BE:MORE's Innovation - Root Cause Analysis
In summer 2012, Anurag Gupta, Sara Bennett, and Melika Forbes undertook a research project at the Vera Institute of Justice to identify the root causes of race-based disparities in economic, social, and political life outcomes, using the experiences of black males as the lens of analysis. Our hypothesis was that there are traceable root causes of such disparities. To identify these root causes, we (1) compiled recent statistics on black male disparities from reliable government sources in eight areas of economic, social, and political life: education, health, housing, income, wealth, employment, criminal justice, and political participation; (2) reviewed leading academic scholarship across disciplines to develop literature reviews that discerned specific causes of disparities in each areas; and (3) reduced the complex and interlacing explanations for these disparities into four big bucket interdependent root causes (see image).
Over the last 18 months, Anurag has shared these findings and sought advice and input from over 500 external stakeholders at conferences, community events, and private meetings (including academics that study race formation and race-based disparities, entrepreneurs innovating at the intersection of culture and technology, millennial human rights activists, film production teams, marketing and brand managers, race-focused research institutes, community-based organizations, and clergy).
BE:MORE’s design emerged from these inspiring conversations.
In summer 2012, Anurag Gupta, Sara Bennett, and Melika Forbes undertook a research project at the Vera Institute of Justice to identify the root causes of race-based disparities in economic, social, and political life outcomes, using the experiences of black males as the lens of analysis. Our hypothesis was that there are traceable root causes of such disparities. To identify these root causes, we (1) compiled recent statistics on black male disparities from reliable government sources in eight areas of economic, social, and political life: education, health, housing, income, wealth, employment, criminal justice, and political participation; (2) reviewed leading academic scholarship across disciplines to develop literature reviews that discerned specific causes of disparities in each areas; and (3) reduced the complex and interlacing explanations for these disparities into four big bucket interdependent root causes (see image).
Over the last 18 months, Anurag has shared these findings and sought advice and input from over 500 external stakeholders at conferences, community events, and private meetings (including academics that study race formation and race-based disparities, entrepreneurs innovating at the intersection of culture and technology, millennial human rights activists, film production teams, marketing and brand managers, race-focused research institutes, community-based organizations, and clergy).
BE:MORE’s design emerged from these inspiring conversations.
Why Focus on Black Males?
There are three major reasons for our focus on the experiences of black males to frame the causes of race-based disparities in the US:
There are three major reasons for our focus on the experiences of black males to frame the causes of race-based disparities in the US:
- The first and foremost reason is that black males as a group continue to be on the top of every indicator of social misery and the bottom of every indicator of social prosperity. By focusing on the most marginalized and dehumanized in our society, the project will humanize all Americans in the process.
- The second reason is that many respected scholars have likened the social, economic, and political welfare of black males as being the miner’s canary with respect to issues of equity and justice in America. Just as the canary’s distress alerts miners to poison in the air, welfare of black males points to conditions in American society that affect all its inhabitants.
- The last reason is that most government agencies and academics continue to perceive our humanity and collect and analyze data on the American experience along the dichotomous lines of black versus white. Therefore, the best academic evidence for race-based disparities focuses on this identity group.