not    attain a high school education. Thirty-four percent of minorities over the    age of 25 do not have a high school diploma, while just 18 percent of whites    do not (see page 14). Homeownership rates are significantly    different between minorities and nonminorities. In Clay County, the    homeownership rate for whites is 72.8 percent, but just 40.1 percent of    minority households own homes (see table 2.13).
**Findingsand Recommendations**

***1. Income and Employment***

**Finding1.1.**Starkdifferences exist between the white community�s and the minority community�sperception of equal employment opportunity. A survey of the Moorhead communityshows that whites assume that equal opportunity in employment and earning alivelihood exists, and the testimony of public leaders supports the surveyresults. In contrast, minorities perceive barriers to equal employmentopportunity.

Theper capita income of minorities in Moorhead is one-third that of whites,minorities are clustered in the lowest paying jobs of the labor force, andpublic employment opportunity is virtually closed to minorities. All thesefactors support the perceptions of the minority community.

**Finding1.2.**Minoritiesare disproportionately underrepresented in the public work force. In employmentopportunity with the city administration, in the public schools, and within thepolice department minorities are significantly underrepresented proportional totheir population. This lack of minorities in public sector employment is atdistinct variance from the usual practice in most larger communities, where thepublic sector is the leader in offering equal employment opportunity.

**Recommendation1.2.**Thecity of Moorhead should commit to an affirmative action program designed torecruit, hire, and promote people of color.****Affirmative action programsare forms of outreach to formerly excluded segments of society�not programs ofpreferences or quotas. Moorhead remains a color-conscious community. For equalemployment opportunity to become a reality, employers must take specificallydesigned actions, such as affirmative action, both to counteract theconsequences of past discrimination and to ensure nondiscrimination in currentpractices. The public sector needs to set the example for the private sector.

**Finding1.3.**TheMoorhead Human Rights Commission is a weak and ineffective enforcement mechanismfor ensuring equal employment opportunity.****The Moorhead Human Rights Commission is an agency with no full-time staffand without any investigatory power. Though it is part of the State League ofHuman Rights Agencies and serves as a moral guide to the community on humanrights issues, it simply does not have the ability to investigate effectivelyand resolve complaints of employment discrimination. 

**Recommendation1.3.**The city should vest the Human Rights Commission with real enforcement power,e.g., investigatory power and mandatory mediation. At the very least, the agencyshould be some form of a �whistle-blower� agency, identifying overt andcovert institutional practices precluding equal employment opportunity.

***2. Education***

**Finding2.1.**Significantdifferences exist between the views of whites and those of minorities regardingequal educational opportunity.****The white community assumes that equalopportunity in education is provided to all students regardless of race orcolor, and the testimony of the school administration supports this perception.In contrast, minorities perceive barriers to equal educational opportunity. Andreinforcing this perception is the fact that minorities are disproportionatelyoverrepresented in the alternative school programs, have significantly higherdropout rates, and are much more likely to be disciplined.

**Recommendation2.1.**School administrators acknowledge that disparities exist along racial and ethniclines in graduation rates, alternative school placement, and discipline. Thoughacknowledging the existence of the disparity is a start, public schools need toundertake an open examination of these disparities and work with the minoritycommunity to understand how such disparities evolved and what institutionalbarriers may exist allowing such disparities to persist. 

**Finding2.2.**Thereality of the educational experience for minority students is that theyinteract almost exclusively with white teachers. There are only five minorityteachers in the city�s public school system. Minorities are less than 2percent of teachers, though minorities constitute nearly 15 percent of thestudent body. Two of the minority faculty members at the secondary level areassigned to the district�s alternative school program.

**Recommendation2.2.**TheMoorhead public school district should commit to an affirmative action programdesigned to recruit, hire, and promote people of color for faculty, support, andadministrative positions. Such an affirmative action program should includespecifically identified recruitment efforts and goals and timetables forachieving an ethnically and racially diverse work force. 

**Finding2.3.**TheMoorhead Community Alternative Program (MCAP), the school district�salternative educational program, promotes de facto segregation in the Moorheadpublic schools.****Testimony received atthe fact-finding meeting, coupled with educational data, supports this finding.Latinos make up less than 10 percent of public school students and one-third ofall MCAP students; American Indians are less than 3 percent of public schoolstudents and nearly 20 percent of all MCAP students. 

**Recommendation2.3.**TheMCAP should be openly and publicly examined, with input from the minoritycommunity, as to whether any overt or covert racial and ethnic bias exists forplacing students into the program. 

***3. Public Safety***

**Finding3.1.**Differencesexist between the white community and the minority community in the perceptionof police services.****The white community overwhelmingly perceives thatrespectful and quality policing is provided equally to all communities. Incontrast, the minority community perceives policing in Moorhead to be colorbiased and unequal.

Thesurvey of the minority community and testimony received at the fact-findingmeeting demonstrated to the Advisory Committee that no issue is more contentiousamong minorities in Moorhead than their perception that policing practices inMoorhead are unequal and unfair toward minorities. Moreover, the perception ofthe minority community is bolstered by the extreme disparity in arrest ratesbetween minorities and nonminorities. The Committee discerns minorities asviewing the police not as an organization that is providing public safetyservices to their communities but rather as an occupation force.

**Recommendation 3.1.******There is anurgent need for the city and police administrations to develop programs andpolicing strategies that will foster cooperative and trusting relationshipsbetween the police and the minority communities. Such programs and strategiesmust actively engage the minority communities to begin to break down thebarriers of distrust that have built up over the years. 

**Finding3.2.**TheCrime Free Multi-Housing Program provided to landlords promotes de factosegregation in housing by virtue of its adverse impact on Latinos and AmericanIndians. The Committee is troubled by ties between police and landlords in providing data on prospective tenants. The Committee holdsthat such a practice goes far beyond normal police functions, may violate stateprivacy laws, and certainly adds fuel to the distrust that exists between theminority community and the police.

**Recommendation3.2.******The CrimeFree Multi-Housing Program needs reassessment. First, that reassessment shouldbe done in open meetings so that the public can view and hear all elementsbrought to bear on both the purpose and implementation of the program. Second,now that there is some history of the program an assessment should be doneconsidering the demonstrated�not hypothetical�benefits of the programagainst the costs of the program both in terms of policing resources and thesocial costs of marginalizing the minority community.

***4. Housing and Public Accommodation***

**Finding4.1.**Moorheadis not a color-blind community. Individuals in the community are colorconscious, see skin color, and often act�even if subconsciously�onstereotypes associated with skin color. Significant differences exist betweenthe views of whites and people of color regarding public accommodation and equalaccess to housing. The white community holds that equal respect andaccommodation are provided to all citizens regardless of race or color, and thetestimony from public officials reflects of this perception. 

Incontrast, minorities understand there to be prejudicial behaviors operating on aregular and daily basis by many whites toward people of color.

**Recommendation4.1.**Someindividuals in the Moorhead community should recognize, as uncomfortable as itmay be, that they see skin color and associate stereotypes with skin color.Further, it should be recognized that the refusal by individuals to acknowledgethe presence of such color-consciousness and subconscious stereotypingperpetuates covert, institutional barriers limiting access to equal opportunityin employment, education, housing, and public accommodation for people of color.

**Finding4.2.**Severalgroups allege that Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds are not beingprovided equally to minority communities.

**Recommendation4.2.**An assessment of the disbursement of CDBG funds should be done in open meetingsso that the public can view and hear all elements brought to bear both on thepurpose and implementation of the program.This needs to be done to allay concerns that the white community is utilizing adisproportionate share of such funds at the expense of the minority communities.

**ClosingComment**

Thepurpose of this report is to put before the citizen community and the civil,religious, and political institutions an assessment of equal opportunity andrace and ethnic relations in Moorhead and to give a voice to those mostaffected.

Assuch, the Advisory Committee finds that there is a social climate in Moorheadpromoting the persistence of racial and ethnic problems and a thwarting of equalopportunity for people of color. This climate is neither acknowledged norrecognized by most in the majority community, who appear to assume that race andethnic problems will dissipate in time. 

Themayor of Moorhead, Morris Lanning, has committed his administration and thecommunity to achieving a diverse and open community devoid of racial and ethnicdiscrimination. He said, �Let me make it very clear that we want as acommunity to appreciate and celebrate our diversity, and we want to deal withdiscrimination and bad things that happen in race relationships and deal withthem effectively as a community. We are committed to that.�[1]

TheCommittee notes, however, that when the leadership of the white community hascommitted to involve itself in examining and resolving these issues, simple�Band-Aid� solutions to deeply ingrained institutional practices have beenwhat has been offered.

A change inthe disparities of opportunity, both perceived and real, between the whitecommunity and the communities of people of color will lead to a healthiercommunity for all citizens. The challenge to Moorhead and other Minnesotacommunities is whether they have the courage to undertake the fundamentalchanges that will allow people of color to have a genuine share in the power,responsibility, and rewards of a prospering community.

[1]    Mayor Morris L. Lanning, statement before the Minnesota Advisory Committee    to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, fact-finding meeting, Moorhead, MN,    May 24 and 25, 1999, p. 13.