SWOT Analysis
An anecdotal of the African American Community of Greater Madison, Wisconsin, in consideration of:
- Strengths,
- Weaknesses,
- Opportunities, and
- Threats.
Strengths
Many members of the Greater Madison African American Community are:
- Economically stable,
- College educated,
- In influential positions across the City (e.g., educators, law enforcement),
- Members of infinity groups,
- Desire better outcomes for people that look like themselves,
- Have a rich history from which others can take and draw a sense of pride,
- Are easily accessible and localized, and
- Have access to local, regional and national political leaders.
Weaknesses
- Lack of coordination among the African American organizations,
- Major disconnect between the educated class and the low-income class of African Americans, to a point of being two different constituencies,
- No influence over institutions that affect our community (e.g., schools, university, local government, business institutions),
- No consistent policy advocacy,
- Sense of divide between those who were born here and those who moved and were educated here,
- The emerging African American community is largely low-income,
- Involvement in skilled trades (e.g., electrician, plumbing, HVAC) is almost nonexistent,
- Many African American youth have little or no adult male guidance,
- Incarceration rates for African Americans in Greater Madison are high, and
- Education achievement for African American youth is low.
Opportunities
- The Greater Madison African American community continues to grow and could gain political power,
- Access to political leadership could help get hot-button issues on the agenda, locally and regionally,
- Educational institutions in Madison are world-class and could help educate our community, and
- The "boarder community" seeks voices from the African American community.
Threats
- The African American community of Greater Madison is fragmented,
- There is no collective voice to public or private sectors concerning issues involving African Americans in Madison,
- The emerging African American community, although growing, has little job readiness skills and orientation to work,
- Incarceration rates remain high and continue to negatively impact the community,
- New leadership is not being groomed to take over from the current leaders - the Baby Boom generation of leaders is transitioning, and
- The feeling in the Euro American community, and perhaps some sectors of the African American community, is that we are living in a post-racial society.
