So, one can see why this play would be very relevant to the Tucson community; just look around and compare the Foothills to South Tucson (both of which are incorporated into Tucson). As of 2000, South Tucson was 81% Hispanic or Latino (and 43.46% white, including white Hispanics/Latinos) with a median household income of $14,587 and $17,614 for families. Males made roughly $6,000 more than females and 46.5% of the population was below the poverty line, including 61.2% of those under 18 and 36% of those over 65. As of 2015, the poverty level has risen to 51%. Meanwhile, 12 miles north, the Catalina Foothills were 91.35% white and 7.55% Hispanic or Latino with a median household income of $65,657 and $82,675 for families. Men made $61,697 versus the $37,077 women made. Only 2.4% of families and 4.3% of the population were below the poverty line.
Furthermore, Amphitheater Public Schools and the Catalina Foothills School District are both acclaimed public education schools that perform in the top tier, while South Tucson has an extremely high crime rate with more than four times the US average in theft and aggravated assault while other categories greatly exceed the national average. This also seems to confirm the relationship between education and crime; a 2001 paper utilizing evidence from inmates, arrests, and self-reports determined the greatest impact was associated with completing high school (due to wage increases), even though more secondary education reduces the probability of arrest and that “the main impacts of education relate to murder, assault, and car theft (Lochner, Moretti)”. This split also seems to exemplify the myth of mobility- if a minority group (that is, a heavily Hispanic/Latino population) is born into certain conditions (that is, South Tucson), they don’t have as much access to quality education (which seems to be a prerequisite for success in America) and thus find it harder to move up socially and economically. Demographics |
In 2010, Tucson (which includes the aforementioned communities and places like Flowing Wells, Vail, and Oro Valley) was 69.7% white (with 47.2% having no Hispanic descent), 5% African American, and 41.6% Hispanics or Latinos (36.1% of which were Mexican Americans) with a median income per household of $30,981 and $37,344 for families, with men making roughly $5,500 more than females. 18.4% of the population and 13.7% of families were below the poverty line. The national average median income that year was $49,445 (declining 2.3% from 2009) with a poverty rate of 15.1% (largest number at that time in the previous 52 years).
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