"A Blueprint for Change: Strategies to Improve the Quality of Life for African Americans Living in Westchester County" is the focus of the latest "County Conversation" now posted on the county's Web site.
Prepared by the African American Advisory Board for the County of Westchester, the 68-page report looks at four areas: education, economic development, housing and health and human services.
In this "County Conversation," Barbara Edwards, the chair of the advisory board, discusses the document with Diane Balistreri, who was until recently the county's liaison to the advisory board.
Edwards emphasizes that the report is not just a description of disparities between blacks and whites in these areas. Rather, it is meant to be a blueprint for finding ways to close the gaps.
She credits the county government efforts in some areas, but also stresses that African Americans must themselves, with "self-determination," work to solve their own problems.
"I mean that we don't wait for others to do for us, certainly not the government," she said. "We should make sure that we maximize our potential, maximize our resources, reach out for those resources that we need and make decisions that impact and improve our lives."
Watch the interview below.
{vimeo}15399175{/vimeo}