CURA also identified the problems with representation on neighborhood organization boards, particularly renters and people of color. Since we did not have access to data from any recent demographic surveys carried out by NCR, we did not conduct any analysis on this particular issue.

However, it should be noted that this is not an issue that is unique to neighborhood organization boards, but reflects a problem on a national level. BoardSource, a national organization that has been studying this problem for several years, states in their 2017 report that “Boards are no more diverse than they were two years ago and current recruitment priorities indicate this is unlikely to change.” (Leading with Intent, downloaded 2020)

Chart 12, below, shows that, on average, as the percent of Black/African American residents increases, so does the diversity of the neighborhood. Compare this with Chart 13, which demonstrates the opposite to be true as the percent of White residents goes up:

Requiring neighborhood organization boards to meet certain diversity quotas will have the consequence of placing a higher burden on neighborhood organization boards that do have mostly Black leadership on those boards than on boards representing neighborhoods that are mostly White. This is the exact opposite of equity.