Watch the presentation here and read a summary of her work below!
Summary
In this presentation, Ange presents the results of her MDP field practicum research through which she explored the relationships between the historical legacies of racial violence, slavery and segregation and the prevalence of poverty among African American communities in Alachua County. Using both an intersectional and historical approach, she sets the stage with dramatic historical facts documenting racial violence through lynching in the  1860s in the County. Her understanding of racial violence encompasses forms of terror that include but are not limited to lynching, discrimination, voter’s suppression, and mass incarceration. While 15.1% of the US population live below the poverty line, in Alachua County 35.7% of African Americans live below the poverty line. This narrative study derives from Ange’s interactions with County residents actively engaged in understanding and documenting racial inequities, social injustice, economic development inequality, and related historical aspects. Her study reveals a strong link between multidimensional poverty and disempowerment of African Americans in Alachua County, characterized by their lack of participation in decision making, and being trapped by time poverty and low wages. The situation has led to disinvestment in communities, poor quality of early learning, and prevalence of historical mechanisms, institutional and others that have perpetuated the exclusion of African Americans communities. She proposes for City and Local governments to adopt  a human rights-based approach to guide their policies and actions in coalitions with  public and private sector actors to work and restore the loss of agency among marginalized African American communities in the County.