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The data is overwhelming: The place where a child is born and grows up has enormous impact on everything from access to quality education to chances at upward mobility to life expectancy. In the neighborhood where rioting broke out in Baltimore after the death of Freddie Gray, the unemployment rate is near 20 percent. Fewer than 60 percent of Baltimore’s high school students receive a diploma. The reasons are complex, and they’re not limited to Baltimore. But if the place where one lives, especially as a child, has such an outsized influence on outcome of one’s life, how do we make all places into places of opportunity? What will it take to create thriving and sustainable economies, inspiring and inventive schools, and safe, nurturing, and supportive neighborhoods across all of Baltimore, Detroit, Newark, and similar cities? How can we extend the reach of the American dream?
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- 2015 Festival
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