An extra $200,000 this year will allow the Iowa Commission on the Status of African-Americans to move forward on a five-year plan to study and improve the lives of blacks in 10 cities. 

“It was an unprecedented award for this division,” said Abraham Funchess, the commission’s division administrator. “The message now meets resources, and so we’re excited about that.”

The money allocated by the legislature makes Iowa the only state where lawmakers earmarked money to carry out such a plan, Funchess said. 

The plan is called “The Ongoing Covenant with Black Iowa.”  It’s centered on education, youth, economic development, political involvement, spirituality, justice issues, housing and health care. The goal is to improve the outcomes for blacks in these areas. The plan was announced last year, but the budget increase — from $154,000 to $354,000 for the fiscal year which began July 1 — will help spur it forward, Funchess said.

The money will allow the commission to provide thousands of dollars in grants to help communities in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Davenport, Dubuque, Sioux City, Fort Madison, Burlington, Iowa City and Fort Dodge. Residents can submit budget proposals to the commission to study or tackle the issues troubling their cities. The commission also has money to pay for a part-time employee from each of the communities who will serve as a liaison between the commission and a leadership team comprised of residents. Liaisons will be selected during the next two weeks, Funchess said.

The commission will hold a press conference from 6 to 8 p.m. Aug. 28 at the Fort Des Moines Museum and Education Center in Des Moines to garner interest among residents here to serve on a leadership team.

Charles Clayton of Fort Dodge has served as a commissioner for two years. He said the plan could be monumental for the cities and the state. He said implementing the plan will be easier with paid liaisons to coordinate the efforts.

  “The covenant is huge because if it’s done correctly you will get a lot of answers and plans to figure out why our kids are so far behind in academics. . . why juvenile justice rates are so high and disproportionate,” he said. “Why teen pregnancies in our communities are so disproportionate.”

The purpose of the commission, created in 1989, is to report on the status of blacks and recommend programs, legislation and policies, among other things, to the Iowa legislature. The commission’s budget typically was enough money to pay for two full-time employees, which limited its effectiveness. Now, the extra money could allow the commission to bring issues affecting blacks into the forefront and help residents make a difference in their own communities.

Funchess last week met with the Black Ministerial Alliance in Des Moines, where he presented the plan and discussed concerns about HIV/AIDS, racial profiling and other issues. During the past year, Funchess met with residents in six of the cities to talk about the plan. Funchess said the commission is not trying to “reinvent the wheel” with the plan. He said many communities were already at work on specific problems affecting their communities, but the grants will allow them to study the issues and further their work.

“Over the year, we’ve had an opportunity to hear people’s concerns,” Funchess said. 

Clayton said Fort Dodge residents have worked to tackle problems, but efforts were “hit and miss.” A coordinated effort through the commission will help push those efforts along, Clayton said.

According to recent statistics from the State Data Center of Iowa and the commission, there are almost 70,000 blacks in the state, which is 2.3 percent of the state’s population. The number is predicted to grow to more than 117,000 people by 2030.

Dire statistics describe the plight of blacks in the state, including: