“When 904WARD started conceptualizing a progress report about Race in Jacksonville, we kept coming back to the same point — we do not need another study. Our community has researched this subject for more than 70 years,” said Dr. Kimberly Allen, CEO of 904WARD. “We know what the gaps are. We know where the challenges exist. We know where there is opportunity. Little has changed. Efforts advance, groups are formed, yet the outcome remains the same — Jacksonville’s Black and Brown people are consistently underrepresented in spheres of prosperity and overrepresented in spheres of struggle and risk.”
Instead, the series is designed to compile and streamline 75 years of research to form a baseline for community understanding of racial inequity in Jacksonville, past and present, and set a foundation for advocating for the structural and community changes that are needed to make Jacksonville a place where everyone can thrive, regardless of the color of their skin. 904WARD will work with its diverse and expanding base of volunteers to prioritize and co-create solutions, define success, identify partners, and advocate for changes needed to bring about those solutions.