My Community
Discuss the general community characteristics, such as historical development and geographic boundaries. Remember boundaries include people, place, and social interaction.
Known as the birthplace of Civil Rights, Montgomery is located in central Alabama. It has served as an origin for travel, trade, and leadership. Montgomery was the crossroads for important Native American routes that transected the Alabama River connecting the Creek Indians to the world before the Treaty of Fort Jackson in 1814. The treaty annihilated the Indian population. Acres upon acres of Creek land was later developed into plantations that fielded cotton. The plantations flourished, and the soon to be the town of Montgomery was again the crossroads of …show more content…
A community is its people, place, and common characters. Population, on the other hand, is an assemblage of individuals that share commonalities like geographical location (Maurer & Smith, 2013). The community of Montgomery boasts a diverse economy far from its cotton production days. Healthcare, business, government, and manufacturing jobs along with agriculture are the cornerstone of Montgomery. The demographic characteristics attest for the many years of racial disparity. Although black Americans make up roughly 58% of Montgomery, they are still four times as likely to live below poverty lines (Shakeel, 2017). 18.8% of Montgomery populations are considered below poverty levels. 5.5% speak a language other than English. 11.1% of the population does not have adequate medical insurance and 12.5% under 65 have a disability. 14% is over the age of 65 and more than half are women; 52.7%. 4.4% are foreign-born. There is a sizeable veteran population in Montgomery with 17,295 of the population having prior service. 85.5% are high school graduates, but only 31.5% have obtained a bachelor’s degree or higher. The Montgomery Public School system is consistently ranked in the bottom 6% of statewide standardizing testing and is in danger of losing its accreditation. 61.2% of the population is in the civilian workforce and 57.7% are female. The median household income is $45,358 and averages 2.44 persons per household. 70.5% claim …show more content…
This population holds the majority of legislative representation. There is a shocking income inequality with European Americans median Salary being $49,456 compared to African Americans at $29,210 and Hispanics at $34,773. People of color include African Americans, Hispanics, Indians, and Asian populations. Years of racial disparities have led to people of color receiving inadequate representation, health care, housing, diet, and education. African Americans make up over 90% of the failing public school system. The population typically lives in a food desert and characteristically has insufficient transportation options. The underserved neighborhoods are among the most violent in Montgomery allowing for little recreational opportunities. All of these reasons coupled with lower income leads to a health care deficit. The more affluent neighborhoods have sidewalks, activity facilities, and the community typically attends private schools. Hispanics fare somewhat better as far as monies taken in but may also have the roadblock of a communication barrier. Another vulnerable group in Montgomery County is the senior citizen and female populations. Senior citizens (14%) have increased medical needs. The lack of transportation, income, and adequate diets cause this population to have increased vulnerabilities. Much like the other populations, lack of transportation will cause missed medical appointments.