We can invest in public transit that connects high poverty communities to jobs in and around cities build healthy communities and stronger regional economies.

engageinvestWe have to take race into account when we make policy so that we create opportunities for people of color and help build a healthier, richer society for us all.

communitiesWe have to take race into account when we make policy so that we create opportunities for people of color and help build a healthier, richer society for us all.

We have to take race into account when we make policy so that we create opportunities for people of color and help build a healthier, richer society for us all.

We can invest in public transit that connects high poverty communities to jobs in and around cities build healthy communities and stronger regional economies.

We have to take race into account when we make policy so that we create opportunities for people of color and help build a healthier, richer society for us all.

We can help communities create community-owned green businesses, and the infrastructure they need to prevent disasters.

We can help We can invest in public transit that connects high poverty communities to jobs in and around cities build healthy communities and stronger regional economies.

We have to take race into account when we make policy so that we create opportunities for people of color and help build a healthier, richer society for us all.We have to take race into account when we make policy so that we create opportunities for people of color and help build a healthier, richer society for us all.

We can engage people in finding solutions that work for everyone.

We can build affordable housing in communities with increasing opportunities.

We can build affordable housing in communities with increased opportunities.

We can help communities create community-owned green businesses, and the infrastructure they need to prevent disasters.We can help communities create community-owned green businesses, and the infrastructure they need to prevent disasters.

We have to take race into account when we make policy so that we create opportunities for people of color and help build a healthier, richer society for us all.

We can engage people in finding solutions that work for everyone.

We can engage people in finding solutions that work for everyone.

We can engage people in finding solutions that work for everyone.

We have to take race into account when we make policy so that we create opportunities for people of color and help build a healthier, richer society for us all.

We can engage people in finding solutions that work for everyone.

We can invest in public transit that connects high poverty communities to jobs in and around cities build healthy communities and stronger regional economies.

We can help communities create community-owned green businesses, and the infrastructure they need to prevent disasters.

We have to take race into account when we make policy so that we create opportunities for people of color and help build a healthier, richer society for us all.

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1 letter from the executive director

2 ideas

2 black, brown and Green 3 buildinG resilience in communities 4 recovery and economic Justice 6 leadership 6 deep south leaders network 6 alston bannerman leadership initiative 7 sabbatical fellows 7 senior fellows

8 communications

8 communications testinG 9 expandinG our communications work

10 maJor publications 10 one reGion & leadinG reform 12 financials

12 csi supporters

13 staff and board

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history will remember 2009 as the year america inaugurated its first Black President. Whether or not one voted for Barack Obama, these were proud moments for a nation still strug-gling to understand and overcome a social, economic, and political racial divide and a reputation as a global bully. For many, Obama represents our hope for new possibilities—a new engagement with one another and with our leadership. It is meaningful to be hopeful given our challenges: an un-precedented financial crisis that has resulted in a recession for the country and a depression for communities of color, wars in two countries, and a health care reform process that has had little to do with facts or honest debate.

But a powerful sense of hope and possibility does not mean a change for the better is inevitable. All of us have to create, support, and even fight for solutions to the nation’s problems that work for everyone. The shallow and often repeated con-viction that “race is no longer relevant” has only made the task more difficult. Rush Limbaugh can hope for the Presi-dent’s failure, an unpatriotic desire he puts forward while claiming the mantle of post-racialism. Meanwhile, Glenn Beck proclaims Obama the racist. While this year has been tumultuous and the right continues to blow political hot air to smash the ships of reform on the rocks of their compassion-less ideology, we at csi still see solutions that work and we have and will continue to stay a course toward reform.

in 2009, we supported grassroots leaders in communities of color as they moved ahead in their work to advance Gulf Coast rebuilding, economic recovery and building green community-owned businesses. We have conducted research, convened stakeholders, developed strategy, and advocated for policy on a national level and in New York and Mississippi, in particular. We are testing communication strategies for a constructive and honest conversation about our shared needs and values as Americans while recognizing racial dif-ferences. With this strategy in hand we can begin a construc-tive dialogue about race in America and thwart a right wing effort to sow racial division and limit the scope of reform. The Roman poet and philosopher Titus Lucretius said, “The drops of rain make a hole in the stone not by violence but by oft fall-ing.” At csi, we will continue to make the drops of rain, but not to make a hole. We will water the field.

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maya wileyExecutive Director

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Black,Brown

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Across every region of the United States, the tools for turn-ing fuel to energy are becoming a little more “green.” Policy, technology, and regulations are all adapting, or considering how to adapt, to the new possibilities. The means to harness, consume, and even distribute energy to our neighbors is be-coming more realistic day by day. At csi, our initiative Black, brown and Green is exploring how economically isolated communities of color can participate in this era, bringing ex-citing new entrepreneurship opportunities while helping to solve our global climate crisis. We are sharing what we learn so that communities of color can gain entry to a powerful new market in the twenty-first century, the green economy.This important new opportunity will require advocacy to address aging energy infrastructure and public policy to en-courage the investments and incentives that will make possi-ble decentralized energy generation. But these requirements alone will not be enough to secure a place in this market for communities of color.

“We must create the policies and practices that will over-come the unique barriers that isolate communities of color. with the right structures in place, they will be able to enter this emerging market and take advantage of its opportuni-ties to build wealth, stability, and interdependence with the larger economy,” said researcher Denis Rhoden.

Launched in 2009, Black, Brown, and Green has issued a se-ries of briefing papers focused on the nexus between com-munity business and renewable energy. We have convened a “brain trust” of business, energy, and community develop-ment experts and advocates who are collaborating with csi to offer guidance for communities and policy-makers alike that will adapt emerging renewable energy technology to lo-cal markets.

Our work is grounded by analysis, insight, and inspiration on trends and best practices from policy-makers, progressive business leadership, and advocates including: the Quixote Foundation, Green for All, the Pratt Institute, Cooler, Insight Center for Community Economic Development, us Green Building Council, Green Worker Cooperatives, Institute for Local Self Reliance, and Full Spectrum of New York.

b r a i n t r u s t m e m b e r s

Calvin Allen the conservation fund

carlton brown full spectrum of ny

melissa bradley-burns Green for all

roger clay insiGht center for community

economic development

Jason corburn university of california, berkeley

omar freilla Greenworker cooperative

michael Gelobter cooler

bruce lincoln columbia university

paul hudson broadway federal bank

Joseph James the corporation for economic

opportunity

Penn S. Loh alternatives for community &

environment

Tzipora Lubarr new york industrial retention

network

David Morris institute for local self reliance

Jessica Gordon-nembhard university of maryland

Ronald Shiffman pratt institute

Gail small native action

Vernice Miller-Travis maryland state commission

on environmental Justice and sustainable communities,

AND CO-FOUNDER WEST HARLEM environmental action

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BuildinG resilience in commu-nities

Strong communities are less likely to experience storms, flu pandemics, or economic downturns as a “disaster” because they have the infrastructure in place to solve crises quickly and effectively. When disaster does strike, strong commu-nities rebound more quickly. csi has launched an effort to redefine disaster preparedness with a focus on prevention. Instead of funneling our resources almost exclusively into re-action and response to disaster after the fact, csi is develop-ing a policy model that would allow communities to identify weaknesses in their infrastructure and begin working with leaders to strengthen them before catastrophe strikes. Un-der the proposal, when contagion hits, the public system is ready to limit the spread of disease. When flood waters rise, wetlands have been preserved to absorb the waters and limit the scale of the damage. When the economy falters, a diver-sified tax base keeps community budgets in the black.

csi’s Building Resilience in Communities, or bric, draws on community residents, organizations, and local officials to develop holistic strategies for stimulating investment in low-opportunity neighborhoods and communities of color that make them less vulnerable.

this year, csi has begun the foundational work to turn our ideas for building resilient communities into working solu-tions. We are recruiting an advisory board of members with expertise in public health, disaster and emergency response, and community planning. We have developed a policy frame-work that leverages federal funds. We are engaging grass-roots leaders and advocates to refine and strengthen the model, beginning with our allies in the Gulf Coast, including Coastal Women for Change, Hope Community Development Agency, the Mississippi State Conference of the naacp, the naacp Biloxi Branch, and the Mississippi Center for Justice, just to name a few. “This administration understands the need for investment in our nation’s infrastructure and its people. Already the Obama administration is exploring new approaches to disaster and emergency planning. At the same time, the outbreak of swine flu has prompted widespread concerns about the readiness of our public health system to face today’s threats. Given this context, we at csi believe it is now more important than ever to move forward with this crucial work,” said csi’s Senior Advocate, Brittny Saunders.

d e e p s o u t h l e a d e r s n e t wo r k

aesha rasheed new orleans parent orGanizinG network

annette hollowell mississippi center for Justice

bryan lucas parras pacifica radio

colette pichon battle Gulf coast fellowship for community transformation

Derrick Johnson ms naacp, steps coalition

Hollis Watkins southern echo

James crowell NAACP- BILOxI

Jennifer Tucker mobile fair housinG center of alabama

Jessica norwood emerGinG chanGemakers network

khalil shahyd committee for a better new orleans

keron blair interfaith worker Justice

Le’Kedra Robertson ROC-NOLA

norris henderson VOTE-NOLA

nsombi lambright ms aclu

ranie thompson

rosa herrin rai ministries

scott douglas Greater birminGham ministries

sharon hanshaw coastal women for chanGe

teresa bettis mobile fair housinG center of alabama

thena robinson southern poverty law center

trinh le hope cda

trupania bonner MOVING FORWARD GULF COAST, INC.

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recovery and

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The passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment act (arra) in february represents an unprecedented op-portunity to advance the fight for greater and more inclusive prosperity. At csi we immediately understood the impor-tance of the $787 billion in stimulus money going to critical areas of the economy, including transportation, education, and health and human services. And we recognized that there would be no long-term recovery if it excluded the fast-est-growing segments of our society—communities of color. An estimated 3.5 million jobs will be saved or created because of this money. But who will get these jobs, which schools will see improvements, which communities will receive the greatest benefit from these investments? csi provides the research, information sharing, and advocacy necessary to ensure that recovery dollars reach those hardest hit by the recession, chief among them people of color and residents of low-opportunity communities.

csi is doing this in three ways: 1) tracking the money; 2) advocating for program design and metrics; and 3) advocating for better transparency and accountability so that we can all see what works and fix what does not.

arra covers a large number of federal agencies and state and local agencies and programs. csi’s analysis and advocacy will focus on infrastructure development, particularly in the areas of broadband, transportation, and job creation. We will use our findings to develop recommendations for improving federal investment in communities.

With our partners in the field, we are advocating for spending priorities and procedures that can transform isolated com-munities into thriving neighborhoods, contributing to a more stable economy for us all.

We are forming partnerships with key allies at the national level as well as the state level in Mississippi and New York to advance this mission. At the federal level, we are work-ing with the opportunity agenda, naacp ldf, aclu racial Justice program, omb watch, Good Jobs first, the Gamaliel Foundation, and the Insight Center. At the state level in New York, we are working with a coalition that includes grassroots organizing partners such as Community Voices Heard and policy partners such as Common Cause New York. In Missis-sippi, we are working with the Mississippi naacp.

o u r pa r t n e r s

opportunity agenda Legal Defense & Educational

Fund, Inc.aclu racial Justice program

omb watch Good Jobs first

the Gameliel foundation the insight center

community voices heardCommon Cause New York

Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP

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15.8%

30.6%

13.3%

33.9%

Percent of Children in Poverty (2008)

White Black Asian Latino

Prepared by the Center for Social Inclusion with data from the U.S. Census

11,0%

23.2%

11.6%

24.6%

Percent in Poverty (2008)

White Black Asian Latino

Prepared by the Center for Social Inclusion with data from the U.S. Census

Graphics pulled from Race, the Job Market, and Economic Recovery: A Census Snapshot, october 2009

u n e m p loy m e n t i s s k y ro c k e t i n G i n co m m u n i t i e s o f co lo r

12.3%

25.5%

12.1%

26.2%

Percent of Women in Poverty (2008)

White Black Asian Latino

Prepared by the Center for Social Inclusion with data from the U.S. Census

White Women 20–29

Latina Women 20–29

Black Women 20–29

8,6%

6.2%7.2%

Change in Unemployment for Young Women (Nov. ’07–Aug. ’09)Prepared by the Center for Social Inclusion with data from the U.S. Census

White Men 20–29

Latino Men 20–29

Black Men 20–29

14.1%

6.1%

8.8%

Change in Unemployment for Young Men (Nov. ’07–Aug. ’09)Prepared by the Center for Social Inclusion with data from the U.S. Census

-2.6%

-5.6%

-4.4%

-2.8%

declines in income (’07–’08)

White Black Asian Latino

Prepared by the Center for Social Inclusion with data from the U.S. Census

Unemployment (Nov. ’07–Aug. ’09)Prepared by the Center for Social Inclusion with data from the U.S. Census

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

Nov 2007 Feb 2008 May 2008 Aug 2008 Nov 2008 Feb 2009 May 2009 Aug 2009(Right before the recession)

8.4%

5.7%

4.7%

4.2%

15.1%

13.0%

9.7%

8.9%

Black

Latino

White

Total

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csi did not develop the bric model in an office somewhere. The idea emerged from a network of leaders from across the Gulf Coast whom CSI began bringing together in 2007. The Deep South Leaders Network, as the group has named itself, has been meeting regularly to nurture and develop long-term strategies for social, economic, and political equity across the region.

Members of dsln have successfully joined together for strategy-building and analysis to develop proactive respons-es to the root problems that affect their communities. The network has been a catalyst for regional alliance building and skill building. During intensive meetings members developed a shared structural analysis and identified structural solu-tions. The work of this network has seeded initiatives that would both build the capacity of local leaders and establish long-term strategies for community development, including the BRIC project.

As the Deep South Leadership Network demonstrates, csi believes that strong leadership in communities of color is es-sential to undoing racial inequities and securing solutions that work for everyone. We know that there are countless grass-roots leaders doing extraordinary work. We are committed to supporting their inspiring leadership, connecting them to one another, and making their work even more effective. So when the New World Foundation asked csi to assume and build the alston bannerman fellowship program, we saw an opportu-nity to do even more to support local leaders. In building the Alston Bannerman Leadership Initiative, we continue the his-toric and critical sabbatical program to give organizers in com-munities of color an opportunity to take time out for reflection and renewal. We also launched the Senior Fellowship—a new fellowship that recognizes the role that community leaders play in developing ideas and strategies for community trans-formation. This fellowship gives community leaders the time and support they need to set aside the demands of their daily work and focus their talent and knowledge on developing cre-ative new solutions and long-term strategy.

In 2009, we engaged a dynamic and diverse advisory board to select the twenty-first class of sabbatical fellows and the first class of senior fellows. They are:

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senior Fellows

saBBatical Fellows

scott douglasGreater birminGham ministries

Birmingham, ALProject objective: using stimulus funding as an entry point, to develop and begin to test models of participatory budgeting, engaging grassroots leaders and progressive academics

saru Jayaramanrestaurant opportunities centers united

New York, NYProject objective: to develop a blueprint for effective transnational labor organizing that can result in the development of international labor standards

Gail small native action

Lame Deer, MTProject objective: to craft policies that address the global climate crisis through collective models of ownership that leave fossil fuels in the ground and develop alternative energy sources

Each of the fellows receives $25,000. Sabbatical fellows take three months to reflect on their work and renew their energy and commitment to it. Senior fellows also take time from day-to-day activities to delve deeper than time and re-sources typically allow to develop ideas and strategies the field needs. To stimulate innovation and collaboration, csi is building an active network of Alston Bannerman alumni and other leaders of color. Using online tools and convenings, we are building a base to foster cross-issue idea sharing, alliance-building, and mobilizing.

José BravoJust transition alliance

Chula Vista, CA

arnoldo Garcianational network for

immiGrant

and refuGee riGhts

Oakland, CA

Sylvia Ledesmakalpulli izkalli

Albuquerque, NM

ai-Jen poo domestic workers united

New York, NY

Juanita Valdez-Coxla union del pueblo entero

San Juan, TX

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Our national commitment to a social safety net produced the middle class as we know it today. And yet programs that invest in people are often under attack. Explicit and implicit uses of race are popular weapons, despite the fact that the social safety net benefits us all, regardless of race. “Colorblindness”—the mindset that says we should ignore race to avoid racial injustice—is the primary challenge to in-creasing support for programs we all need and programs that produce fairness. While the right points to the presence of a Black family in the White House as proof that race no lon-ger matters in society, the left pursues “universal” and race-blind social policy, assuming that communities of color will benefit equally. Both of these views are wrong, but we lack the tested tools to counter them.

To foster a more productive national discussion about race, csi is engaged in communications testing. Ultimately, to win support for both universal and race conscious policies that build opportunity for all of us, we need to reach audiences outside the traditional core of the racial justice movement. Building on successful initial research conducted by csi and the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in 2007, we have developed a methodology with Westen Re-search Associates to test how to overcome explicit and im-plicit assumptions about race.

The methodology is short, emotionally evocative, and suit-able for multimedia use. If our tests are successful, we will have storyboards to share with the field readily adaptable to immediate use by advocates.

Eventually this work can be used proactively to advance stra-tegic policy reform and enable dynamic leaders to build a movement for lasting change.

The election of Barack Obama meant the end to a hostile White House apparatus. An Obama White House ushered in a political era of opportunity for advocates committed to erasing the barriers that keep communities of color isolated and disconnected. But the Obama Administration is not nec-essarily our champion. It’s up to us to lay the ground for a political environment that will allow our leaders to take bold action. In addition to our testing work, csi undertook several programs this year to experiment with methods and mes-sages that will reach a broad audience.

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expandinG our commu-nications work

• We hired our first Director of Communications to help csi communicate effectively to a mass audience.

• We have begun a rapid response program to respond to news events with useful materials for allies and the press.

• csi has established a presence in the blogosphere addressing issues from stimulus funding, symbolic racism, equitable rebuilding in the Gulf Coast, and the impact of the recession upon communities of color.

• In November we launched a new Web site. With this new face we will showcase our work, provide accessible information about structural racism, and advocate for policies that create opportunity for all.

• We have expanded assistance to our allies as they develop press strategies to advance national demands on a number of issues, including greater broadband access, equitable distribution of federal stimulus funds, progressive transportation policy, and Gulf Coast recovery.

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in early 2009, csi released a comprehensive report examin-ing conditions that limit or promote opportunity and well-be-ing in New York City and the surrounding twenty-five-county region. The picture that emerges shows that people of color, the fastest growing population in the region, are excluded from opportunities that promote healthy communities and foster an economically and socially cohesive region.

The report, “One Region: Promoting Prosperity Across Race,” deployed two types of analysis in its exploration. csi developed an index to measure three dozen indicators of thriving neighborhoods, such as proximity to banks, medi-cal facilities, school performance, and distance from envi-ronmental hazards. To ground the report in the lived expe-rience of residents in low-opportunity neighborhoods csi interviewed advocates from nonprofit organizations, labor unions, research institutions, and other civil society organi-zations. The Opportunity Index demonstrated that very high opportunity neighborhoods were, on average, 88% White, while very low opportunity neighborhoods were 88% Black, Latino, and Asian.

The report examined the forces intensifying these pressures, pushing people of color further from crucial social structures. We found that a disproportionate impact of the subprime and foreclosure crises fell on people of color, and linked these catastrophes to historical policies.

As we face the greatest economic challenge since the Great Depression, racialized poverty and isolation ultimately can only hurt us all. The findings of the “One Region” report en-abled CSI to outline key policy solutions and join with our al-lies to advocate for a more inclusive, equitable, and resilient economy.

in late 2009, csi analyzed education reform strategies devel-oping in Mississippi, one of the poorest states in the country, where the recession has struck hard. csis report “Leading Reform” examines education reform strategies and oppor-tunities provided by Recovery Act dollars.

csi has produced a round of short reports using diverse gov-ernment data to analyze the impact of the recession and the reach of the recovery. These reports provide allies and the media with accessible tools including maps, indices, and up-to-the-minute analysis on key economic trends and their im-pact on communities of color.

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LEADING REFORM

EDUCATION ADVOCACY CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES IN MISSISSIPPI

Mississippi is known as a state with one of the

most unsuccessful public school systems in the

country. But advocates and communities in mississippi

are not settling for mediocre education. In “Leading

Reform,” CSI documents the state of education and education reform efforts,

and identifies opportunities and challenges created by

the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act and other

federal opportunities.

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One Region: Promoting Prosperity Across Race, measures opportunity by indicators such as proximity to banks, medical facilities, school performance across the region, and location of environmental and other hazards. The picture that emerges shows that people of color, the fastest growing population in the region, are excluded from opportunities that can build healthy communities and an economically and socially cohesive region.

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Grants and Contributions $1,283,845 Contracts, Fees and Honoraria $168,209

Total Revenue $1,427,054

expenses

Personnel $761,873 Programs, non-personnel $295,305Operating/Administration $307,730

Total Expenses $1,364,908

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The following foundations and individuals provided support to the Center for Social Inclusion between November 2007 and October 2008

anonymous Quinn Delaney and Wayne Jordan the dream fund/public interest projects french american charitable trustford foundationconnie cagampang and Jonathan hellerthe hull family foundationThe W. K. Kellogg FoundationLinked Fate Foundationthe new world foundationthe one world fundthe open society instituteOxfam Americathe pbl fundRichard L. Pearlstonedoug phelpsPublic Welfare FoundationQuixote Foundationdeborah sagnerschooner foundationschott foundation the starry night fundrobert turner and stephanie bartonSteve Viedermanphillip and kate villerswallace Global fundJ. McDonald Williams Fund of the Dallas Foundation

csi supporters

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madeleine adamsonproJect coordinator

Alston Bannerman Leadership Initiative

Jeanne baroncommunications director

yesenia branadministrative assistant

Steven Cordovaexecutive assistant to

the executive director

Jacob fabersenior researcher

Devon Kearneyassociate director

(through 10/09)

denyce normentadministrative director

denis rhodenresearcher

brittny saunderssenior advocate

lynda turetadvocacy coordinator

cassandra welchlindirector of southern

proGrams

maya wileyexecutive director

board of directors

catherine albisaexecutive director

National Economic and Social Rights Initiative

Gayle Perkins Atkins (through 10/09)former broadcast

Journalist

activist/fundraiser

roger claypresident

Insight Center for Community Economic Development

colin Greerpresident

New World Foundation

connie cagampang hellerdonor/activist

richard healeypresident

The Grassroots Policy Project

paul hudsonpresident and ceo

Broadway Federal Bank

Mahdis Keshavarzprincipal

The Make Agency

Idelisse MalaveorGanizational

effectiveness consultant

john powellexecutive director

Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity Ohio State University

Ramon Ramirezpresident

Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN)

Ron Shiffmanprofessor

Pratt Institute

© 2009 Center for Social Inclusion. Creative: Tronvig Group.

To find out more about csi or to make a donation, visit centerforsocialinclusion.org

or write to us at:

Center for Social Inclusion 65 Broadway, Suite 1800

New York, ny 10006Tel (212) 248-2785

fax (212) 248-6409info@thecsi.org