Black poverty in Omaha, Nebraska.

j-urb — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 08:41:03 -0800

The Omaha World Herald is currently doing a special report on the plight of blacks in Omaha, Nebraska.---Omaha in Black and White: Poverty amid prosperity ---Omaha in Black and White: Losses shrink black middle class---Omaha in Black and White: Self-sufficiency still eludes the state's poor---Omaha in Black and White: Barriers to jobs are many--- Omaha in Black and White: Decline in industrial jobs hurts blacks---Omaha in Black and White: Few well-paid black workers "Omaha is known far and wide as the home of Warren Buffett, one of the wealthiest men on the planet. It boasts the headquarters of five Fortune 500 companies, the most for any U.S. city its size. But the Omaha metropolitan area also has another economic distinction: home to one of the poorest black communities you'll find anywhere in America. Among America's 100 largest metro areas, Omaha has the third-highest black poverty rate. Worse yet, its percentage of black children in poverty ranks No. 1 in the nation, with nearly six of 10 black kids living below the poverty line. And this is in a metro area that is otherwise prospering, with a gleaming new convention center and arena, new high-rises filling out the skyline and national retail and restaurant chains by the dozens coming in to set up shop."

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