By Tobi Oluwa
Contributing Writer
Columbus Post

In 2002, Black Entertainment Television conducted a six-month study which concluded that Columbus was the best city in the nation for blacks to live.
The reasons behind the number one rating were a growing community of diverse neighborhoods, high employment, affordable homes and, a low rate of violent crime and high homeownerships. In addition, Columbus had the lowest rate of AIDS infections of any of the major cities in the study.
Yet Columbus still has issues. Poverty, homelessness, affordable housing, health care, and unemployment continue to affect Columbus residents.
A panel discussion was held last month at the Columbus Health Department addressing some of those issues.
Michael Banish is the director of Community Data Services for CRP, a local research organization, which tracks community change.
“Columbus is doing fairly well in terms of poverty compared to other cities,” said Banish, who included Youngstown, Cleveland and Cincinnati in the research. “As far as the state of Ohio is concerned, there are some states doing better and some doing worse.”
According to CRP, following a decline in the 1990s, the poverty rate in Columbus increased to 12.8 percent of the population in 2004.
A family of four living on or below $18,850 annual income and any full-time worker making $9.06 or less per hour are considered groups below the poverty line.
Over half of single females with children under the age of five live in poverty in addition to one in six children, one in 10 elderly, and one in five foreign born residents.
Although blacks make up 20 percent of the population in Franklin County, 39 percent live in poverty.
“African Americans are typically a lot worse off in a lot of different areas than their white counterparts,” said Banish. “Some of it is related to income and class issues. Some of it is related to the health disparities in different disease categories and the disparities with infant mortality, and diabetes being more prevalent among blacks than among whites.”

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