Boston is a world-class city; we’re a hub of industry, innovation, education and sport. Yet despite our many accomplishments, Boston’s growth and success has left too many of our neighbors behind. This doesn’t have to be the case. Neighborhoods that face challenges in Boston today can be tomorrow’s centers of prosperity and innovation. These neighborhoods are home to an entire community of self-determined people committed to achieving their own American Dream, we call them the ”Rising Class.”
Here’s a snapshot of the current state of Boston, and some ways we can rise together.
- Fact: More than 19% of all Bostonians, and 28% of Bostonians under 18 live below the federal poverty line, a substantial increase from 2000.
- Up We Go: We can reverse these trends with stronger education, local job opportunities and the right social networks.
- Fact: White families in Boston make, on average, more than twice as much as African-American or Hispanic families.
- Up We Go: Minority communities within the Rising Class have the raw materials to develop community wealth. We can incubate and grow local businesses, leading to more local jobs and increased local wealth.
- Fact: 80% of open jobs are never formally advertised, and are inaccessible to people who don’t have access to the social networks that know about those jobs.
- Up We Go: We can broaden and strengthen social connections between and among members of the Rising Class. Doing so will increase the talent available to employers, and give job-seekers access to the full job market.
- Fact: One out of every three children in Boston lives in a family that struggles to put food on the table; 90% percent of Boston youth witness some form of violence every year; and only 35% percent of Boston Public School graduates earn a degree from a two or four year college.
- Up We Go: With schools as anchors, we can mitigate all three of these problems. We can support schools in neighborhoods, making them once again the greatest accelerators for individuals to rise.
Boston is our home. No matter your race or zip code, anyone should be able to rise.
Up We Go.