Press release from Land of Sky Regional Council
On average, people of color in our region earn lower wages, have less educational attainment, and suffer significant health and criminal justice disparities compared to white individuals. These disparities are unacceptable and are the result of many complex factors.
Land of Sky Regional Council is committed to eliminating racial disparities and supporting disadvantaged individuals and communities. Today, Land of Sky Regional Council releases our report, “Racial Disparity in the Land of Sky Region 2023.” This report is based on the latest U.S. Census data from the American Community Survey and follows the initial disparity report we released in 2021. As we celebrate Black History Month, we hope the sharing of data based on racial disparities with our region will promote a regional conversation to help us all more effectively understand these challenges.
This report covers Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Madison and Transylvania counties. The metrics covered include population, income, poverty, homeownership, educational attainment and health. We hope to expand the report in the future to include additional metrics.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. visited our region in August 1965 for a speech at Montreat and he spoke of “man’s inhumanity to man.” In that speech over five decades ago, Dr. King said, “We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice…With this faith we will be able to transform the dangling discourses of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood…This will be a great day, it will not be the day of the white man, it will not be the day of the black man, it will be the day of man as man.” We resolve that the promise Dr. King spoke of in that Montreat speech will not be forgotten and endeavor to make his promise a reality in our region.
This report can be accessed at landofsky.org or Racial Disparity in the Land of Sky Region 2023 (arcgis.com)
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