Resolution 140286

..Title Calling on the City Council of the City of Philadelphia to declare the need for all peoples of the United States of America to have equal access to opportunities and accept the responsibility to attempt to rectify the unequal obstacles that exist for various populations across this great nation. ..Body WHEREAS, The United States of America is a country comprised mostly of immigrants and immigrant populations - past, present and future; and WHEREAS, According to the United States Census Bureau, by 2018, minority children will no longer be the minority as they will grow to represent the majority; and WHEREAS, According to the United States Census Bureau, by 2030, the majority of the United States labor force will be comprised of people who are currently the minority; and WHEREAS, Research conducted by McKinsey & Company found that, "If the United States had closed the racial achievement gap and African-American and Latino student performance had caught up with white students by 1998, the gross domestic product in 2008 would have been up to $525 billion higher"; and WHEREAS, Creating equal opportunities for all those who reside in the United States is not just an economic issue, but a human rights and social justice necessity; and WHEREAS, Barriers to opportunities include, but are not limited to: environment, trauma, family structure, housing, access to transportation, access to education, and poverty as, "Research has shown that growing up in chronic poverty contributes directly to stress at a level that can affect children's health, brain development and social and emotional well-being - a response known as 'toxic stress' . . . At least one out of every three African-American, Latino and American Indian children in America lives in a household with an income below the poverty line." (The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Race for Results - Building a Path to Opportunity for all Children); and WHEREAS, The Annie E. Casey Foundation has created an index (The Race for Results Index), "Intended to provide a single composite score to compare how children are progressing on key milestones across states and racial groups"; and WHEREAS, Said index can be used to guide policy makers, community leaders, and individuals alike to help them take steps to ensure that barriers to opportunities are removed from the path of all individuals; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we declare the need for all peoples of the United States of America to have equal access to opportunities and accept the responsibility to attempt to rectify the unequal obstacles that exist for various populations across this great nation. ..End