Omaha has staggering poverty, particularly among African Americans, that is disproportionate to its total population. This from a city that has prided itself for forward-development for more than 20 years. The following statistics speak for themselves.

History

The first known Black person to visit the area that became Omaha was an enslaved person called York who owned by William Clark of the Lewis & Clark Expedition of 1804-06.
Free Black pioneers lived in Omaha starting in 1854.
Enslaved Black residents lived in Omaha starting in 1854 and lasting through 1861, when the Nebraska Territory made enslavement illegal.
Dozens of Black politicians have been elected and appointed to local, state and federal government positions since the 1870s.
The first Civil Rights activism in Omaha started in 1872 to desegregate the Omaha School District.
Omaha has had Black police since 1881.
More than a dozen African American politicians have been elected to the Nebraska Legislature since 1892.
Omaha has had Black firefighters since at least 1895.

Population

There were 390,007 total residents in Omaha in 2000.
Omaha is the 42nd largest city in the US.
In 2000 Omaha had 51,910 African American residents; in 2005 there were 49,912
African American comprised 13% of Omaha’s total population in 2000.

Money

There are 5 Fortune 500 companies in Omaha today.
In 2008 there are 2,688 minority-owned businesses in the five-county Omaha metropolitan statistical area.
50% of all minority-owned businesses in Omaha are owned by blacks.
In 2004 the median income of a family in Omaha was $44,636
That same year the median income of an African American family in Omaha was $25,280.
The overall unemployment rate in Omaha is 3.6%.
The black unemployment rate in Omaha is 17%.
White people make up 89.3% of the workforce in Omaha; blacks make up 5.5%.
The white unemployment rate in Omaha is 3.1%; the black unemployment rate is 10.5%.
Omaha ranks 8th in the nation for black African American unemployment.
Omaha ranks 1st among American cities for the total number of African Americans who qualify as low-income.
Only 1 other city in the US has greater disparities between the wealth of blacks and whites.
6.7% of families in Omaha living below poverty line.
1 out of 3 of African American families in Omaha live in poverty.
6 out of 10 black children in Omaha live in poverty.
Omaha ranks number 1 among American cities for its total percentage of impoverished black children.

Segregation

35% of African American students in Omaha do not graduate from high school.
Omaha ranks 40th among cities across the US for racial segregation.
African Americans comprise 4% of Nebraska’s population.
Nebraska’s prisons have a 25% African American population.

Map

This is a map of the racial divide in Omaha, with the image made by Dustin Cable. White: blue dots; African American: green dots; Asian: red; Latino: orange; all others: brown. Note that the community I grew up in and focus on in this blog is in the upper right hand corner of this image.

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Sources

Cordes, H.J., Gonzalez, C. and Grace, E. “Omaha in Black and White: Poverty amid prosperity,” ”Omaha World-Herald”. April 15, 2007. Retrieved 8/21/08.
Kotock, C.D. (2007) “Big plans in store for north Omaha“, ”Omaha World-Herald”, October 3, 2007. Retrieved 10/4/07.
(2007) Multiethnic Guide. Greater Omaha Economic Partnership. Retrieved 10/28/07.
Awodele, F. “The Omaha African-American Family in 2007,” NigeriaWorld. Retrieved 8/21/08.
(2006) Best places to live: Omaha. CNN Money magazine.
Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce. (2006) Indicators for the Greater Omaha Minority Community. Retrieved 11/6/08.
Vanhemer, K. (8/26/2013) “The Best Map Ever Made of America’s Racial Segregation,” on Wired magazine website.