R EP ORT OF TH E

PROVIDENCE MUNICIPAL
REPARATIONS COMMISSION
PREPARED FOR:
Honorable Mayor Jorge O. Elorza
Providence City Council
PREPARED BY:
Providence Municipal Reparations Commission

AUG UST 2022

“ YOU SAY YOU H AVE EM ANCI PATED US …BUT WHEN

YO U TU R NE D U S LO OSE , YOU GAVE US NO ACRES . YOU
TU R NE D U S LO OSE TO THE SKY, TO THE STORM , TO THE
WH IR LWIND, A ND WORST OF ALL , YOU TURNED US
LO OSE TO THE WR ATH OF OUR I NFURIATED M ASTERS .”

— FR ED ERI CK D OUGL ASS

TABLE O F CO N T E N TS

1. Introduction
2. Acknowledgements
3. Glossary to Aid Reading the Report
4. Executive Summary
5. Providence Municipal Reparations Commission Recommendations
a. Defining Reparations: Closing the Racial Wealth Gap in Providence
b. Parameters for Eligibility Criteria
c. Eligibility Definitions
d. Providence 11-Point Municipal Reparations Investment Plan
6. Truth
a. A Matter of Truth Report and Historical Context
b. Guiding Principles of the Matter of Truth Report
7. Reconciliation
a. Community Engagement
b. Community Survey
8. Municipal Reparations
a. Reparation Work Underway in Other Cities and States
b. Community Engagement Strategies Throughout the Process
c. Providence COVID-19 Recovery and Resiliency Task Force Report
d. Providence Reparations Disparity Assessment
9. Conclusion
a. Moving Forward Together
b. A Call for Funding Partnerships
c. Advancing A National Objective for Reparations

Appendix A: Executive Order 2020-13: Declaration on Truth,

Reconciliation, and Reparations
Appendix B: Executive Order 2022-4: Establishing the Providence
Municipal Reparations Commission
Appendix C: Map of Qualified Census Tracts
Appendix D: Providence Reparations Disparity Assessment
CLO S I NG T H E PR E S E N T- DAY RACI AL WEALT H AN D EQ UITY GAP

PROVIDENCE MUNICIPAL
REPARATIONS OVERVIEW
S UM MARY

In July 2020, Providence launched a three-phase process to advance Truth-telling,

Reconciliations and Reparations for African heritage and Indigenous residents. Mayor
Elorza launched the Providence Municipal Reparations Commission to address
the injuries outlined in the Truth Telling and Reconciliation phases and provide
recommendations to the City on appropriate policies, programs, and projects to begin
repairing harm.

The City has allocated $10 million of American Rescue Plan funds to advance this work.
The Municipal Reparations Commission partnered with the Truth-Telling and and
Reconciliations Subgroup and City of Providence staff to engage residents before making
recommendations to the City of Providence to advance reparations.

TOTAL AR PA ALLOCAT ION : $1 0,0 0 0,0 0 0

I NFO R M I N G T H I S R E PO RT REPARAT I ON S CO MMUNITY

EN G AG EM EN T FACTS
Historical documentation provided
by Rhode Island Black Heritage
Society, Rhode Island Historical 7 Reparations
Society, 1696 Heritage Group, and Town Hall 17 hybrid
the Providence Preservation Society Meetings meetings

650+ primary 1,500 Providence 25+ 30+

and secondary stakeholders organizations Reparations
sources of engaged during participated Commission
documentation Reconciliation public
and historical efforts comments
narratives 750+ A
29 interviews Matter of
378 survey Truth reports 58 Town Hall
responses 11 events disseminated attendees
1. INT R O DU CT I O N

Racial disparities in economic well-being Mayor Elorza tasked the Municipal

can be traced to the very founding of Reparations Commission (“the
the United States of America. The City Commission”) with addressing the
of Providence and the State of Rhode information outlined in the Truth and
Island were settled through the founding Reconciliation phases of Mayor Elorza’s
enterprises of Indigenous people’s land and Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations
enslaved African people’s labor. Colonizers Community-driven Executive Order and
paid little or nothing for native land and providing “clear recommendations to the
paid no wages for enslaved African labor City on appropriate policies, programs,
that produced the products and services and projects to begin repairing harm.”
that created enormous wealth and This report provides recommendations
prosperity. for reparative action that are anchored
in extensive socio-economic research,
Systematic racism, a form of race-
community engagement, and policy
based discrimination embedded as a
deliberations.
normal practice within a society and
its governmental system, has a long In documenting these truths, this report,
history in the United States, and cities informed by the work of the Commission,
like Providence approved discriminatory aims to build an understanding of how
and dehumanizing laws and policies that the City of Providence’s treatment of
created and exacerbated inequality in nonwhite people evolved, which people
almost every sphere of life. and institutions benefited, who was
left behind, and how these legacies still
During the 20th century, race-based
influence society today. The findings,
discrimination continued as municipal,
which document and validate the struggle
state, and federal government-sanctioned
of African heritage, Indigenous and
redlining, discriminatory employment
people of limited means to thrive in the
and housing practices, urban renewal,
City of Providence, will help to create an
and interstate highway improvements
environment and future policy platforms
deconstructed largely African heritage and
for positive change that foster fairness,
limited-income neighborhoods including
equity, and justice for all residents.
Fox Point, Upper South Providence, West
Elmwood, College Hill and Lippitt Hill.
2 . AC KNOWL E D G E M E N TS

The Providence Municipal Reparations support of the Commission’s work and

Commission is grateful to the Honorable to this report. This work would not have
Mayor Jorge O. Elorza for launching and been possible without the invaluable staff
leading the Municipal Truth, Reconciliation, members who contributed to the work
and Reparations effort that led to the of the Commission and the completion
creation of the Commission and the of this report, including Theresa Agonia,
completion of this report; to Council LaJuan Allen, Elizabeth Anusaukas,
President John J. Igliozzi and members Shawndell Burney-Speaks, Dana Gillson,
of the Providence City Council for their Bret Jacob, Patrice Jean-Philippe, Hannah
support and Commission appointments; Kahn, Quintin Nard, Monsurat Ottun, Diana
and to the City of Providence African Perdomo, Silas Pinto, and Keith Stokes. We
American Ambassador Group (AAAG), who also thank Kennedy M. Shannon, Esq. and
have “envisioned a future where racial, iParametrics for their dataset contributions
social, and economic equity is achieved related to American Rescue Plan funding.
for African Americans in Providence, and We are truly grateful to all who helped
where our government and institutions us research, draft, and complete this
represent and empower the African important report.
American community,” for their ongoing
vision and leadership on behalf of the Lastly, we recognize the 13 members of our
greater Providence community. We are Commission, for each contributing their
also appreciative of the many dedicated expertise, time, and knowledge to this
residents of the Providence community process. Collectively, Commissioners have
who took the time to attend community over 400 years of combined experience
engagement meetings, attend Commission either living or working in the City of
meetings and most importantly, contribute Providence which is important to note
their comments, ideas, and proposals to when considering recommendations
advance the work of the Commission. within this report. This work is challenging,
but Commissioners showed up week after
We also want to recognize the many City of week because of the important impact this
Providence staff members who contributed work will have on our community.
their time, energy, and expertise in
 Commission members appointed by Mayor Elorza include:

Chairperson Vice-Chairperson
Lanre Ajakaiye Jessica Brown
Rodney Davis Arnell Millhouse

Raymond “Two
Wanda Brown Jim Vincent
Hawks” Watson

Commission members appointed by the Providence City Council include:

Kyle Bennett Michael Costa Phyllis Evans Dewayne Hackney

Dwayne Keys Cristian Potter

3. G LO S S ARY TO A I D I N
READI NG T H E RE PO RT
Civil Rights:
This glossary of terms is intended to provide Equal social opportunities and equal
the reader with brief definitions of some of protection under the law, regardless of race,
the terms, concepts, and other expressions religion, or other personal characteristics.
used in the “A Matter of Truth” report and
subsequent components of the Truth Detribalization:
Reconciliation and Reparations process. Detribalization is the process by which
Understanding these terms has assisted persons who belong to a particular
the Commission to more clearly follow Indigenous ethnic identity or community
the four centuries of history of evolving are detached from that identity or
languages, phrases, and interpretations, community through the deliberate efforts
while also directly assisting in aligning past of colonizers and/or the larger effects of
practices outlined in the “A Matter of Truth” colonialism.
report with present day remedies. Equal Opportunity:
The policy of treating people without
G LO S S A RY TE R MS discrimination, especially on the basis of
their sex, race, or age.
African Diaspora:
The African Diaspora is the worldwide Equity:
collection of communities descended Equity recognizes that each person has
from native Africans or people from Africa, different circumstances and allocates the
predominantly in the Americas. The term exact resources and opportunities needed
most commonly refers to the descendants to reach an equal outcome.
of the West and Central Africans who were
enslaved and shipped to the Americas Fair Employment:
via the Atlantic slave trade between the The employment of workers on a basis
16th and 19th centuries, with their largest of equality without discrimination or
populations in the United States, Brazil, and segregation especially because of race,
the West Indies. color, or creed.

African Heritage: Fair Housing:

Belonging to an ethnic group consisting The law that makes illegal any
of people with partial or total ancestry discrimination in the sale, lease, or rental
originating from sub-Saharan Africa. Today, of housing, or making housing otherwise
the city’s African heritage residents include unavailable, because of race, color, religion,
African American, Indigenous, African, Bi- sex, handicap, familial status, or national
racial, Afro-Latino, Cape Verdean, and Afro- origin.
Caribbean. Federal Housing Administration:
Anti-Racism: The National Housing Act of 1934
Anti-Racism encompasses a range of ideas established the Federal Housing
and political actions which are meant to Administration to make housing and home
counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, mortgages more affordable.
and the oppression of specific racial
groups.
Hardscrabble/Snowtown: Negro Blood & One Drop Rule:
Hard Scrabble (Addison Hollow) and “Negro Blood” is a pseudo-science
Snowtown were two African heritage popularly referred to as the “One-Drop
neighborhoods located in Providence in Rule,” that employs a highly subjective
the early nineteenth century. They were and discriminatory legal principle of racial
also the sites of race riots which destroyed classification that asserts that any person
multiple black homes and displaced many with even one African heritage ancestor is
families in 1824 and 1831, respectively. considered Black or colored. This highly-
racialized tactic of defining non-white
Indentured Service: people effectively denied Narragansett
Indentured servitude is a form of labor tribal members of their legal rights to their
in which a person is contracted to work ancestral land and identity in 19th century
without salary for a specific number of Rhode Island.
years.
Negro Cloth:
Indigenous People: “Negro Cloth” was cheap but strong coarse
People who inhabited a country or a cloth used in making clothes for slaves in
geographical region at the time when the American South. During the early 19th
people of different cultures or ethnic century, Rhode Island textile manufacturers
origins arrived. The new arrivals later specialized in Negro cloth production.
became dominant through conquest, At least 84 Rhode Island mills produced
occupation, settlement, or other means. the material during that era, the highest
Inheritable Slavery: concentration in New England.
A child born to an enslaved mother inherits Overcriminalization:
her slave status for life. Widely adopted for The act of imposing unbalanced penalties
African enslavement in the Americas and with no relation to the gravity of the
West Indies. offense committed or the culpability
Jim Crow Laws: of the wrongdoer. In many cases,
overcriminalization is related to over-
Jim Crow laws were state and local statutes
policing in marginalized communities.
that legalized racial segregation largely
perpetrated upon African heritage people, Qualified Census Tracts (QCTs) &
starting after the Civil War, and continuing Neighborhoods:
well into the 20th century. Under the final U.S. Treasury American
Model Cities: Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) rule, “recipients
were allowed to presume that families
The Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan
residing in QCTs or receiving services
Development Act of 1966 (Model Cities)
provided by Tribal governments were
was enacted as a broad urban planning
disproportionately impacted by the
program meant to revitalize cities and
pandemic.” Providence QCTs include but
improve the welfare of people living in
are not limited to Upper and Lower South
slums and blighted neighborhoods.
Providence, Washington Park, Mount Hope
(Lippitt Hill), Olneyville, Fox Point, Hartford,
Elmwood, and Smith Hill.
Racial Wealth Gap: Warning Out Laws:
Racial Wealth Gap refers to the difference Municipal “warning-out” laws were enacted
in assets owned by different racial or ethnic to determine who was a lawful inhabitant
groups, this gap results from a range of of a town and who the town would officially
economic factors that affect the overall decide was a candidate for expulsion.
economic well-being of these different
groups.

Redlining:
Redlining is the highly discriminatory
practice that restricts or denies access
to loans, mortgages, and other financial
resources based on race, class, and location.
Reparations:
As defined by the Providence Municipal
Reparations Commission as closing the
racial wealth and equity gap between
Providence residents and neighborhoods.

Residents Facing Poverty:

Providence residents/households earning
less than 50% of the Area Median Income
(AMI) that are considered to be very low-
income, and residents/households earning
less than 30% of AMI who are considered to
be extremely low-income households.

Triangle Trade:
Europeans traded manufactured goods
for captured Africans, who were shipped
across the Atlantic Ocean to become
enslaved in the West Indies and Americas.

Tribal Sovereignty:
The inherent authority of indigenous
people and tribes to govern themselves.

Urban Renewal:
The publicly-sanctioned process of seizing
and demolishing large swaths of private
and public property for the purpose of
modernizing and improving blighted
infrastructure.
4 . EXECUT IVE S U M M A RY

The City of Providence’s effort leading Providence. The three-phased process

to both the formation of the Providence began with research to advise future
Municipal Reparations Commission and components of the Executive Order.
its final report and recommendations
had its beginnings in the spring of 2020. The Truth process was realized through a
Mayor Elorza formed the African American comprehensive research effort led by the
Ambassador Group (AAAG) in May 2020 Rhode Island Black Heritage Society in
to launch an active dialogue with the collaboration with a number of city and
city’s African heritage community on the state historical institutions, collecting over
devastating health and socio-economic 650 primary and secondary sources of
impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. documentation and historical narratives
Comprised of dozens of residents and that revealed 400 years of Providence and
Providence stakeholders from across Rhode Island history. The final report,
different backgrounds and generations, paid for through private funding, entitled,
the group quickly evolved to meet “A Matter of Truth: The Struggle for
weekly and discuss and advance a more African Heritage and Indigenous People
comprehensive social justice agenda for Equal Rights in Providence, Rhode Island
the City of Providence. Defined by the (1620-2020),” provided the evidentiary
group members, the AAAG’s vision is to documentation of the institutions of
“protect, uplift, celebrate, and empower slavery, the genocide of Indigenous people,
the African American community in and the ongoing racialized discrimination
Providence by developing and advancing that resonates to the present day in
City of Providence policies that dismantle Providence. Over 750 copies of the report
oppressive systems and extinguish racial, have been widely distributed across the
social, and economic equity gaps for city and state and the report has been
African Americans.” used as a learning tool by civic, business,
and educational institutions. The report’s
The immediate and impactful work of basic findings of fact were based upon the
the AAAG includes a community-driven premise:
Executive Order removing the term
“plantations” from all City documents and “Racial disparities in economic
oath ceremonies and a community-driven well-being can be traced to the
Executive Order declaring Juneteenth a founding of the United States.
City holiday to recognize the emancipation The City of Providence and the
of slavery and honor the history, State of Rhode Island were settled
perseverance, and achievements of African through the founding enterprises
Americans. of Indigenous people land and
African people labor. Colonizers
In addition, on July 15, 2020, Mayor paid little or nothing for native land
Elorza signed an Executive Order that and paid no wages for enslaved
identified and created a process of African labor that produced the
Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations products and services that created
to address institutional and systemic enormous wealth and prosperity
bias and racism affecting individuals of for certain persons, families,
African heritage, Indigenous people, and businesses, and institutions.”
other people of color within the City of
The findings of the “A Matter of Truth” and most importantly, provide measurable
report were used to initiate the process of outcomes for reparations to “close the
Reconciliation. To advance this work, the present-day racial wealth and equity
City unveiled a Request for Proposals after gap” that has left too many African
receiving a $100,000 grant from the Nellie heritage, Indigenous and other residents
Mae Education Foundation. Through this of Providence much poorer than their
process, the City secured the services of the white counterparts. Informed by a robust
Providence Cultural Equity Initiative, Roger community engagement process, the
Williams University, and Providence Public Commission has outlined the Providence
Library to design and launch a framework 11-Point Municipal Reparations
for reconciliation, which included several Investment Plan, reparative justice
months of community engagement, recommendations that take a broad view of
reflecting on the information discovered Providence history and consequences and
and the research compiled within the “A translate them into a series of programs
Matter of Truth” report. The Coalition of and policies that can bring immediate
partners worked with the AAAG Truth- opportunity and equity for those
Telling and Reconciliation Subgroup, Providence residents of greatest need.
composed of nearly 20 community Areas of focus and investment include
members from the larger African American equity building, criminal justice reform,
Ambassador Group. neighborhood development, health equity,
and the advancement of educational and
On February 28, 2022, the Framework for cultural opportunities. These investment
Reconciliation was publicly unveiled. It was strategies are discussed at greater length in
piloted in the neighborhoods of Fox Point, the sections that follow.
Lippitt Hill, Upper South Providence, and
West Elmwood, and outlines a model and The report concludes with an important
proof of concept to continue reconciliation section entitled Moving Forward Together,
in perpetuity. The process also included which advances a path for historically
the development of a multimedia initiative complicit institutions and those who look to
to directly connect more individuals with join the City’s efforts to invest in equity and
the “A Matter of Truth” report, including a opportunity for all residents of Providence.
website featuring documentary interviews The final section also includes an important
and the reconciliation framework report. recommendation for advancing national
reparations efforts through the inclusion of
The final outcome of the Truth and “racial equity” as part of a national objective
Reconciliation process is the completion for federal funding priorities. This action
of this report by the appointed Providence would codify racial equity alongside the
Municipal Reparations Commission present federal investment priorities that
members, who have worked tirelessly benefit low and moderate-income persons
over weekly public meetings to provide and prevent or eliminate slums or blight.
recommendations for specific program,
policy, and legislative remedies to address Doing the right thing, at the right time,
socio-economic harms as outlined in in the right way is a great challenge
the Truth and Reconciliation phases. The that has been central to the work of the
recommendations are bold, innovative, Commission and is embodied in this report.
5. PR OVI D E N C E M U N I C IPAL
REPAR ATI ON S CO M M IS S I O N
RECO M M E N DAT IO N S households across race, ethnicity, and
class. Many studies have confirmed that
The work of the Providence Municipal racial wealth and equity gaps between
Reparations Commission is driven by the wealth of white families and people
community-driven components of the of color is a persistent socio-economic
Truth, Reconciliations and Reparations challenge across America. As part of our
process, established in July 2020. For ease Commission’s assessment of the racial
of the reader, summaries on each piece wealth and equity gaps within the City
of this process are included after our of Providence, findings revealed that
recommendations. Providence has the greatest overall income
inequality of any other city in the State
of Rhode Island and one of the highest
D E F I N I N G R EPA R ATION S: C LOSI NG nationwide. While the national wealth and
T HE R AC I A L WE A LTH GA P IN equity gap between white and people of
PROVI D EN C E color is so significant, and it will require
As documented within the “A Matter of remedy through a wide-ranging federal
Truth” report, beginning with the taking of reparations initiative, the City of Providence
Indigenous lands and the enslavement of can immediately address the issue through
African heritage people in early Providence, targeted programs that begin to close
the system of racial discrimination deprived the income disparities between residents.
early people of color the value of their In practice, closing the racial wealth and
own land and labor, setting the stage for equity gap in Providence would be a
a persistent multigenerational “Racial long overdue investment in people and
Wealth and Equity Gap” that continues neighborhoods who were methodically
to disadvantage descendants today. denied over generations the chance to
Continuing through the 20th century, build and retain wealth simply because of
legally sanctioned redlining, discriminatory their race and ethnicity.
employment and housing practices, An important part of the work of the
urban renewal and interstate highway Commission was to not only to define
improvements ghettoized and later “Reparations” as closing the racial wealth
deconstructed largely African heritage and and equity gap between Providence
limited-income neighborhoods including residents and neighborhoods, but to
Fox Point, Upper South Providence, West recommend municipal investment avenues
Elmwood, College Hill, and Lippitt Hill. that can help residents of need get started
These actions would continue to extend on the path to income security and stability.
income disparities between white and The Commission’s 11-Point Municipal
Providence residents of color to the present Reparations Investment Plan encourages
day. It has become the central findings the city to design programs and policies
of fact by our Commission that the racial that encourage entrepreneurship, financial
wealth and equity gap for African heritage, literacy, homeownership, education, and
Indigenous, and people of color are the employment training which will directly
underpinnings of contemporary income enable eligible residents the opportunity to
disparities in Providence. create a good quality of life for themselves
A racial wealth and equity gap refers to the and future generations of Providence
income disparity in the assets of typical residents.
PA R A M ETE R S FO R E L IGIBIL ITY it soon evolved into newer forms of
C R I TE R I A intolerance that were constantly placed
upon non-white residents.
Centuries of racial discrimination and
exploitation have left a majority of African The eligibility definitions also recognize
heritage and Indigenous residents of residents who may not have been
Providence much poorer than their white harmed by early injustices to Indigenous
counterparts. Today’s racial wealth gap is inhabitants and enslaved Africans, but
the product of centuries of public policies were injured by the lingering legacy of
and practices that continue to keep non- disenfranchisement and enslavement
white residents of Providence from getting due to their Indigenous and African
ahead. heritage once they arrived to the city in
later years. In recognizing these irrefutable
Decades of discriminatory policies and demographic facts, the Commission
practices also created the preconditions adopted four eligibility categories for
that make many African heritage and recommended reparations investments
Indigenous peoples and other historically that would most accurately reflect the City
marginalized residents more vulnerable of Providence’s unique history and also
to COVID-19 inequities today. Substantial respond to the residents in the present day
changes to these laws and policies did not with the most measurable need.
occur until the late 1960s, and the harm
continues to exist. INDIGENOUS PEOPLE – People who
are a part of social and cultural groups
As further defined within ARPA final rule, that share collective ancestral ties before
recipients of this funding “were allowed the European settlement of Providence
to presume that families residing in QCTs and Rhode Island, including the natural
or receiving services provided by Tribal resources where they live, inhabit, or from
governments were disproportionately which they have been displaced.
impacted by the pandemic and too many
citizens and residents of the United States AFRICAN HERITAGE PEOPLE – An ethnic
remain unemployed, out of the labor force, group consisting of people with ancestry
or unable to pay their bills, with this pain originating from sub-Saharan Africa.
particularly acute among lower-income Today, the city’s African heritage residents
and communities of color”. include, but are not limited to, African
American, African, Bi-racial, Afro-Latino,
Cape Verdean, and Afro-Caribbean.
ELI G I BI L I TY DE FIN ITIO NS
QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACTS &
The Commission undertook significant
NEIGHBORHOODS – Under the final U.S.
deliberations to develop an eligibility policy
Treasury ARPA rule, recipients of funding
that reflected both the history of racialized
“were allowed to presume that families
discrimination within the City of Providence
residing in Qualified Census Tracts (QCT)
dating back to nearly four centuries, and
or receiving services provided by Tribal
also the on-going effects still influencing
governments were disproportionately
the present day. While noting this history
impacted by the pandemic.” Providence
of discrimination began with Indigenous
QCTs eligible for these programs include
land-taking and African enslavement,
Upper and Lower South Providence,
Washington Park, Mount Hope (Lippitt Hill), 1 ‒ RECOGNITION OF HARM
Olneyville, Fox Point, Hartford, Elmwood,
Harm to a person, community, and a
Smith Hill, Wanskuck, and Manton.
people can come in many forms, such
RESIDENTS FACING POVERTY – as psychological harm, physical harm,
Providence residents/households earning legal harm, social harm, and economic
less than 50% of the Area Median Income harm. While many see the harm done to
that are considered to be very low-income. Indigenous and people of African Heritage
Preference given to residents/households in Providence as being long past history,
earning less than 30% of AMI who are the legacy exists and persists today deeply
considered to be extremely low-income embedded in social, political, and business
households. Individuals who are eligible for systems. The first step in recognizing the
programming include: harm of racialized discrimination is through
official apologies and acknowledgements,
• Residents who were born in the City of and it is a necessary prerequisite to
Providence or, advance public discussions about what
• Non-College students who have lived it means to justly undo the harm. The
in Providence, Rhode Island for a Commission recommends the following
minimum of three (3) years or, initiatives:
• For people who moved to Providence to • Formal Municipal Apology For African
attend a college or university, three (3) Enslavement
years from the last date of enrollment.
• Formal Municipal Indigenous Land
Acknowledgement
PROVI D EN C E MU NIC IPA L
R EPA R ATI O N S 11- P OINT • Formal Municipal Apology For Urban
I NVE STME N T PL A N Renewal Policies and Practices
• Formal Municipal Acknowledgment
In order to redress the legacy of Truth,
of the harms to African Heritage and
Reconciliation and Reparations for
Indigenous communities caused by over
the City of Providence, the Providence
criminalization and enforcement of low-
Municipal Reparations Commission
level drug offenses
makes the following calls to action in the
form of an 11-Point Investment Plan. Each • Formal Recognition for People from
recommendation includes a summary of African Heritage and Indigenous
key components that represent policies Communities with Respect to Public Art
and programs for implementation or Buildings (i.e. reimagining building
consideration by the City Administration, names, public streets, monuments, and
City Council, and external partners. public spaces)
• Official City Holiday in Honor of the 1936
Indian Day Act
2 ‒ EQUITY BUILDING FOR AFRICAN
HERITAGE AND INDIGENOUS
COMMUNITIES

The Commission recognizes that a

well-documented legacy of racialized
discrimination in the City of Providence
has created persistent multigenerational
racial wealth and equity disparities for too
many residents. To advance measurable
equity and opportunity, the Commission
recommends several programs that
simultaneously build wealth and financial
stability among eligible residents of the
city.

• Home Ownership and Financial Literacy 3 ‒ CREATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Program OF AFRICAN HERITAGE AND
• Home Repair Fund INDIGENOUS MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY AND
COMMUNICATION COMPANIES
• Capacity Investments in African
Heritage and Indigenous Community The Commission recognizes a racially
Organizations and culturally diverse media market can
• Earn & Learn Workforce Training create a space where African heritage,
Indigenous and other residents of color
• African Heritage and Indigenous can speak for themselves about issues
Business Acceleration of importance, celebrate their cultural
• Expansion of the Guaranteed Income values, and provide an invaluable platform
Program for sharing information most relevant
• Expansion of Youth Internship Programs to their communities. The Commission
for African Heritage and Indigenous recommends the following strategies
Youth to increase media presence within the
Providence community.
• Lead By Example: Expansion of African
Heritage and Indigenous municipal • Invest in and develop African heritage
employment at all levels to reflect the and Indigenous-owned media firms,
demographic of the City (i.e. radio, podcast, television, digital
• Establish a legal defense fund for African platforms, broadband-access, etc.)
Heritage and Indigenous Peoples facing • Partner with the National Association
rental evictions of Black Owned Broadcasters and their
Foundation to bring best business
practices to Providence.
4 ‒ CREATION OF AFRICAN HERITAGE 5 ‒ REVIEW AND REFORMATION OF
AND INDIGENOUS DEVELOPMENT LAWS AND POLICIES THAT HARM
PROGRAMS AFRICAN HERITAGE AND INDIGENOUS
PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIES
As painfully documented by most
research, the COVID-19 pandemic has Systematic discrimination—a
disproportionately impacted African discriminatory act or set of actions that
heritage, Indigenous, and other becomes embedded in a society—is the
communities of color within the City of challenge that people of color generally,
Providence. The Commission recognizes and Indigenous and people of African
that nonprofit organizations led by people heritage specifically, have faced since
of color play a vital role by providing goods, the earliest days of Providence. The
services, employment opportunities, and Commission recommends innovative
other forms of support to the communities policies and procedures that prevent mass
they serve. Although neighborhood-based incarceration and overcriminalization at the
nonprofit organizations are often at the “front end” of the criminal justice system.
frontline of a crisis, they are also deeply
• Establish and invest in a right to counsel
impacted by the economic hardship that
program to ensure that African Heritage
has been exacerbated by the pandemic.
and Indigenous people have access to
The Commission recommends several
effective legal assistance at any point of
direct investment strategies to expand the
contact with the legal system.
capacity of community-based organizations
to deliver needed development programs. • Establish a Bail Bond Fund to reduce
unjust Pretrial Detention for African
• Support programming in the City of Heritage and Indigenous people.
Providence that promotes community
• Decriminalize the Providence municipal
health, youth engagement, safe
code, including Section 16-3. - Disorderly
neighborhoods, and criminal justice
and indecent conduct, and Section
reform.
23-32. - Consumption of alcoholic
• Provide grants to expand operational beverages on any public street,
capacity of African heritage and sidewalk, way, or grounds owned by the
Indigenous organizations and city or on licensed parking lots or land.
businesses.
• Codify a Fair Chance Hiring policy into
• Invest in programs that preserve, City ordinance to ensure applicants of
safeguard, promote, and cultivate the African and Indigenous Heritage with
culture and heritage of African heritage prior criminal convictions are evaluated
and Indigenous peoples by African for employment holistically.
Heritage and Indigenous peoples.
• In accordance with P.L. 1936, Ch. 2331
Sec. 1 of the RI General Laws, waive all
municipal fees associated with Tribal
events held in public spaces in the City.
• Discontinue the practice of suspending
driver’s licenses for unpaid municipal
fines and fees for African Heritage and
Indigenous people.
 • Discharge all municipal court debt • Discontinue the Providence Police
for African Heritage and Indigenous Department’s (PPD) use of no-knock
people one year old or greater as of the warrants.
issuance of this report and continue • Provide the Providence External
annual discharge until systemic Review Authority (PERA) with adequate
reforms to increase accessibility to and resources to provide effective oversight
engagement with municipal court are of the PPD and enforcement of the
enacted. Community Safety Act, including but
• Increase the accessibility of people of not limited to:
African and Indigenous Heritage to, • A budget reflective of staffing needs
and engagement with, municipal court,
▶ Proactive community
including but not limited to:
engagement and community
• Offering sessions at varying hours to building from the PPD and PERA
accommodate nontraditional work based on best practices and
and childcare schedules. standards.
• Allowing for video conference ▶ Quarterly reports regarding
hearings, text and email reminders community engagement efforts.
about tickets and court dates, and
online service options to facilitate
• Implementation of a City of
Providence residency requirement
easier communication with the court.
policy for PERA board members.
• Creating an online system that Implementation of personal
enables residents to search for and and professional standards for
pay their violation using criteria other qualification to serve on the Board.
than ticket/notice number.
• Creating an online system that
enables residents to contest
municipal violations.
• Establishing a standardized process
that calculates a defendant’s ability
to pay if they choose to contest a
municipal violation and/or request a
discharge.
6 ‒ MOVEMENT TOWARDS A MORE 7 ‒ CREATION OF NEIGHBORHOOD
EQUITABLE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM FOR INCUBATOR(S) FOCUSED ON AFRICAN
AFRICAN HERITAGE AND INDIGENOUS HERITAGE AND INDIGENOUS
PEOPLE COMMUNITIES
One of the greatest challenges of the The Commission recommends the
healthcare system is to provide equal development of neighborhood-based
quality care to all regardless of race, incubators that serve the direct socio-
age, gender, ethnicity, and income. This economic needs of local residents of
becomes even more evident when Indigenous and African Heritage, and the
considering the devastating health and communities they live within. This focus
social impacts the COVID-19 pandemic area also recognizes there is an untapped
has exacerbated within the Providence opportunity to support micro-businesses
community and neighborhoods of color. that are largely neighborhood and home-
The Commission recommends the based.
following investments in closing the racial
wealth and equity gaps in Providence. • Rescue and reclaim the former Urban
League site on Rosa Parks Way (Prairie
• Expansion of mental and behavioral Ave) as a future incubator and hub for
health and wellness supports for African heritage and Indigenous social,
Indigenous and African Heritage business, and educational services.
Peoples, neighborhoods and Efforts should include clearing debts,
communities. engagement, and building capacity.
• Expansion of Mental Health providers • Establish a partnership with the
and adequate engagement with local Community Libraries of Providence
schools. to establish a library at the Urban
• Collaborate with the Providence League featuring, maintaining, and
Healthy Communities Office to expand curating the “Frazier Collection.”
programs for African Heritage and • Invest in incubators in other urban
Indigenous people and communities. renewal impacted neighborhoods
• Establish a partnership with local including South Providence, Lippitt Hill,
barbershops. Smith Hill, and Olneyville.
• Engage the newly established “Black • Creation of a Commercial Land Bank
Council @ Blue” program at Blue Cross program to acquire commercial
Blue Shield RI to develop programs and properties to advance business
services for Providence residents and ownership and equity building for
neighborhoods. Engagement should African Heritage and Indigenous people.
also include Common Care Alliance and
Oak Street Health.
• Development of a culturally responsive
diversionary respite center as an
alternative to arrest and/or emergency
room transport for substance users.
8 ‒ ACCELERATE THE EVOLUTION 9 ‒ CREATION OF AN “AFRICAN
OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE AND INDIGENOUS SURVIVORS
AMBASSADORS GROUP (AAAG) INTO & DESCENDANTS OF PROVIDENCE
AN AFRICAN HERITAGE PUBLIC POLICY URBAN RENEWAL DISPLACEMENT”
INSTITUTE MODEL FUND

The African American Ambassadors Group To undo the far-reaching damage of

has proactively advanced policies that “urban renewal” projects within Providence
directly address racial, social, and economic neighborhoods, the Commission
equity gaps for African heritage residents in recommends the establishment of a
Providence. The Commission recommends fund to reconnect neighborhoods, repair
their groundbreaking work should be the damage to families, and invest for
expanded to include the development of sustainable and equitable growth.
an independent research and policy center
• Establish a fund dedicated to providing
that continues to assemble supportive data
African heritage and Indigenous
and improve the lives of African heritage
individuals who are direct survivors
people in the city and state.
and descendants of Providence urban
• Creation of a multi-faceted, policy- renewal displacement from Lippitt
oriented research center for African Hill, West Elmwood, College Hill, South
Heritage and Indigenous people in Providence, Olneyville, Fox Point, and
collaboration with academic and other impacted neighborhoods.
community organizations with • Fund investments may include
supporting personnel and funding. down payment assistance, education
• Produce community-driven research scholarships, workforce training, and
and policy statements that advance the small business development.
socio-economic well-being of African • Developing a grant program to
heritage people and communities in the redesign or deconstruct the outdated
city and state. infrastructure that has hindered the
growth of urban renewal impacted
neighborhoods.
10 ‒ EXPANDED REPRESENTATION OF African heritage, Indigenous, and other
AFRICAN HERITAGE AND INDIGENOUS persons of color to key city governing
PEOPLE IN GOVERNING BODIES bodies.

Many public and private institutions have • Creation of a Municipal Diversity,

recognized the importance of recruiting Inclusion, and Equity Commission
people of color in leadership positions to • Creation of a City Commission for
improve performance and better represent Indigenous Rights
the greater population. The Commission
• Movement towards Full-Time
recommends the adoption of policies and
Providence City Council
practices that recruit and appoint more

Former Lippit Hill, Providence

Neighborhood Destabalization

1951 1962
11 ‒ EXPANSION OF CULTURAL • Rename CCRI’s Providence Campus
ENGAGEMENT AND EDUCATIONAL after Michael Van Leesten
OPPORTUNITIES FOR AFRICAN • Ensure K-12 Curriculum is grounded in
HERITAGE AND INDIGENOUS a Local Education of Rhode Island and
COMMUNITIES New England History
The Commission believes Providence • Providence Resident Scholarship Fund
can lead the nation on how we tell the for African Heritage and Indigenous
story of all residents by advancing public People
education and accelerating the inclusion • Creation of a “Fund” for home-based
of African heritage and Indigenous day-care providers in the City of
peoples’ history and their important Providence
contributions to local, state, and national
history. The Commission also believes • Invest in a district-wide outreach
that reconciliation and healing start with coordinator position or program
education and learning, and we will learn manager focusing on education
more when we learn together. and needs of African Heritage and
Indigenous people.
• Creation of, but not limited to, a
Providence K-12 Comprehensive “A
Matter of Truth” History Curriculum.
• Engagement should include higher
education institutions, vocational
schools, and trade-schools.
• Advance related public education
campaigns and outcomes.
• Funding to establish a School for African
Heritage and Indigenous
• Creation and establishment of “Artist in
Residence” fund
• Partnership with education institutions
on degree attainment
• Possible partnerships include
Community College of Rhode Island
(CCRI)
T HE T RUTH -RECON C IL IAT ION -
R E PARATION S FRAM EWORK

6 . T R UT H

“A M AT TE R OF TR UTH” R E P O RT On March 29, 2021, Mayor Elorza joined local

AND H I STO R ICA L CON TEXT historians and community members to
unveil the African American Ambassadors
The Truth-seeking process formally
Group (AAAG) Truth-Telling report: A
commenced on July 15, 2020, as Mayor
Matter of Truth.
Elorza signed an Executive Order that
initiated a course of action to address
institutional and systemic bias and racism THE TRUTH PROCESS WAS LE D
affecting African heritage, Indigenous BY THE FOLLOWING GUI D ING
people, and people of color within the PRINCI PLES:
City of Providence. The announcement
• The Truth shall begin by identifying,
was hosted at Dexter Park and Training
compiling, and synthesizing the relevant
Grounds, a nine-acre park donated by
documents on the institution of slavery,
Ebenezer Knight Dexter for military
the genocide of Indigenous people,
purposes that played a key role in the Dorr
and the forced assimilation that existed
Rebellion, the Civil War, and World War
within the State of Rhode Island and the
I. The 14th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery,
City of Providence.
who used these training grounds, was the
first Black company from Rhode Island to • The Truth will include the
serve in the Civil War, recruiting at least documentation and examination
1,800 soldiers from Rhode Island and of the facts related to the capture
surrounding states such as Connecticut and procurement of Africans; the
and New York. The historical significance as transport of Africans to Rhode Island
this comprehensive process was launched for enslavement, including their
was recognized by those in attendance. treatment during transport; the sale
and acquisition of Africans as chattel
The City partnered with the Rhode property in interstate and intrastate
Island Black Heritage Society, Rhode commerce; the treatment of African
Island Historical Society, 1696 Heritage slaves in Rhode Island, including
Group, and the Providence Preservation the deprivation of their freedom,
Society to work with the AAAG Truth- exploitation of their labor, and
Telling Subgroup, comprised of nearly destruction of their culture, language,
20 community members from the larger religion, and families; and the extensive
African American Ambassador Group, to denial of humanity, sexual abuse, and
collect and analyze historical collections, chattelization of persons.
documents, and artifacts that define the
• The Truth will include the
African heritage and Indigenous people’s
documentation and examination of
history within Providence and Rhode
the facts related to the capture and
Island.
 procurement of Indigenous people; • The Truth will examine the lingering
the sanctioned genocide of Indigenous negative effects of the institution of
people, the treatment of Indigenous slavery, Indigenous genocide, and
people in Rhode Island, including seizure of Indigenous land.
the deprivation of their freedom, • The Truth will examine and document
exploitation of their labor, seizing of their that although slavery was abolished at
land, and destruction of their culture, the end of the Civil War, the brutalities of
language, religion, and families; and racial discrimination persisted under the
the extensive denial of humanity, sexual guise of Jim Crow laws in the South and
abuse, and chattelization of persons and Jim Crow traditions in the North.
property.
The Truth process required identifying,
• The Truth will examine the role of the compiling, and presenting the evidentiary
State of Rhode Island and the City of documentation of the institutions of
Providence in supporting the institution slavery, the genocide of Indigenous
of slavery, the genocide of Indigenous people, and the ongoing discrimination
people, and the forced assimilation and that resonates in the present day. The
seizure of land in constitutional and research effort, led by the Rhode Island
statutory provisions. Black Heritage Society in partnership with
• The Truth will examine the state and several historical institutions, collected
municipal laws that discriminated over 650 primary and secondary sources
against formerly enslaved Africans and of documentation and historical narrative
people of color and their descendants that unveiled 400 years of Providence
and Indigenous people from when they and Rhode Island history. The report was
were deemed United States citizens to divided into seven sections, with each
the present. section containing detailed examinations of
• The Truth will examine and document the people, events, and places that would
those laws, policies, and customs that shape the history of the city and state.
created a “Separate and Unequal” The Report begins in pre-1600 and
existence for African heritage people in concludes with the African heritage legacy
Providence and Rhode Island after the continuing beyond 2020. It identifies the
abolishment of slavery, which continued extent of the manipulation of race as a
throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. means of controlling enslaved individuals
• The Truth will examine the other of African heritage and the role of
forms of discrimination in the public institutions and lawmakers in perpetuating
and private sectors against freed discriminatory and racist policies.
African slaves and their descendants,
Indigenous people, and people of color
from when they were deemed United
States citizens to the present, including
but not limited to redlining, educational
funding discrepancies, and predatory
financial practices.
The report provided a unique and of the racial and class unfairness that has
expanded interpretation of history created a persistent multigenerational
beginning with Indigenous land taking racial wealth and equity gap that continues
and the enslavement of African heritage to disadvantage descendants into the
people in the 17th and 18th centuries, present day. The report’s main premise
to the 20th century publicly-sanctioned describes the historical racial wealth
redlining, discriminatory employment and and equity gap for African heritage,
housing practices, urban renewal, and Indigenous, and other people of color as
interstate highway improvements that the underpinning of contemporary racial,
accelerated the deconstruction of largely neighborhood, and class disparities in
African heritage and limited-income Providence.
neighborhoods in Providence. The collected
historical data within the report provided
a much-expanded approach of a legacy
7. R ECO NC IL I AT IO N

Once the Truth phase was completed, the development of a multimedia initiative
findings were used to begin the process to directly connect more individuals with
of Reconciliation. To advance this work, the “A Matter of Truth” report, including a
the City unveiled a Request for Proposals website featuring documentary interviews
to launch the Reconciliation phase of and reconciliation framework report.
the City’s commitment to Truth-Telling,
Reconciliation and Municipal Reparations It is important to note that the process
after receiving a $100,000 grant from the of Reconciliation is ongoing, and thus
Nellie Mae Education Foundation. the AAAG Truth, Reconciliation and
Reparations Subgroup continued
The Providence Cultural Equity Initiative, community engagement that began
Roger Williams University, and Providence during the Reconciliation phase during the
Public Library partnered with the City and time when the Reparations Commission
AAAG Truth-Telling and Reconciliation was meeting.
Subgroup, comprised of nearly 20
community members from the larger The Subgroup, with support of the
African American Ambassador Group, Municipal Reparations Commission and
to launch a framework for reconciliation in partnership with the City of Providence,
which included several months of held six (6) Town Halls across different
engagement and discussion across the neighborhoods to engage community
community, reflecting on the information members in discussion around reparations
discovered and the research compiled in in the City of Providence. These town
A Matter of Truth. halls were held in community centers
across the city and included Smith Hill
On February 28, 2022, the Framework for Community Library, Wanskuck Community
Reconciliation was publicly unveiled. It was Library, Vincent Brown Recreation
piloted in the neighborhoods of Fox Point, Center, United Way, and the Nonviolence
Lippitt Hill, Upper South Providence, and Institute. Over forty community members
West Elmwood, and outlines a model and attended to provide ideas, knowledge, and
proof of concept to continue Reconciliation recommendations for what reparations
in perpetuity. might entail for people in Providence.
Most of the conversations were focused on
COM M U N I TY E N GAGE ME NT answering the question of: “Where should
funding for reparations be directed?”
The framework is informed by deep
At every meeting, residents expressed a
community engagement, including
need for investment in homeownership,
engagement with an estimated 1,500
and accommodating different resources
individuals at approximately 11 community
for different people. Other themes and
cultural events, 378 survey responses,
forms of reparations discussed included
16 lead stakeholders with generational
Black Media, building investment in
personal, familial, and community ties to
historically Black neighborhoods, direct
four focused neighborhoods, 29 interviews
financial payments to eligible individuals,
of community members and engagement
Black businesses for and by Black people,
with community members across
education (both K-12 and post-secondary),
several African and Indigenous Heritage
historical landmarks, and a variety of
community events. The process included
community investments like real estate,
local jobs, entrepreneurship, mental health identifying as Black, Indigenous and other
resources, resource databases, and more. People of Color. The responses aligned with
The community conversations provided the pilot projects that have focused on the
Providence Reparations Commission with long-term impacts of the CIty’s racist mid-
an initial understanding of residents’ needs 20th century redevelopment projects. The
and interest areas and were used to guide largest thematic category identified was
the Commission’s recommendations. housing, consisting of homeownership,
gentrification, homeless and redlining. The
Community meetings also highlighted second largest theme in the responses was
critical frames for the work, including a education and the “lack of ethnic studies in
recognition of the long-term nature of the PVD schools”, followed by policing, police
impact and a need to build trust between violence against communities of color” and
the community and the City through “over incarceration.”
strong engagement and communication
to ensure that public information and The results confirmed that reconciling
knowledge is accessible. There was a clear the truth of what happened with the lived
sense from the residents that there is an reality that the City’s African heritage and
understanding of the impact of the racial Indigenous residents experience should
wealth gap on residents past and present be a community-driven process that
in Providence, the importance of sharing centers the voices and perspectives of the
information (financial, historical, etc.) City’s African heritage and Indigenous
across generations, and the need to hold community leaders and organizations. The
institutions accountable and the need to findings also highlight that reconciliation
follow through on recommendations that cannot take place without substantial
will help to close the racial wealth gap. involvement from the government entities
that possess the means to take meaningful
action to redress these injustices in light of
COM M U N I TY SU R VEY
a fuller understanding of what recognizing
The Coalition designed a survey to engage the truth requires of all of us.
community members online and at
community events. Several drafts were
reviewed prior to approval on September 10,
2021 from the Roger Williams University’s
Human Subjects Review Board. The survey
collected demographic information and
asked questions about engagement with
A Matter of Truth report and perspectives
on the injustices that should be addressed,
and parties involved in reconciliation.

The responses suggested that more

work needed to be done to make works
like the “A Matter of Truth” report visible
and accessible. For example, 55% of the
respondents had never heard of the report,
and the number increased to 60% for folks
8 . M UNI C I PA L R E PA RAT IO N S

On February 28, 2022, Mayor Elorza signed from residents and companies through the
a community-driven Executive Order yearly property tax.
establishing the Providence Municipal
Reparations Commission to address The reparations investment by the other
the injuries outlined in the Truth Telling cities ranges, though a significant number
and Reconciliation phases and provide of them (approximately 50%) have focused
clear recommendations to the City on on housing and land ownership by African-
appropriate policies, programs, and Americans. Also included in investment
projects to begin repairing harm. The strategies are direct payments, higher
Commission has 13 members, with seven education opportunities and scholarships,
members appointed by Mayor Elorza and small business development and career
six members appointed by the Providence opportunities, healthcare initiatives,
City Council. community resources, and investments in
non-profit businesses.
The Providence Municipal Reparations
Commission met weekly from April 25,
COM M UNI TY ENGAGEM ENT
2022 through July 25, 2022. The meetings
STRATEGIES THROUGHOUT T HE
included a range of activities, including
PROCESS
examinations of reparations being
advanced in other cities, current initiatives From the very first meeting of the
in the City of Providence, and explorations Commission, members agreed to the
of remedies best suitable for meeting the following core values: be bold, center
needs of African Heritage and Indigenous innovation, have impact, be future-
people. Below are summaries of the various facing, be transformational, listen to
components of the meetings held over each other and the community, be
four months with engagement of over 30 uplifting, and center healing. In order to
people either in person or on zoom. best advance these values, the Commission
embarked upon a comprehensive
community engagement strategy to
R EPA R ATI O N WO R K U N DE R WAY IN
ensure the fullest community participation
OT H E R C I T I E S A N D STATE S
in framing final recommendations.
Early in the Commission’s convening, City
Recognizing that the issues surrounding
staff presented on the various ways in
racial reparations can be complex and
which different cities across the country
challenging, the Commission developed a
have been engaging with their reparations
comprehensive community engagement
efforts, including Amherst and Boston, MA,
strategy and platform of public discussions
Asheville and Durham, NC, Evanston, IL,
and forums to best equip themselves and
Iowa City, IA, St. Paul, MN, Kansas City and
the residents of Providence with accurate
St. Louis, MO, Sacramento, CA, Austin, TX
information to make wise choices around
and Tallahassee, OK.
sustainable investment strategies. The
Of the 12 cities, at least 50% have Commission believes that community
committed funds drawing from various engagement enables government
sources such as cannabis sales tax, existing decision-making organizations, including
laws, ARPA funding, private and grant governments, to listen, learn, and build
funding, taxes on city land, and donations deeper, stronger, and more trusting
relationships within the communities they three month timeframe to oversee a
serve. Most importantly, the community comprehensive community engagement
engagement process aimed to improve strategy for public input that included
residents’ and stakeholders’ knowledge of a broad range of resident input form
the past, present and future consequences across the city and to provide their
of implementing a reparative justice recommendations on how to allocate
strategy. ARPA funds. The Task Force provided
a final report with recommendations
To ensure community involvement, the that have been very helpful in guiding
Commission held each meeting as a public the work of the Commission, particularly
meeting enabling the public to listen in on those recommendations that advance
all Commission meetings either in-person equity building, self sufficiency, and
or online. Each Commission meeting entrepreneurship among Providence’s
also set aside time for public comment residents most in need. The community
and participation. The Commission also engagement and findings of the
developed a website at https://aaagpvd. Task Force have been critical in
com/providence-municipal-reparations- providing a platform of areas of priority
commission/ that included a link for investment for the Commission. Areas of
members of the public to provide direct recommendations that most resonated
feedback. with the Commission’s work included:
Recognizing that not all residents and • Investing in arts organizations,
stakeholders could attend Commission particularly BIPOC-led organizations
meetings, a series of community forums
were held throughout the city as outlined • Expanding financial recovery tools such
earlier in this report to further inform and as loans and grants to small businesses
enlist community input. These forums • Supporting wealth building programs
provided invaluable contributions towards for historically underinvested
program and policy prioritizations that are communities
largely reflected within the investment • Focusing on increasing housing
recommendations in this report. opportunities for people and families
with low or no income
PROVI D EN C E COVID -19 R ECOVERY • Supporting justice system reforms
AND R ES I L I EN CY TA SK R E P ORT
• Making public health and safety
Mayor Elorza and the City Council investments
established the City of Providence’s • Investing in economic stabilization
COVID-19 Recovery and Resiliency Task programs
Force as a community engagement
• Providing direct relief to hardest-hit
undertaking known as the Providence
communities
Rescue Plan. The plan details community
needs and aligned investment • Investing in capacity-building
opportunities for the deployment of infrastructure for community-based
American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds organizations
available to the City of Providence.
The Task Force convened during a
PROVI D EN C E R E PA R ATIO NS D I SPARI TY ASSESSM ENT

Inequity does not happen by coincidence. As our nation was founded under the guiding
principles, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that
they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these
are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” the stark reality is racial discrimination
has also greatly crippled many Americans. Throughout history, local, state, and federal
governments have played a significant role in creating and maintaining racial disparities.
Here in the City of Providence, years of government practices have created and produced
conditions of socio-economic injustices for African heritage, Indigenous, and other
arriving people of color that exist to this very day.

An important part of the Commission’s efforts has been to document racial disparities
that continue to restrict residents and neighborhoods from fully participating in the
city’s economy through wealth building and social equity. As a complement to the
historical documentation uncovered within the “A Matter of Truth” report, data sets have
been assembled to provide present-day socio-economic areas of racial disparity across
a number of city systems. That data clearly demonstrates that inequity exists within the
City of Providence among race, zip codes, and income. Both past and present data will
serve as a guide and justification for Reparations investment recommendations.

Figure 1: Census tracts within the City of Providence mapping

income disparity and prevalence of select races
 Figure 2: Census tracts within the City of
Providence mapping uninsured rates and
prevalence of select races

Figure 3: Census tracts within the City of

Providence mapping the impoverished
population
Figure 4: Change in racial makeup of the adult correctional facilities population

Table 1: 2018-2019 School Year Assessment Results for PPSD and the State
 Figure 5: PPSD schools with disproportionate percentages of
Black or African American and American Indian students

Figure 6: Change in homeownership disparity between White

and Black or African American populations from 2005 and 2019
9. CO NC LUS I O N

MOVI N G FO R WA R D TOGE TH E R Providence has been consistently tracked

as a “hot spot” for concentrations of
From the moment when the first English
COVID-19 infection rates throughout
colonists settled Providence in 1636,
changing variants. The pandemic has
Indigenous and soon after enslaved
added an urgency as we seek to ensure
African heritage people were denied equal
that all residents have access to programs
standing and a chance at self-sufficiency
and services as declared within the U.S.
and determination. Although some within
Department of Treasury American Rescue
the colony, such as founder Roger Williams,
Plan Act (ARPA) Rules and Regulations,
sympathized with the oppressed, any
“too many Americans remain unemployed,
laws that would have empowered them
out of the labor force, or unable to pay
were largely ignored. Instead, laws were
their bills, with this pain particularly acute
employed to further subjugate and control
among lower-income Americans and
early people of color. As compiled and
communities of color.” It is the intent of
documented within the “A Matter of Truth”
the Municipal Reparations Commission
report, the systemic system of racialized
to recommend the use of ARPA funds to
discrimination throughout Providence’s
drive catalytic innovation within municipal
history was not an aberration by a few
programs and policies to best improve the
bigoted individuals or small institutions; it
socio-economic conditions of Providence’s
was a matter of sustained public policy and
neediest residents and neighborhoods.
private business practice. As Providence
grew over time, so too did municipal public The visionary and innovative work of the
policies and practices with the tragic Commission is a compilation of research
consequences of associating crime with and community engagement with the
race and class, a path of governance that express objective of moving people,
would continue to shape Providence’s institutions, and businesses in a similar
policing policies well into the present day. direction towards universal equity. The
work is based upon the premise through
The research and recommendations for
the study and documentation of the City
reparative justice compiled within this
of Providence’s past history of racialized
report will help to create an environment
discrimination, that we can begin to
and future policy platforms for positive
understand and address the present-
change that fosters fairness, equity, and
day disparities within residents and
justice. Of equal importance, the report’s
neighborhoods. Today’s racial disparities
recommendations open a path to true
can be best defined as the making of
accountability for public and private
the racial wealth gap that has prevented
institutions who have been responsible
Providence’s residents of color from fully
for harm to residents of Providence simply
participating in the economy which
because of their race, ethnicity, and income
simultaneously provided access to wealth-
levels.
building for the city’s white residents.
Improving the lives of Providence’s poorest While sanctioned public practices of
residents and the neighborhoods where indigenous land-taking, slavery, redlining,
they reside is a critical need and a complex housing, and employment discrimination
challenge under any circumstance, that may not exist today, the accumulated
has been further accelerated because effects of four centuries of racialized
of the COVID-19 pandemic. The City of discrimination is largely responsible for
disparities in income, health, education, of Providence can achieve new levels of
and opportunity that continue to this day. prosperity, success, and equity.
The prime objective of the work of the
Commission is to recommend to the Mayor
ADVANCING A NATI ONAL
and City Council appropriate investment
OBJECTIVE FOR REPARATI ONS
and policy remedies of rehabilitation and
restitution for those City of Providence During the summer of 2020, the protests
residents who are impacted in the present that erupted across the United States
day by the deliberating effects of systemic and later the world following the killing of
discrimination. George Floyd marked one of the most vivid
illustrations of when many people, public,
and private institutions were moved to
A CA L L FO R FU N DIN G
become more aware of diversity, inclusion,
PA RT N ER S H IP S
and equity, particularly for African heritage
It is important to note that universities, people. Under the banner of “Black Lives
hospitals, and financial institutions Matter,” a new social movement was born
within the City of Providence also that highlighted the on-going racism,
bear some historical complicity in discrimination, and racial inequality
promoting and profiting from racialized experienced by African heritage people.
discriminatory policies and practices. As the The events also pushed to the forefront
Commission makes specific and strategic of public debate a renewed case for
recommendations for positive change, reparations. While reparations generally, as
private institutions can also step forward defined by the Merriam Webster dictionary,
and join the City in investing in residents includes “the act of making amends,
and neighborhoods of greatest socio- offering expiation, or giving satisfaction
economic need. The first step for these for a wrong or injury,” many across the
institutions is to follow Brown University nation see reparations has the explicit
in acknowledging previous complicity as act of redressing the restricting of “life,
a crucial opportunity in establishing racial liberty and the pursuit of happiness” for
equity and justice in Providence. The African heritage people that began with
second step is to actively engage in the enslavement and continued through the
work of the City and proactively consider centuries in the form of discriminatory
making direct monetary investments policies and practices.
in support of the Commission’s
Led by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson
recommendations that are best aligned
of Texas, H.R.40 was enacted as a national
with each institution’s charitable giving
“Commission to Study and Develop
policies.
Reparation Proposals for African Americans
A recommended starting point for this Act.” While the act was approved by a
collaborative effort is for leading public House committee, nearly one year later,
and private institutions to take part in the full House has yet to vote on it. In the
a community gathering forum to share wake of lack of national movement on
ideas and best practices. If Providence- reparations, many cities and states have
based public and private institutions begun to lead the effort establishing
can move forward together to uplift our reparations commissions at the local level.
city’s residents with most need, the City And in taking a cue from civil rights history,
social movements that begin locally can By adding as a national CDBG national
ultimately help support and drive a national objective “Advancing Racial Equity and
movement. Support for Underserved Populations
and Communities,” local and state
One area of attention that the federal government authorities would have the
government may take into consideration program and policy latitude to implement
in advancing a nationally-supported expanded CDBG programs and services
reparations policy is building upon with the additional objective of reducing
President Biden’s January 20, 2021 racial wealth and equity gaps within
Executive Order on “Advancing Racial their jurisdictions. Said inclusion of
Equity and Support for Underserved “Racial Equity” investment programs as a
Communities Through the Federal national objective would also be directly
Government.” The executive order placed empowering to the work of municipal
racial equity as a leading indicator for reparations commissions across the
federal agency investment policy. An country.
inclusion by Congress of achieving racial
equity as a national objective for federal, Once again, the Providence Municipal
state, and local investment policies will Reparations Commission is grateful to all
greatly complement the work of states and stakeholders who engaged in this work.
municipalities seeking to achieve full equity It is only through the collective thoughts,
for all residents. recommendations and expertise of all
participants that we have been able to
A direct example of a pathway to include advance this important social justice
racial equity as a national objective is agenda for the betterment of Providence
amending Section 101(c) of the federal residents.
Department of Housing and Urban
Development, Community Development
and Block Grant (CDBG) program, which
supports community development
activities to build stronger and more
resilient communities across the nation.
The authorizing statute for CDBG sets forth
national objectives of the program as:

• Benefiting low and moderate-income

persons
• Preventing or eliminating slums or
blight
• Meeting other community development
needs having a particular urgency
because existing conditions pose a
serious and immediate threat to the
health or welfare of the community
and other financial resources are not
available to meet such needs.
APPEND I X A :

Executive Order 2020-13: Declaration on Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations

https://www.providenceri.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Mayors-Executive-
Order-2020-13-1.pdf

APPEND I X B :

Executive Order 2022-4: Establishing the Providence Municipal Reparations

Commission

https://www.providenceri.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Elorza-EO__2022-4.pdf
APPEND I X C:

Map of Qualified Census Tracts

APPEND I X D :

Providence Reparations Disparity Assessment

BUSINESS OWNERSHIP Data Review

Nationwide, racial disparities exist in

Summary business ownership. For example, in 2019,
only 2.3% of employer firms were Black or
The following data review analyzes the
African American-owned, while the Black
rate of business ownership and significant
or African American population comprised
disparities along racial lines that exists
14.2% of the United State population[1]. In
when reviewing access to financing,
2018, just under 24,000 of employer firms
access to banking, as well as access to
were American Indian* or Alaska Native-
federal Covid-19 stimulus programs.
owned, which represented just over 0.4%
The data suggests that Black or African
of all employer firms in the nation and was
American-owned employer firms in the
about half of the American Indian* and
State of Rhode Island and Providence-
Alaska Native representation in the United
Warwick, Rhode Island-Massachusetts
States population[2][3]. The Minority Business
Metropolitan Area are underrepresented
Development Agency argues that the
when compared to the corresponding
disparity between the share of minority-
populations. The data also suggests
owned businesses and the minority
financing barriers could be a potential
population leads to missed opportunities
cause of the disparities. A survey conducted
in the United States economy, known as
by the Federal Reserve Banks in 2021
an “opportunity gap”; if minority business
found significant differences in total
enterprise performance matched non-
financing received for businesses owned by
minority business performance, then the
different races; while 35% of White-owned
United States would have seen another
businesses received all of the financing
$2.86 trillion and $0.38 trillion in gross
they sought, only 16% of Black or African
receipts from Black or African American-
American-owned businesses received
owned and American Indian* or Alaska
the same, and 47% of Black or African
Native-owned businesses, respectively[2]
American-owned businesses were denied [4]
. While state and metropolitan-specific
entirely compared to 34% of White-owned
data is not available for American Indian*-
businesses. While federal programs such
owned businesses, data from the 2019
as Payment Protection Program (PPP) were
American Business Survey shows that
designed to assist struggling businesses
Black or African American-owned employer
from the negative economic impacts of
firms in the State of Rhode Island and
COVID-19, that assistance overwhelmingly
Providence-Warwick, Rhode Island-
benefited White business owners. Only
Massachusetts Metropolitan Area are also
43% of Black or African American-owned
underrepresented; 1.4% of employer firms
businesses reportedly received all the PPP
in the State are Black or African American-
funding they applied for, as opposed to 79%
owned, while the State’s population
of White-owned businesses.
is comprised of 6.6% Black or African
American residents, and 1.1% of employer
firms in the Providence-Warwick, Rhode
Island-Massachusetts Metropolitan Area are firms (95% of Black or African American-
Black or African American-owned, while owned business are nonemployer firms,
the Area’s population is comprised of 8.6% while 78% of White-owned business are
Black or African American residents[1][3][5]. nonemployer firms)[1]. In addition, only
43% of Black or African American-owned
The disparities in business ownership businesses reportedly received all of the
among racial groups could partially be PPP funding they applied for, while 79% of
explained by financing barriers. A survey White-owned businesses did[1].
conducted by the Federal Reserve Banks in
2021 found significant differences in total
financing received for businesses owned by End Notes
different races; while 35% of White-owned
[1] Perry, A. M., Seo, R., Barr, A., Romer, C., & Broady,
businesses received all of the financing
K. (2022). Black-owned businesses in U.S. cities: The
they sought, only 16% of Black or African
challenges, solutions, and opportunities for prosperity.
American-owned businesses received
[Report]. The Brookings Institution. https://www.
the same, and 47% of Black or African
brookings.edu/research/black-owned-businesses-in-
American-owned businesses were denied
u-s-cities-the-challenges-solutions-and-opportunities-
entirely compared to 34% of White-owned
for-prosperity/#:~:text=In%202019%2C%20there%20
businesses[6]. Similar disparities still existed
were%20a,14.2%25%20of%20the%20country’s%20
with low credit risk firms, and an analysis
population.
of the 2018 data by the Federal Reserve
that controlled for firm characteristics [2] Minority Business Development Agency. (2018).
and performance found that Black-owned AMERICAN INDIAN AND ALASKA NATIVE-OWNED
businesses were 7% less likely to obtain FIRMS. [Fact Sheet]. https://www.mbda.gov/sites/
credit overall, and 20% and 17% less likely at default/files/2022-06/American%20Indian%20and%20
large and small banks, respectively[6][7]. On Alaska%20Native%20Owned%20Firms%20Fact%20
top of capital access, minority firms have Sheet%20-%20FINAL%206.10.2022.pdf
been reported to pay higher interest rates
[3] American Community Survey. (2018). RACE. [Data
on business loans at 7.8% compared to 6.4%
file]. Retrieved from https://data.census.gov/cedsci/
for non-minority firms[8].
table?q=B02001
In 2020, businesses nationwide experienced
[4] Minority Business Development Agency. (2018).
unprecedented hardships due to the
AFRICAN AMERICAN-OWNED FIRMS. [Fact Sheet].
COVID-19 pandemic, but the hardships
https://www.mbda.gov/sites/default/files/2022-06/
were not faced in equity. Instead, initial
African%20American%20Firms%20Fact%20Sheet%20
estimates from Current Population Survey
-%20FINAL%206.10.2022.pdf
data showed that between February 2020
to April 2020, the number of active Black or [5] Annual Business Survey. (2019). Statistics for Employer
African American business owners fell by Firms by Industry, Sex, Ethnicity, Race, and Veteran
41% compared to a decrease of 17% in active Status for the U.S., States, and Metro Areas:2019. [Data
White business owners[9]. When federal aid file]. Retrieved from https://data.census.gov/cedsci/
was made available through the Payment table?q=AB1900CSA01
Protection Program (PPP), initially, Black,
or African American business owners were
disproportionately disregarded as the first
round of loans was directed to employer
[6] The Federal Reserve Banks (2022) Small Business Klein, J. A. (2017). Bridging the Divide:
Credit Survey: 2022 Report on Firms Owned by People How Business Ownership Can Help
of Color. [Report]. https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/ Close the Racial Wealth Gap. [Report].
medialibrary/FedSmallBusiness/files/2022/2022-sbcs- FIELD at the Aspen Institute. https://
firms-owned-by-people-of-color www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/
uploads/2017/01/Bridging-the-Divide.pdf
[7] Robb, A., de Zeeuw, M., & Barkley, B. (2018). Mind the
Gap: How Do Credit Market Experiences and Borrowing Kroeger, T. & Wright, G. (2021).
Patterns Differ for Minority-Owned Firms? [Discussion Entrepreneurship and the Racial Wealth
Paper]. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. https://doi. Gap: The Impact of Entrepreneurial Success
org/10.29338/dp2018-03 or Failure on the Wealth Mobility of Black
and White Families. [Journal]. Journal of
[8] Fairlie, R. W. & Robb, A. M. (2010). Disparities in
Economics, Race, and Policy. https://doi.
Capital Access between Minority and Non-Minority-
org/10.1007/s41996-021-00081-6
Owned Businesses: The Troubling Reality of Capital
Limitations Faced by MBEs. [Report]. Minority Business
Development Agency. https://www.mbda.gov/
sites/default/files/migrated/files-attachments/
DisparitiesinCapitalAccessReport.pdf

* United States Census Bureau Definition: American

Indian or Alaska Native refers to a person having origins
in any of the original peoples of North and South America
(including Central America) and who maintains tribal
affiliation or community attachment. The American
Indian and Alaska Native population includes people who
marked the American Indian or Alaska Native checkbox or
reported entries such as Navajo, Blackfeet, Inupiat, Yup’ik,
or Central American Indian groups or South American
Indian groups.

Further Readings

Howard, T., Smith, N., & Nwaigwe, U.

(2020). Banks and the Black Community:
What Can Major Commercial and Retail
Banking Institutions Do to Better Support
Black Entrepreneurs and Businesses in
the U.S.?. [Report]. Congressional Black
Caucuas Foundation & Bank of America.
https://www.cbcfinc.org/wp-content/
uploads/2020/06/BOA-0618-REPORT-
EDITS.pdf
EDUCATIONAL DISPARITY City of Providence. As a whole, the City
lags behind both the State of Rhode
Island and the United States in its
Summary
percent of population with at least a high
The following data review analyzes the school diploma or equivalent (United
educational disparities that exists in States: 88.5%; Rhode Island: 89.2%; City
The City of Providence, Rhode Island, of Providence: 82.8%). Within the City,
and compares it to data from the State attainment disparities exist along racial
of Rhode Island, as well as nationwide lines; 87.4% of the White population is
statistics. The educational disparities that at least a high school graduate, while
exist in educational attainment suggests 84.9% of the Black or African American
that the City of Providence, lags both the population and only 62.4% of the American
State of Rhode Island and the United Indian* population achieved the same
States in its percent of population with at degree. The disparity is even greater when
least a high school diploma or equivalent. looking at the population with at least a
When looking even further at those who Bachelor’s degree, as 40.5% of the White
hold at least a bachelor’s degree, that population holds a Bachelor’s degree or
disparity is even greater, with Whites higher compared to 23.3% of the Black or
almost twice as likely to have a bachelor’s African American population and 13% of the
degree than Black or African American, American Indian* population[1].
and almost 4 times as likely to have one
The differences among the adult
compared to American Indians*. The
population can possibly be explained, in
disparities are not only demonstrated
part, by disparities in the City’s education
by educational attainment data, but
system, in areas, such as assessments,
also in the City’s educational systems.
During the 2018-2019 school year, the
Providence Public School District (PPSD) Table 1: 2018-2019 School Year Assessment
underperformed the State Results for PPSD and the State
in all reported assessments.
Mirroring the racial disparities,
students who met the
definition of not economically
disadvantages in the State
significantly outperformed
those students who were
economically disadvantaged
in the 2019 Rhode Island
NAEP across grade levels and
subjects

Data Review

Disparities in educational
attainment exist among
the adult population in the
 Figure 5: PPSD schools with
disproportionate percentages of Black
graduation rates, and postsecondary or African American and American
participation. During the 2018-2019 Indian students
school year, the Providence Public School
District (PPSD) underperformed the
State in all reported assessments; Table
1 lists the reported assessments and
results[2]. Statewide, the 2020-2021 school
year dropout rate was 7.8%, which was
3 percentage points lower than PPSD’s
10.8% dropout rate, and the State had
63.7% of graduates enroll in postsecondary
education within 1 academic year, while
PPSD only had 48.7% of graduates enroll[3].
Within schools in the City and State,
similar disparities exist among races.
About 16% of students in PPSD are
Black or African American or American
Indian* – for schools with a proportion
of Black or African American and
American Indian* students above the
district percentage, mapped in Figure
5, the 2019-2020 school year average
per pupil expenditure was $14,265; for
schools with a proportion of Black or
African American and American Indian* students[3]. Among students in PPSD who
students below the district percentage, the did graduate, the largest percentage of
2019-2020 school year average per pupil White students enrolled in postsecondary
expenditure was $15,476[3]. In addition, education, followed by Black or African
White students in the State significantly American, and then American Indian*
outperformed Black or African American students (White: 66.9%; Black or African
students in the 2019 Rhode Island National American: 58.7%; American Indian*: 33.3%)[3].
Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
across grade levels and subjects; in Grade The Rhode Island Department of Education
4 and Grade 8 assessments of reading and shares similar data based on economic
math, Rhode Island’s White students had status, showing the education disparities
at least 2x (and up to 3x) the percentage between not economically disadvantaged
of students scoring in the Proficient and (NOT ECD) and economically
Advanced categories compared to Black disadvantaged (ECD) students, where
of African American students[3] (American ECD students are enrolled in the Free and
Indian* data was not reported). Dropout Reduced Price Lunch Program. Mirroring
rates in PPSD schools were reported higher the racial disparities, NOT ECD students
for White students at 11% compared to in the State significantly outperformed
Black or African American students at 8.5%, ECD students in the 2019 Rhode Island
but both were significantly lower than the NAEP across grade levels and subjects;
20% dropout rate for American Indian* in Grade 4 and Grade 8 assessments of
reading and math, Rhode Island’s NOT Further Readings
ECD students had at least 2x (and up to
3.5x) the percentage of students scoring Brooks-Gunn, J. & Duncan, G. (1997). The
in the Proficient and Advanced categories Effects of Poverty on Children. [Journal]
compared to ECD students[3]. Despite The Future of Children. https://doi.
staggering differences in assessment org/10.2307/1602387
performance, in PPSD schools, ECD EdBuild. (2019). $23 Billion. [Report]. https://
students had a significantly lower dropout edbuild.org/content/23-billion/full-
rates at 13.2% compared to the 23.3% rate report.pdf
for NOT ECD students[3]. Among students
in PPSD who did graduate though, Irizarry, Y. (2021). On Track or Derailed?
68.3% of NOT ECD students enrolled in Race, Advanced Math, and the Transition to
postsecondary education, while only 47.1% High School. [Journal]. Socius. https://doi.
of ECD students enrolled[3]. org/10.1177/2378023120980293
Shores, K. A., Kim, H. E., & Still, M. (2019).
End Notes Categorical Inequality in Black and White:
Linking Disproportionality across Multiple
[1] American Community Survey. (2020). EDUCATIONAL
Educational Outcomes. [Journal]. American
ATTAINMENT. [Data file]. Retrieved from https://data.
Educational Research Journal. https://doi.
census.gov/cedsci/table?q=S1501
org/10.26300/eysv-1984
[2] Rhode Island Department of Education. (2019).
Sullivan, L., Meshede, T., Dietrich, L., Shapiro
Assessment Data Portal. [Data file]. Retrieved from
T., Traub, A., Ruetschlin, C., & Draut, T. (2015).
https://www3.ride.ri.gov/ADP
The Racial Wealth Gap: Why Policy Matters.
[3] Rhode Island Department of Education (2021) Report [Report]. Institute for Assets and Social
Card. [Data file]. Retrieved from https://reportcard.ride. Policy, Braneis University & Demos. https://
ri.gov/ www.demos.org/sites/default/files/
publications/RacialWealthGap_2.pdf
* United States Census Bureau Definition: American
Indian or Alaska Native refers to a person having origins
in any of the original peoples of North and South America
(including Central America) and who maintains tribal
affiliation or community attachment. The American
Indian and Alaska Native population includes people who
marked the American Indian or Alaska Native checkbox or
reported entries such as Navajo, Blackfeet, Inupiat, Yup’ik,
or Central American Indian groups or South American
Indian groups.
HEALTH DISPARITY times more likely to be hospitalized by
COVID-19 than their White counterparts),
and the case disparity between Black or
Summary
African American residents and their White
The following data review analyzes the counterparts was even greater with Black
health disparities nationwide, and how the or African Americans being 1.65 times more
City of Providence, Rhode Island compares likely to contract COVID-19 (Black or African
to national averages. The data suggests Americans were 1.75 times more likely to be
that nationwide Black or African American hospitalized in the State)[2].
overall are more likely to contract COVID-19,
and even more likely to be hospitalized Figure 2: Census tracts within the City of
compared to other races. Within the Providence mapping uninsured rates and
State of Rhode Island, the data suggests prevalence of select races
an even greater chance for infection
and hospitalization compared to White
counterparts. This disparity does not just
exist within the confines of COVID-19, but
in access to health care in general. The
data shows that in The City of Providence,
RI in 2020, 8.9% of Black or African
Americans were insured, compared to 4.6%
of the White population. Beyond access,
disparities exist in rates and treatment
within areas, such as, mental health,
maternal health, child and youth health,
and public health.

Data Review

The COVID-19 pandemic further exposed

the existence of health disparities
within the United States and Rhode
Island. Nationwide, Black or African
Americans were 1.1 times more likely to
contract and 2.2 times more likely to
be hospitalized by COVID-19 than their While the health disparity was emphasized
White counterparts; American Indians* during the pandemic, the disparity is
were 1.5 times more likely to contract and not limited to COVID-19. Numerous data
2.8 times more likely to be hospitalized by sets highlight the health inequities in
COVID-19 than their White counterparts[1]. healthcare access that exist nationally and
Within the State of Rhode Island, the locally. In the City of Providence in 2020,
disparity between White and American 8.9% of the Black or African American
Indian* residents was less drastic, but population and 10.4% of the American
still prevalent (American Indians* were Indian* population were uninsured, while
1.2 times more likely to contract and 1.05 only 4.6% of the White population was
uninsured[3]. Figure 2 maps the relationship suggests asthma-related health disparities
between percent uninsured and percent in children along racial lines; between
Black or African American and American 2016 and 2020, Black children visited
Indian* households within the City of the emergency department for asthma
Providence. Census tracts in brown indicate at a rate of 13.6 visits per 1,000 children
areas of the City with high uninsurance and were hospitalized 1.9 times per 1,000
rates and high percentages of Black or children compared to 3.3 visits and 0.55
African American and American Indian* hospitalizations per 1,000 children for White
households. Qualified census tracts are children[7].
indicated with hatches.

In addition to insurance barriers, in 2018, End Notes

the Rhode Island Department of Health
[1] Center for Disease Control. (2022). Risk for COVID-19
reported that 21.2% of Blacks in the State
Infection, Hospitalization, and Death By Race/Ethnicity.
had no doctor, 14.4% needed to see a doctor
[Data file]. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/
but could not because of cost, in past 12
coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/investigations-
months, and 20.1% had no routine checkup
discovery/hospitalization-death-by-race-ethnicity.html
in past 12 months, compared to 9.9%,
7.8%, and 14.1% of the White population, [2] The COVID-19 Tracking Project at The Atlantic. (2021).
respectively[4]. Rhode Island: All Race & Ethnicity Date. [Data file].
Retrieved from https://covidtracking.com/data/state/
Beyond access, disparities exist in rates
rhode-island/race-ethnicity
and treatment within areas, such as,
mental health, maternal health, child and [3] American Community Survey. (2020). SELECTED
youth health, and public health. Given CHARACTERISTICS OF HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE
the expansiveness of health data and IN THE UNITED STATES. [Data file]. Retrieved from https://
scope of this section, this review does data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=S2701
not provide the breadth and depth that
this topic warrants, but instead, focuses [4] The Rhode Island Department of Health. (2018).

on select examples: Between 2008 and Healthcare Access. [Data file]. Retrieved from https://

2012, over 46% of the White population health.ri.gov/data/healthcareaccess/

with any mental illness utilized mental [5] Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
health services (prescription medication, Administration. (2015). Racial/Ethnic Differences in
outpatient services, inpatient services), Mental Health Service Use among Adults. [Chartbook].
while just over 41% of the American Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/data/
Indian* population and less than 30% of sites/default/files/MHServicesUseAmongAdults/
the Black or African American population MHServicesUseAmongAdults.pdf
with any mental illness utilized mental
health services[5]. Nationwide, Black [6] National Center for Health Statistics. (2022). Maternal
women experience maternal mortality Mortality Rates in the United States, 2020. [Data file].
at a staggering rate compared to White Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/
women; in 2020, the Black maternal maternal-mortality/2020/E-stat-Maternal-Mortality-
mortality rate was 55.3 deaths per 100,000 Rates-2022.pdf
live births, while the White maternal
mortality rate was 19.1 deaths per 100,000
live births[6]. Within Rhode Island, the data
[7] Rhode Island Kids Count. (2022). Children with Asthma. Jiang, Y., Novais, A. P., Viner-Brown,
[Factbook]. Retrieved from https://www.rikidscount. S., & Fine, M. (2014). Non-emergent
org/Portals/0/Uploads/Documents/Factbook%20 Hospital Emergency Department Use
2022/Children%20with%20Asthma%20FB2022. and Neighborhood Poverty in Rhode
pdf?ver=2022-05-12-085911-997 Island, 2008–2012. [Journal]. Rhode
Island Medical Journal. http://rimed.org/
* United States Census Bureau Definition: American
rimedicaljournal/2014/07/2014-07-47-
Indian or Alaska Native refers to a person having origins
health-jiang.pdf
in any of the original peoples of North and South America
(including Central America) and who maintains tribal Millett, G. A., Honermann, B., Jones, A.,
affiliation or community attachment. The American Lankiewicz, E., Sherwood, J., Blumenthal,
Indian and Alaska Native population includes people who S., & Sayas, A. (2020). White Counties
marked the American Indian or Alaska Native checkbox or Stand Apart: The Primacy of Residential
reported entries such as Navajo, Blackfeet, Inupiat, Yup’ik, Segregation in COVID-19 and HIV
or Central American Indian groups or South American Diagnoses. [Journal]. AIDS Patient Care
Indian groups. and STDs. https://doi.org/10.1089/
apc.2020.0155
Further Readings Millett, G. A., Jones, A. T., Benkeser, D.,
Gaglioti, A. H.. Li, C., Douglas, M. D., Baltrus, Baral, S., Mercer, L., Beyrer, C., Honermann,
P. T., Blount, M. A., Zahidi, R., Caplan, L. B., Lankiewicz, E., Mena, L., Crowley, J.,
S., Willock, R. J., Fasuyi, O. B., & Mack, D. Sherwood, J., & Sullivan, P. S. (2020).
H. (2021). Population-Level Disparities in Assessing differential impacts of COVID-19
COVID-19: Measuring the Independent on black communities. [Journal]. Annals of
Association of the Proportion of Black Epidemiology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
Population on COVID-19 Cases and Deaths annepidem.2020.05.003
in US Counties. [Journal]. Journal of Public Pearlman, D. N., Zierler, S., Meersman,
Health Management and Practice. https:// S., Kim, H. K., Viner-Brown, S. I., & Caron,
doi.org/10.1097/PHH.0000000000001354 C. (2006). Race disparities in childhood
Hawkins, R. B., Charles, E. J., & Mehaffey, asthma: does where you live matter?
J. H. (2020). Socio-economic status and [Journal]. Journal of the National Medical
COVID-19–related cases and fatalities. Association. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.
[Journal]. Public Health. https://doi. gov/16708510/
org/10.1016/j.puhe.2020.09.016

Hoffman, K. M., Trawalter, S., Axt, J.

R., & Oliver, M. N. (2016). Racial bias
in pain assessment and treatment
recommendations, and false beliefs about
biological differences between blacks
and whites. [Journal]. Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences of the United
States of America. https://doi.org/10.1073/
pnas.1516047113
HOMEOWNERSHIP DISPARITY Data Review

In 1960, there was a 27 percentage point

Summary disparity between Black or African
American and White homeownership
The following data review analyzes the
rates, where Black of African American
rates of homeownership in the City of
homeownership was at 38% and White
Providence, Rhode Island, and details how
homeownership was at 65%[1]. After
ownership disparities along racial lines
the 1968 Fair Housing Act, Black or
compare to national averages. Nationwide
African American homeownership
there is a large disparity amongst home
rates significantly progressed – at its
ownership between Black or African
peak between 2005 and 2019, Black or
American vs their White counterparts.
African American homeownership had
The State of Rhode Island and the County
increased 8 percentage points from its
of Providence show similar disparities in
1960 level, only to decline in 2008 during
homeownership between Black or African
the housing crisis[2][3]. Black or African
Americans and Whites with a 66% and
American homeownership rates saw a
61% rate of homeownership for Whites in
steady decline between 2008 and 2016,
the State and County, respectively, and a
and as seen in Figure 6, the decline was
34% rate of homeownership for Black or
greater for the Black or African American
African Americans in both the State and
population compared to the White
County. This data suggests that inequitable
population, furthering the racial disparity.
barriers contribute to the racial disparity
Both White and Black or African American
in homeownership. These inequitable
barriers include
access to mortgage Figure 6: Change in homeownership disparity between White
loans, subprime and Black or African American populations from 2005 and 2019
and higher interest
mortgage loans,
and home appraisal
values. Comparable
quality homes
in comparable
neighborhoods are
worth 23% less in
majority Black or
African American
neighborhoods
compared to those
with few or no
Black or African
American residents,
amounting to $156
billion in cumulative
losses.
homeownership rates increased between The housing crisis in 2008 had significant
2016 and 2019, but the Black or African negative impacts on the entire nation,
American population only saw a decrease but targeted subprime lending towards
in disparity in 2019[2][3]. minority populations led to more severe
consequences for the Black or African
Recent data shows that the nationwide American household and other households
homeownership rate for the White of color[4]. As mentioned above, the Black
population is 70%, while the Black or and African American population saw a
African American rate is 42% and the slower recovery compared to the White
American Indian* rate is 55%[2][3][5]. The population. In addition, by 2013, more
State of Rhode Island and the County of than 2x the Black or African American
Providence show similar disparities in homeowners who bought their homes
homeownership between Black or African between 2004 and 2007 lost their house to
Americans and Whites with a 66% and or were at risk of foreclosure compared to
61% rate of homeownership for Whites in their White counterparts. Further effects
the State and County, respectively, and were seen spatially, where neighborhoods
a 34% rate of homeownership for Black with more than 50% Black or African
or African Americans in both the State American residents had a foreclosure rate
and County[2][3]. The homeownership rate around 25% compared to a rate around
for American Indians* is much lower 12.5% for neighborhoods with less than 10%
than the national rate though at 20% in Black or African American residents[4].
the State of Rhode Island and 11% in the
County of Providence[5]. City of Providence Inequitable barriers contribute to the racial
homeownership data is not available for disparity in homeownership. Comparing
the American Indian* population, but applicants with similar profiles, 9% of
the homeownership rate for the Black Black or African American applicants and
or African American population within 8% of American Indian* applicants were
the City mirrors the County and State denied mortgage loans compared to 5%
at 33%. Unlike on the national, state, of White applicants. Further, comparing
and county-level though, the disparity applicants with similar credit, Black or
in homeownership rates in the City is African American homebuyers continue
significantly less between the Black or to be pushed toward subprime and higher
African American and White population. interest mortgage loans compared to their
Instead, the White homeownership rate White counterparts[7]. For the population
in the City is significantly lower than the that can secure homeownership,
national, state, and county-level rate at homeowners then experience devaluation:
41% - the disparity on the city-level is 19 Comparable quality homes in comparable
percentage points lower than the disparity neighborhoods are worth 23% less in
on the county-level[2][3]. As a whole, the City majority Black or African American
of Providence suffers from low levels of neighborhoods compared to those with
homeownership, despite the City’s high few or no Black or African American
homeowner vacancy rate (United States: residents, amounting to $156 billion in
1.4; Rhode Island: 1.4; County of Providence: cumulative losses[8].
1.5; City of Providence: 2.2)[6].
End Notes marked the American Indian or Alaska Native checkbox or
reported entries such as Navajo, Blackfeet, Inupiat, Yup’ik,
[1] The Urban Institute. (2019). Reducing the Racial or Central American Indian groups or South American
Homeownership Gap. [Project]. https://www.urban.org/ Indian groups.
policy-centers/housing-finance-policy-center/projects/
reducing-racial-homeownership-gap
Further Readings
[2] American Community Survey. (2019). TENURE (WHITE
ALONE HOUSEHOLDER). [Data file]. Retrieved from Agarwal, S., Amromin, G., Ben-David, I., &
https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=B25003A Eavnoff, D. D. (2016). Loan Product Steering
in Mortgage Markets. [Working Paper].
[3] American Community Survey. (2019). TENURE (BLACK National Bureau of Economic Research.
OR AFRICAN AMERICAN ALONE HOUSEHOLDER). [Data https://ssrn.com/abstract=2846932
file]. Retrieved from https://data.census.gov/cedsci/
table?q=B25003B Aronowitz, M., Golding, E. L., Choi, J.
H. (2020). The Unequal Costs of Black
[4] Reid, C. K., (2021). Crisis, Response, and Recovery: Homeownership. [Report]. Massachusetts
The Federal Government and the Black/White Institute of Technology Sloan School.
Homeownership Gap. [Report]. https://ternercenter. https://gcfp.mit.edu/wp-content/
berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Crisis- uploads/2020/10/Mortgage-Cost-for-
Response-Recovery-March-2021-Final.pdf Black-Homeowners-10.1.pdf
[5] American Community Survey. (2019). TENURE Early, D. W., Carrillo, P. E., & Olsen, E. O.
(AMERICAN INDIAN AND ALASKA NATIVE ALONE (2018). Racial rent differences in U.S.
HOUSEHOLDER). [Data file]. Retrieved from https://data. housing markets: Evidence from the
census.gov/cedsci/table?q=B25003C housing voucher program. [Journal].
Journal of Regional Science. https://doi.
[6] American Community Survey. (2020). SELECTED
org/10.1111/jors.12422
HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS. [Data file]. Retrieved from
https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=DP04 Hyra, D. S., Squires, G. D., Renner, R. N. &
Kirk, D. S. (2012). Metropolitan Segregation
[7] The State of Black Rhode Island. (2022).
and the Subprime Lending Crisis. [Journal].
Homeownership Report. [Report]. https://www.brown.
Housing Policy Debate. https://doi.org/10.1
edu/academics/public-health/chphe/sites/public-
080/10511482.2012.697912
health-cher/files/images/news/State%20of%20
Black%20RI%20Home%20Ownership%20Report%20 Martinez, E. & Kirchner, L. (2021). The
06_2022.pdf Secret Bias Hidden in Mortgage-Approval
Algorithms. [Report]. https://themarkup.
[8] The Brookings Institution. (2018). The devaluation of
org/denied/2021/08/25/the-secret-
assets in Black neighborhoods. [Report]. https://www.
bias-hidden-in-mortgage-approval-
brookings.edu/research/devaluation-of-assets-in-
algorithms
black-neighborhoods/
Rothstein, R. (2012). A comment on Bank
* United States Census Bureau Definition: American
of America/Countrywide’s discriminatory
Indian or Alaska Native refers to a person having origins
mortgage lending and its implications
in any of the original peoples of North and South America
for racial segregation. [Report]. Economic
(including Central America) and who maintains tribal
Policy Institute. https://www.epi.org/
affiliation or community attachment. The American
publication/bp335-boa-countrywide-
Indian and Alaska Native population includes people who
discriminatory-lending/
INCARCERATION RATES globally, if Rhode Island were a country,
it’s imprisonment rate would be the 17th
highest in the world[2].
Summary
Significant racial disparities exist in the
The following data review analyzes the
State’s prison population with Black or
incarceration rates and the significant
African American and American Indian*
disparity along racial lines that exists in
inmates comprising a disproportionate
the City of Providence, Rhode Island. The
share of the total population; While, in
data suggests that overall, the City of
2020, Rhode Island’s population was
Providence has made strides in reduction
comprised of 83.1% White, 6.9% Black or
of incarceration rates in its community,
African American, and 0.4% American
but that reduction has not been equally
Indian*, its adult correctional facilities
shared amongst races. While incarceration
population was comprised of only 45.2%
rates for Whites have decreased over the
White, yet 22.8% Black or African American
past 5 years, the rates for Black or African
and 3.2% American Indian*[3]. Further, the
American and American Indian* have
decrease in the State’s prison population
increased. This significant trend does not
has not been equally shared among races.
just apply to adult but has implication in
Figure 4 plots how the racial makeup of
the lives of their children. In 2020, Black or
the adult correctional facilities population
African American and American Indian*
has changed between 2017 and 2020.
children were over 7.5 and 6 times more
While the percentage of White inmates
likely to be children of incarcerated parents
has steadily decreased by almost 5 points,
compared to their White counterparts.
the percentage of American Indian*

Data Review

Concerted efforts Figure 4: Change in racial makeup of the adult correctional

in Rhode Island to facilities population
reduce its prison
populations have
been successful with
the overall population
decreasing by almost
31% between fiscal
year 2008 and fiscal
year 2019[1]. Recent
data suggests that
incarceration rates
in Rhode Island are
the third lowest
among states in the
United States, but
given that the United
States has the highest
imprisonment rate
inmates has increased by almost 1 point, [4] Rhode Island Kids Count. (2021). Racial and
and despite a dip in 2019, the percentage Ethnic Disparities in Children’s Economic Well-
of Black or African American inmates has Being in Rhode Island. [Issue Brief]. https://www.
increased by 2 points[3]. rikidscount.org/Portals/0/Uploads/Documents/
Special%20Publications/1.22%20Ipdate%20
Inequities in incarceration rates are not Racial%20and%20Ethnic%20Disparities%20in%20
isolated to the adult population. In 2020, Children’s%20Economic%20Well-Being_Dec%202021.
Black or African American and American pdf?ver=2022-01-25-095159-733
Indian* children were over 7.5 and 6 times
more likely to be children of incarcerated [5] Education Week Research Center. (2017). Which
parents compared to their White Students Are Arrested the Most?. [Data file]. Retrieved
counterparts[4]. Rhode Island Students also from https://www.edweek.org/which-students-are-
see disproportionate arrests in schools arrested-most-in-school-u-s-data-by-school#/overview
throughout Rhode Island: During the 2013-
* United States Census Bureau Definition: American
2014 school year, Rhode Island schools were
Indian or Alaska Native refers to a person having origins
comprised of 60.6% White students, 8.1%
in any of the original peoples of North and South America
Black or African American students, and 1%
(including Central America) and who maintains tribal
American Indian* students, yet the arrests
affiliation or community attachment. The American
made were comprised of 53.8% White
Indian and Alaska Native population includes people who
students, 18.7% Black or African American
marked the American Indian or Alaska Native checkbox or
students, and 1.1% American Indian*
reported entries such as Navajo, Blackfeet, Inupiat, Yup’ik,
students. Further, the population of arrests
or Central American Indian groups or South American
that were referred to law enforcement saw
Indian groups.
even greater disparities as only 35.8% of the
population was White, while 23.7% of the
population was Black or African American Further Readings
and 2.6% of the population was American
Nellis, A. (2021). The Color of Justice:
Indian*[5].
Racial and Ethnic Disparity in State
Prisons. [Report]. The Sentencing Project.
End Notes https://www.sentencingproject.org/
publications/color-of-justice-racial-and-
[1] Rhode Island Department of Corrections. (2019). Fiscal
ethnic-disparity-in-state-prisons/
Year 2019 Annual Population Report. [Report]. https://doc.
ri.gov/sites/g/files/xkgbur681/files/docs/FY19-Annual- Pierson, E., Simoiu, C., Overgoor, J., Corbett-
Population-Report.pdf Davies, S., Jenson, D., Shoemaker, A.,
Ramachandran, V., Barghouty, P., Phillips,
[2] Widra, E. & Herring, T. (2021) States of Incarceration:
C., Shroff, R., & Goel, S. (2020). A large-scale
The Global Context 2021. [Report]. Prison Policy Initiative.
analysis of racial disparities in police stops
https://www.prisonpolicy.org/global/2021.html
across the United States. [Journal] Nature
[3] American Community Survey. (2020). Human Behaior. https://doi.org/10.1038/
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GROUP QUARTERS s41562-020-0858-1
POPULATION BY GROUP QUARTERS TYPE (3 TYPES).
[Data file]. Retrieved from https://data.census.gov/
cedsci/table?q=S2602
Riddle, T. & Sinclair, S. (2019). Racial
disparities in school-based disciplinary
actions are associated with county-level
rates of racial bias. [Journal]. Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences of
the United States of America. https://doi.
org/10.1073/pnas.180830711

Schmitt, G. R., Reedt, L., & Blackwell,

K. (2017). Demographic Differences
in Sentencing: An Update to the 2012
Booker Report. [Report]. United States
Sentencing Commission. https://
www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/
pdf/research-and-publications/
research-publications/2017/20171114_
Demographics.pdf

Schrantz, D., DeBor, S. T., & Mauer, M. (2018).

Decarceration Strategies: How 5 States
Achieved Substantial Prison Population
Reductions. [Report]. The Sentencing
Project. https://www.sentencingproject.
org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/
Decarceration-Strategies.pdf?eType=Em
ailBlastContent&eId=e117e163-75c0-4e69-
a9a7-dca599d76aa3
 Figure 1: Census tracts within the City of
Providence mapping income disparity and
prevalence of select races
INCOME DISPARITY

Summary

The following data review analyzes the

income inequality and disparities in the
City of Providence, Rhode Island. This
review compares income inequality in
the City to cities nationwide and looks
at racial disparities in household income
within the City. The data suggests
that the City of Providence has the
greatest overall income inequality
and of any other city in the State of
Rhode Island and one of the highest
nationwide. The City also has one of
the largest disparities amongst the
median household income of Black
or African American and American
Indian* households compared to White
households in the State.

Data Review The income disparity exists across racial

lines: Black or African American households
As a country, the United States has some in the City of Providence had a 2020
of the highest levels of income and wealth median household income of $41,093,
inequality with the Federal Reserve data which was less than 76% of their White
showing that in the first quarter of 2022, counterparts, who had a median household
the wealthiest 10% of Americans controlled income of $54,272, and the second greatest
$97.58 trillion - more than double the disparity within Rhode Island cities.
$43.52 trillion held by the remaining 90% American Indian* households in the City of
of Americans[1]. Based on the Gini Index, a Providence had a 2020 median household
measure of income inequality, the City of income of $23,894, which was less than
Providence mirrors the national disparity; 45% of their White counterparts and the
with a value of 0.5263, the City has the greatest disparity within Rhode Island
greatest income inequality of any city in cities[5]. Figure 1 maps the relationship
Rhode Island and the 31st highest level between median household income
of inequality of the top 500 cities in the and percent Black or African American
nation by population[2]. Within the City and American Indian* households within
of Providence, the top 20% of residents the City of Providence. Census tracts in
hold over 55% of the aggregate household red indicate areas of the City with low
income with a mean household income of household median income and high
$206,791, while the bottom 20% of residents percentages of Black or African American
hold less than 2.5% of the aggregate and American Indian* households.
household income with a mean household Qualified census tracts are indicated with
income of $9,209[3][4]. hatches.
End Notes of Consumer Finances. [FEDS Notes].
Washington: Board of Governors of the
[1] United States Federal Reserve. (2022). Distribution
Federal Reserve System. https://doi.
of Household Wealth in the U.S. since 1989. [Data file].
org/10.17016/2380-7172.2797
Retrieved from https://www.federalreserve.gov/
releases/z1/dataviz/dfa/distribute/chart/ Herring, C. & Henderson, L. (2016). Wealth
Inequality in Black and White: Cultural and
[2] American Community Survey. (2020). GINI INDEX OF
Structural Sources of the Racial Wealth
INCOME INEQUALITY. [Data file]. Retrieved from https://
Gap. [Journal]. Race and Social Problems.
data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=gini
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-016-9159-8
[3] American Community Survey. (2020). MEAN
Hicks, N., Addo, F., Price, A., & Darity Jr., W.
HOUSEHOLD INCOME OF QUINTILES. [Data file].
(2021). Still Running Up the Down Escalator:
Retrieved from https://data.census.gov/cedsci/
How Narratives Shape our Understanding
table?q=B19081
of Racial Wealth Inequality. [Report].
[4] American Community Survey. (2020). SHARES OF The Samuel Dubois Cook Center on
AGGREGATE HOUSEHOLD INCOME BY QUINTILE. [Data Social Equity at Duke University. https://
file]. Retrieved from https://data.census.gov/cedsci/ socialequity.duke.edu/wp-content/
table?q=B19082 uploads/2021/09/INSIGHT_Still-Running-
Up-Down-Escalators_vF.pdf
[5] American Community Survey. (2020). MEDIAN INCOME
IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS (IN 2020 INFLATION-ADJUSTED Sullivan, L., Meshede, T., Dietrich, L., Shapiro
DOLLARS). [Data file]. Retrieved from https://data. T., Traub, A., Ruetschlin, C., & Draut, T. (2015).
census.gov/cedsci/table?q=S1903 The Racial Wealth Gap: Why Policy Matters.
[Report]. Institute for Assets and Social
* United States Census Bureau Definition: American Policy, Braneis University & Demos. https://
Indian or Alaska Native refers to a person having origins www.demos.org/sites/default/files/
in any of the original peoples of North and South America publications/RacialWealthGap_2.pdf
(including Central America) and who maintains tribal
affiliation or community attachment. The American
Indian and Alaska Native population includes people who
marked the American Indian or Alaska Native checkbox or
reported entries such as Navajo, Blackfeet, Inupiat, Yup’ik,
or Central American Indian groups or South American
Indian groups.

Further Readings

Aliprantis, D. & Carroll, D. (2019). What is

Behind the Persistence of the Racial Wealth
Gap? [Report]. Federal Reserve Bank of
Cleveland. https://doi.org/10.26509/frbc-
ec-201903

Bhutta, N., Chang, A. C., Dettling, L. J., &

Hsu, J. W. (2020). Disparities in Wealth
by Race and Ethnicity in the 2019 Survey
POVERTY RATES . The disparity is even larger among
[4][5]

children with 30% of White children in

the City of Providence living below the
Summary
poverty line compared to almost 38% of
The following data review analyzes the African American or Black children and
poverty rates and racial disparities amongst over 42% of American Indian* children
the poverty rates in the City of Providence, living below the poverty line[3][4][5]. Mirroring
Rhode Island. This review compares poverty rates, food assistance data shows
poverty rates in the City of Providence to similar inequities amongst White, African
cities nationwide and looks at the variations American or Black, and American Indian*
based on racial makeup. The data suggests households; while less than 24% of
that the City of Providence is one of 450 White households received food stamps
under-resourced communities within the or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
United States, and almost 1 out of every Program (SNAP) benefits, almost 37% of
4 residents of the City of Providence falls Black or African American households and
below the poverty line. over 56% of American Indian* households
were enrolled in the food stamp program/
SNAP[6].
Data Review

In 2020, the City of Providence was Figure 3: Census tracts within the City of
classified as one of 450 under-resourced Providence mapping the impoverished
communities in the United States – a population
relatively large high-poverty, low income
area, and ranked in the top 20% by level
of disadvantage, where the level of
disadvantage was comprised of the City’s
poverty rate and poverty concentration[1].
Almost 23% of the City of
Providence falls below the poverty
line with almost 75% of the
impoverished population residing
in half of the City’s census tracts[2].
Figure 3 maps the impoverished
population by census tract,
highlighting the top census tracts
by population below the poverty
line.

The City’s poverty rate is not

shared equally among racial
groups: less than 21% of the City’s
White population falls below the
poverty line compared to almost
27% of the African American or
Black population and over 27% of
the American Indian* population[3]
End Notes Further Readings

[1] Eberhardt, E., Wial, H., & Yee, D. (2020). The New Face Beech, B. M., Ford, C., Thorpe Jr., R. J., Bruce,
of Under-Resourced Communities. [Report]. Initiative for M. A., Norris, K. C. (2021). Poverty, Racism,
a Competetive Inner City. https://icic.org/wp-content/ and the Public Health Crisis in America.
uploads/2020/10/The-New-Face-of_Under-Resourced- [Journal]. Frontiers in Public Health. https://
Communities.pdf doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.699049

[2] American Community Survey. (2020). POVERTY STATUS Duncan, G. J., Manhnuson, K., Votruba-
IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS BY AGE. [Data file]. Retrieved Drzal, E. (2017). Moving Beyond Correlations
from https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=B17020 in Assessing the Consequences of Poverty.
[Journal]. Annual Review of Psychology.
[3] American Community Survey. (2020). POVERTY STATUS
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-
IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS BY AGE (WHITE ALONE). [Data
psych-010416-044224
file]. Retrieved from https://data.census.gov/cedsci/
table?q=B17020A Floyd, I., Pavetti, L., Meyer, L., Safawi, A.,
Schott, L., Bellew, E., & Magnus, A. (2021).
[4] American Community Survey. (2020). POVERTY STATUS
TANF Policies Reflect Racist Legacy of Cash
IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS BY AGE (BLACK OR AFRICAN
Assistance: Reimagined Program Should
AMERICAN ALONE). [Data file]. Retrieved from https://
Center Black Mothers. [Report]. Center on
data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=B17020B
Budget and Policy Priorities. https://www.
[5] American Community Survey. (2020). POVERTY STATUS cbpp.org/sites/default/files/8-4-21tanf.
IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS BY AGE (AMERICAN INDIAN OR pdf
ALAKA NATIVE ALONE). [Data file]. Retrieved from https://
data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=B17020C

[6] American Community Survey. (2020). FOOD STAMPS/

SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
(SNAP). [Data file]. Retrieved from https://data.census.
gov/cedsci/table?q=S2201

* United States Census Bureau Definition: American

Indian or Alaska Native refers to a person having origins
in any of the original peoples of North and South America
(including Central America) and who maintains tribal
affiliation or community attachment. The American
Indian and Alaska Native population includes people who
marked the American Indian or Alaska Native checkbox or
reported entries such as Navajo, Blackfeet, Inupiat, Yup’ik,
or Central American Indian groups or South American
Indian groups.