Capacity Building and Community Development in Wilmington’s Black Inner City Communities: A Preliminary Examination of Black Leaders’ Attitudes and Perceptions

Working Paper #2 Capacity Building and Community Development in Wilmington’s Black Inner City Communities: A Preliminary Examination of Black Leaders’ Attitudes and Perceptions By Dr. Theodore J. Davis, Jr. Associate Professor Department of Political Science and International Relations Joint Appointment Department of Black American Studies University of Delaware Newark, DE 19716 teddavis@udel.edu Released 2011 All Rights Reserved © Theodore J Davis Jr 1 Abstract This white paper examines the attitudes and perception of black community leaders regarding issues important to building capacity and development in Wilmington’s inner city. It sought to focus on capacity building and community development in Wilmington as a socio-political phenomenon. This paper begins with the assumption that social and political factors are as equally important as to economic factors in increasing the standard of living and quality of life in Wilmington’s inner-city communities. It considers the impact of social influences in shaping individual leaders political views. The findings show a measure of agreement among leaders regarding the most important issues facing their community, and strong agreement among the community leaders’ perceptions of the factors influencing political and social outcomes in the community. They were critical of the job government was doing to assist the community, yet equally critical of the efforts of the residents to address the problems their community faced. They did not have much confidence in outside institutions nor did they have much faith in blacks who lived outside of the community helping to build community capacity and develop. Capacity building and community development in inner city communities must be understood as they are situated in a complex and unique socio-political context and in accordance with internal community identity politics. Research Problem Inner city communities are plagued with the problems of crime, high unemployment, poor health care, inadequate educational opportunities, dilapidated housing, high infant mortality, and extreme poverty. Despite the commitment of resources and various initiatives designed to improve the quality of life in these communities, most have not met with much success in community capacity building and development. For our purposes, capacity building was defined as efforts to increase the skills and competencies of the population with the goal of improving the community’s quality of life. Community development was described as efforts to improve the social, political, and economic quality of life in a local area. The ability of a community to increase its capacity and develop largely depends on four factors: 1) the effectiveness of its leadership, 2) the success of the organizations that serve it, 3) the triumphs of the community organizing efforts, and 4) the community’s ability to collaborate and establish partnerships with institutions in the larger community. This project sought to understand of the foundation for capacity building and community development efforts in Wilmington’s black inner–city communities. It achieved this goal by focusing on leaders as central players in shaping and setting the community’s internal and external political agenda. The goal of this study was to determine the extent there is a measure of agreement or divisions in the attitudes and perceptions of black community leaders regarding the various factors that influence capacity building and community development. Furthermore, the aim of this study was 2 to contribute to our understanding of the political dynamics of Wilmington’s black inner city community and the implications for capacity building and economic development. Objectives of Project Leaders are crucial to capacity building and community development. Leaders in inner-city communities tend to function independent of each other and sometimes the relationship among them is adversarial. This project starts under the assumption that community leaders’ attitudes and perceptions are critical for understanding the community’s potential for capacity building and community development. Understanding community leaders’ perception and how they construct their political realities is crucial to understanding the challenges and opportunities for capacity building and community development in the inner city. Thus, the objectives of the study were:     First, to ascertain what black community leaders from inner city communities perceive as the most important and urgent problems facing their community. Second, to discover how community leaders rate the performance of various leadership groups in moving the community toward capacity building and development. Third, to determine the level of confidence that community leaders have in local institutions when it comes to helping inner city communities build capacity. Finally, to assess the prospects for future capacity building and community development based on leaders’ attitudes and beliefs regarding the causes Significance of Project Much is assumed about the political realities of inner city communities, but not many academic studies have examined the dynamics and nature of the attitudes and perceptions of its leaders and the political structure within these communities. Consequently, this research project is significant for several reasons. First, community leaders play an important role in carrying the community’s concerns and needs to policymakers. In addition, they play an important role in interpreting how the political and policy systems respond to the community’s concerns and needs. When there is a lack on congruency among the community leaders’ attitudes and perceptions it becomes difficult for the community to advance a united agenda. Second, the perceptions and level of congruency in community leaders’ attitudes are essential to the development of workable policy options. Third, congruency in community leaders’ attitudes and behavior can play an important role in the mobilization of the community and external resources and support. That is, community leaders not only play an important role in defining and framing the policy needs of the community, but they also play an important role in rallying the community. Finally, this project will contribute to our understanding of the politics of agenda setting within a black inner-city community 3 Methodology A community leader for this study was considered as any individual who publicly represented (whether formally or informally) a population within the community or actively work to advance and promote the common interests of the community. Interviews were conducted with leaders from the four categories mentioned earlier. Elected/political leaders included anyone currently or previously (within the last 10 years) holding (or have held) a city council, state legislative, county council, school broad, or other political position representing a pre-dominantly black elected district in Wilmington. Religious leaders include anyone who headed a predominantly black religious congregation and/or served as a public advocate for the black community in the name of their religious conviction. Organization based community leader includes any person who headed an group that provided social/social welfare services in the black community or any person that worked for an organization (local or national) and their position enabled them to play a key role in providing leadership within the black community. Grassroots/Community activist includes any person who operates in a public capacity to advance the interests of the black community; they may or may not hold a position in a formal community organization. The some of the data was gathered during a face-to-face interview and some via the mail. The data was collected during a 14 month period starting in July 2010 and ending in September 2011. Approximately 125 community leaders were invited to participate, and approximately 38 participated. Preliminary Findings  Respondents were asked to identify the five most important problems facing inner city black communities (order was not important). More than 60 percent selected either education, employment, crime or family relations as one of their top five Community Problems Percent Education (improving graduation rates, parental involvement, student achievement, curriculum development, reducing the dropout rate) Employment (unemployment, lack of quality good paying job) 84 Crime (reduction, increased law enforcement, improved legal representation) 68 Family Relations (single head of household families, children living with grandparents, domestic violence, births to teens, child abuse and neglect) Health Care (affordability, accessibility, quality, and infant mortality, geriatric care) 60 56 Housing (fair housing, affordable housing, and financing, homelessness 44 Substance abuse (reduction of alcohol, drug, and tobacco use) 36 Social/Cultural Development (increased activities and institutions dedicated to preserving and promoting black culture, family involvement) 20 4 80 Political Development (increased voter registration, voter turnout, and political participation) Ex-Offender Issues (re-entry to the community, community programs for exoffenders)  12 12 Recreation (youth programs, senior citizen programs, after school programs) 8 Mental Health (cost, accessibility, community outreach, delivery) 4 Environment (air and water quality, environmental racism) 4 More than 80 percent of the respondents felt that state and local governments were doing a poor or very poor job helping the poor, halting crime, dealing with drug addictions or addressing the needs on inner-city youths. Very Poor or Poor Job  Improving and protecting the environment in inner city areas Halting the rising crime rate in inner city areas Dealing with drug addiction in inner city communities Improving the educational system for inner city residents Improving the conditions of the poor in the inner city Improving mass transportation for inner city residents Improving parks and recreational activities in inner city areas Improving mental health services in inner city areas Improving health care services in inner city areas Addressing the needs of youths in inner city areas Addressing the needs of the elderly in inner city areas 78.4 86.5 88.9 52.8 94.6 48.6 52.8 61.1 47.2 83.8 67.6 More than 80 percent felt that inner city residents are doing a poor or very poor job protecting the environment in the inner city, helping to halt crime, dealing with drug addictions or addressing the needs of the homeless. Very Poor or Poor Job  Improving and protecting the environment in inner city areas Halting the rising crime rate in inner city areas Dealing with drug addiction in inner city communities Addressing the needs of youths in inner city areas Addressing the needs of the elderly in inner city areas Addressing the needs of the homeless Promoting economic development Pursuing political development Pursuing social and culture development 86.5 86.1 89.2 66.7 58.3 88.9 72.2 68.6 51.4 Percentage with no or very little confidence in the following institutions as allies in building of social and economic capacity in inner-city black communities. 5            Local business and industry Public educational system Banks and financial institutions Federal government State government County government City government The non-profit sector working in inner-city communities Local colleges and universities Religious Institutions Local media No or very little confidence at all 60.5 42.1 57.9 38.5 44.7 52.6 44.7 19.4 40.7 55.3 81.6 67.6 percent felt the quality of life for blacks in the inner city had gotten worse in the last five years 32.4 percent felt opportunities for black inner city residents to get ahead in the next 5 years would get better, 40.5 percent felt they had gotten worse and 27 percent felt it remained the same When asked whose obligation it was to help inner city communities, 42.9 percent felt it as the obligation of the inner city residents and 48.6 percent felt it was a combination of the residents and the government. 76.9 percent of the participants supported the need for specific legislation to address the problems of inner city black communities. 55.3 percent felt the quality of life in inner city communities were influenced by both race and class 44.7 percent felt there was hardly any or not much unity among black leaders in the community. 75.6 percent felt the local media’s portrayal of the black inner city community was either unfair or very unfair 40.5 percent felt relations between blacks and whites in Wilmington were either somewhat negative or very negative 51.4 percent felt relations between blacks and Hispanics/Latinos in Wilmington were either somewhat negative or very negative 67.6 percent felt opportunities for Hispanics/Latinos to get ahead in the next five years would improve 81.6 percent felt if immigration to this country continues at the present rate, blacks in the inner city will have fewer job opportunities. 6 Implications for Capacity Building and Community Development in Wilmington’s Black Inner-city           There was measurable agreement among the black community leaders regarding the most important problems facing the community (leaders tended to agree that education, crime, employment and family relations are the most important problems facing the community) The data showed that community leaders felt the youth were the group requiring the most urgent attention (relative to the elderly, extremely poor, the mentallyphysically challenged, the homeless or ex-offenders) While the leaders felt the state and local governments (i.e., county and city) were not doing the best job in addressing the quality of life issues facing inner-city residents, they felt the efforts of the inner city residents was even worst. The black community leaders did not see the local media, local businesses and industry, the banks and financial institutions or religious institutions as strong allies in the community’s capacity building and community development efforts. On the other hand, the leaders had a great deal of confidence in the non-profit sector work in helping Wilmington’s inner city build human capacity and experience community development. Black leaders were more optimistic about the future opportunities for Hispanic/Latinos than they were about that of black inner city residents. The majority of the black leaders felt the preponderance of the obligation for solving the problems of the black inner city rested with the residents themselves. The black leaders did not feel that traditionally black institutions (civic, social, religious) or blacks residing outside of the inner city were effective in helping the black inner city communities build capacity or develop. Challenges Facing Wilmington’s Inner-City Residents Overcoming a very pessimistic outlook about the current and future status of the community. Restructuring the long standing traditionally black institutions in the community, to enable them to effectively address the social and economic needs of the community Improving unity among black community leaders. There appears to be a need to reduce the competition and high level of distrust among black community leaders. 7    Effectively moving the community’s concerns and issues onto the larger political agenda. Black leaders have been very effective in articulating the problem, but they are often ineffective in moving beyond the identification of the problem. Improving and developing social, political and economic relations with external political communities (including other blacks and other political communities outside of the inner city Promoting its public agenda to the larger community, and the advocating of policy initiatives that promote inclusive economic growth Conclusion This inner city community (and others like it) has an uphill challenge to increase the capacity of the residents and experience meaningful community development. For starters, the leaders and the residents must overcome a very pessimistic outlook about the current and future status of the community. It is imperative that efforts are made to restructure the long-standing traditional black institutions in the community, to enable these institutions to effectively address the social and economic needs of the community. Greater cooperation and organization is needed within the community, and the key to this occurring is improved unity among black community leaders. In the community under examination there appears to be a need to reduce the competition and high level of distrust that exists among the black community leaders. There is also the challenge of being an effective political entity. One of the key challenges faced my community is the inability its leadership to effectively move the community’s concerns and issues onto the larger political agenda. Black leaders in inner-city communities have been very effective in articulating the problem within their community, but they are often ineffective in getting it onto the larger political agenda. If the inner city community in Wilmington is to achieve some measure of capacity building and sustainable community development, it must improve its relationship with political communities outside of the inner city (including other blacks). The key to its success is promoting its public agenda to the larger community, and the advocating of policy initiatives that promote inclusive economic growth In conclusion, the preliminary study has the potential to set the stage for extending research on policy and sustainable community development initiatives based on options beyond the development of governmental programs. That is, more research is needed discussing capacity building and sustainable community development as it specifically relates to black inner-city community. Black inner city communities have a unique history and thus sociopolitical circumstances that warrants special consideration be given to discussions about building community capacity and sustainable community development beyond the academic discussions about the life and the nature and causes of the problems inner city communities. 8 Acknowledgements I am very thankful to those community leaders who gave of their time to participate in this research project. Despite the methodological limitations of the this study, it still provides a great deal of preliminary information that would be very useful in helping the community build an agenda around that will augment the capacity of the population and facilitate social, political and economic development of the community. I would like to thank Allana Cook (an undergraduate student at the University of Delaware at the time) for her assistance in the administration of the survey. I also want to acknowledge the financial assistance of the University of Delaware (via resources made available through a General University Research Grant). 9