In May of 2019, Governor Kay Ivey invited Educational Testing Service (ETS) President Walt MacDonald and his senior staff to visit Alabama to assess how ETS might help the state with planning and programming to lift up its economically challenged Black Belt region. The Governor wants to fully incorporate the Black Belt as part of her Success Plus initiative that will add 500,000 new workers with degrees, certificates, and credentials by 2025. Governor Ivey’s Education Policy Adviser Nick Moore and Steve Katsinas, Director of the University of Alabama’s Education Policy Center (EPC), created an agenda for ETS’ Senior Vice President for Policy Evaluation and Research Michael T. Nettles and Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships and Innovation, Higher Education, Global Education Javarro Russell. They visited Montgomery and the Black Belt in July 2019. To follow up, the EPC was asked by ETS Senior Vice President Nettles to provide background and an initial road map for ETS’ entry into Alabama.
The Black Belt series has been a project partnering the Education Policy Center at UA with AL.com (assisting in data visualization and publication), as well as the Center for Business and Economic Research at UA, aiding in gathering data.
More can and should be done to brighten futures in Alabama’s Black Belt. A long-term comprehensive approach that includes transportation, childcare, food security, and housing, as well as braiding the federal funding streams for workforce training, welfare-to-work, and adult literacy with secondary and higher education is needed. Three recent examples show state officials understand this challenge: First, Governor Kay Ivey created the Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Transformation, to coordinate the braiding of these funding streams. Second, flowing from this, the Governor has been working with economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta to focus on mitigating the negative impact of marginal tax increases, otherwise known as “benefits cliffs.” Third, in August 2019, Brenda Tuck became the first Rural Development Manager at the Alabama Department of Commerce. Ms. Tuck worked in Dallas and Wilcox counties, and directed the Marengo County Economic Development Authority.
The Education Policy Center’s issue brief series on the Black Belt examines several topics relevant to the region and its residents: population decline, enrollment decline, unemployment, low labor force participation, Pre-K access, healthcare and broadband availability. The series also seeks to provide a comprehensive definition of what parts of Alabama constitute the “Black Belt,” a seminal step in understanding these issues. By compiling, publishing, and publicizing the right data, the EPC hopes to raise awareness of the challenges facing the Black Belt for citizens and policymakers alike.
June 2025
Issue Brief No. 64: Healthcare in Alabama’s Black Belt:
Impacts of Potential Medicaid Cuts
Garrett A. Till, Stephen G. Katsinas, Nathaniel J. Bray, Henry N. Vlacovsky, Noel E. Keeney, Moses O. Ogunniran, and Joscelyn K. J. Peterson
This brief examines the severe healthcare challenges facing Alabama’s Black Belt region, highlighting the impacts of potential Medicaid cuts and existing disparities in access to care and provider shortages. It builds on previous analyses to offer an overview of the region’s healthcare landscape, Medicaid’s vital role, and recommendations for long-term improvement.
April 2025
Issue Brief No. 63: Empowering Futures: Expanding Educational Opportunities in Alabama’s Black Belt
Stephen G. Katsinas, Nathaniel J. Bray, Garrett A. Till, Mark Fincher, Noel E. Keeney, Trinity P. Lohrmeyer, Henry N. Vlacovsky
Through analysis of Alabama State Department of Education data on Inexperienced Teacher Rates and Economically Disadvantaged students, among other demographic indicators, this research documents the specific educational barriers facing Black Belt communities.
February 2025
Stephen G. Katsinas, Garrett A. Till, Joscelyn Peterson, Noel E. Keeney, Patrick J. Kelly, Nathaniel J. Bray, Moses O. Ogunnarin, Henry N. Vlacovsky
This report looks at various poverty and labor data, as well as recent developments in these fields, to offer recommendations to transform persistent poverty in Alabama’s Black Belt and advance the overall welfare of the state.
October 2023
Stephen G. Katsinas, Nathaniel J. Bray, Garrett A. Till, Kim R. Jacks, Noel E. Keeney, Moses O. Ogunniran
This report looks at metrics for assessing and addressing persistent poverty in Alabama’s Black Belt with data from the U.S. Census and National Bureau of Labor Statistics.
April 2022
Issue Brief No. 60: Profiles of Community Leaders in the Black Belt
Emily Grace Corley, Garrett Till, Sally Grace Shettles, Sean O’Brien, Nathaniel J. Bray, Stephen G. Katsinas
This final edition in the Black Belt 2022 series aims to highlight the good
work of leaders in various roles who are on the ground and already making
a difference in their Black Belt communities.
April 2022
Issue Brief No. 59: Infrastructure in Alabama’s Black Belt
Stephen G. Katsinas, Emily Grace Corley, Garrett Till, Sean O’Brien, Nathaniel J. Bray
This brief reviews recent infrastructure investments and noting areas in need of improvement by looking at various data, including county health metrics and the United States Census Bureau.
March 2022
Issue Brief No. 58: Poverty, Housing, & GDP in Alabama’s Black Belt
Stephen G. Katsinas, Garrett Till, Emily Grace Corley, Sean O’Brien, Eric Courchesne, Nathaniel Bray
This brief explores various aspects related to poverty, including poverty
rates, access to capital, income inequality, households and the housing
market, and poverty-reduction programs throughout the Black Belt.
March 2022
Issue Brief No. 57: Educational Attainment, Community College, and Transfer in the Black Belt
Garrett Till, Emily Grace Corley, Sean O’Brien, Stephen G. Katsinas, Nathaniel Bray
This brief discusses educational attainment in the Black Belt, the role of
community colleges and transfer, as well as policy recommendations to
improve postsecondary outcomes in the Black Belt.
March 2022
Issue Brief No. 56: K-12 STEM Education in Alabama’s Black Belt
Sean O’Brien, Emily Grace Corley, Garrett Till, Eric Courchesne
This brief looks at data accessing educational quality, specifically for STEM, throughout Alabama’s Black Belt, using Alabama State Department of Education Report Card, as well as the National Math and Science Initiative’s Stem Opportunity Index.
March 2022
Issue Brief No. 55: COVID-19 and Alabama’s Black Belt
Emily Grace Corley, Garrett Till, Sean O’Brien, Stephen G. Katsinas, Nathaniel J. Bray
This issue brief, the first in our new series, reviews the ongoing impact of COVID-19 in the Black Belt and assesses disparities of health outcomes between the Black Belt and the rest of the state.
October 2020
Issue Brief No. 51: Black Belt Manufacturing and Economic Prospects
Stephen G. Katsinas, Nathaniel J. Bray, Jonathan Bowen, Emily Grace Corley, Noel E. Keeney, Hunter Whann, Emily Jacobs
In this issue brief, the ninth and final in the Black Belt IPIP series by the
University of Alabama’s Education Policy Center, we review manufacturing and
economic prospects in the Black Belt, and offer proposals for policy and further
study, drawing upon the entire series of issue briefs.
October 2020
Issue Brief No. 50: Internet Access Disparities in Alabama & the Black Belt
Stephen G. Katsinas, Noel E. Keeney, Emily Jacobs, Emily Grace Corley, Hunter Whann
This issue brief, part of a series produced by the University of Alabama’s Education Policy Center, presents original data on internet access in Alabama with particular interest in the Black Belt region. National trends are also examined, with potential solutions explored.
October 2020
Issue Brief No. 49: Healthcare: A Key Challenge in Alabama’s Black Belt
Emily Jacobs, Hunter Whann, Emily Grace Corley, Jonathan Bowen, Noel Keeney
In this issue brief, part of a series produced by the University of Alabama’s Education Policy Center, access to healthcare in Alabama—and specifically the Black Belt—is examined alongside national healthcare trends.
October 2020
Issue Brief No. 48: Defining Alabama’s Black Belt Region
Stephen G. Katsinas, Noel E. Keeney, Emily Jacobs, Hunter Whann
This brief tackles the inconsistency that is the definition of Alabama’s Black Belt region, looking at both federal and state definitions to try and provide clarity.
October 2020
Hunter Whann, Noel E. Keeney, Emily Jacobs, Stephen Katsinas
This issue brief, part of the Black Belt 2020 series produced by the Education Policy Center in the College of Education at the University of Alabama, explores pre-k access across Alabama with special attention paid to the Black Belt region.
September 2020
Stephen G. Katsinas, Noel E. Keeney, Emily Jacobs, Hunter Whann
This brief builds upon EPC analysis of Black Belt population and elementary and secondary school enrollment, as we examine labor force participation.
September 2020
Stephen G. Katsinas, Noel E. Keeney, Emily Jacobs, Hunter Whann
This brief looks at Alabama’s population decline how this decline could lead to the loss of a congressional seat, using data from the United State Census.
September 2020
Issue Brief No. 45: Persistent Unemployment in the Black Belt
Hunter D. Whann, Noel E. Keeney, Stephen G. Katsinas, Emily Jacobs
In this brief, persistent unemployment in the Black Belt, relative to the rest of Alabama and the nation, is examined.
August 2020
Issue Brief No. 44: School Enrollment in Alabama’s Black Belt Continues to Decline
Stephen G. Katsinas, Noel E. Keeney, Emily Jacobs, Hunter Whann
In this issue brief, published by the University of Alabama’s Education Policy Center, public K-12 enrollment data for the state and the Black Belt is examined.