OF RACE AND PROGRESS:
HOW BLACKS FARE TODAY
A new report says racism is holding blacks back -- but the sponsors are determined to
use it as a blueprint for advancement.
by Jarrett Murphy
http://www.citylimits.org/content/articles/viewarticle.cfm?article_id=3455&content_type=1&media_type=3
When City Councilman Larry Seabrook took the podium at unveiling of the report "The
State of Black New York City 2007," there was good news and bad news to talk about.
Coming seven years after the release of the last such report, its completion was
itself an achievement by the Black Equity Alliance and New York Urban League, which
brought together leading intellectuals for a detailed analysis of where blacks stand.
But the resulting report detailed persistent disparities in black New Yorkers' access
to the job market, affordable housing, health care and schools. So, Seabrook told the
crowd at the JP Morgan Chase building on Park Avenue, "It's a pleasure to be here :
to see how bad we're doing."
Statistics showing the challenges facing black New Yorkers are easy to find; they're
often at hand in public discussions about school test scores, incarceration rates,
incidence of asthma and so on. What's different about the State of Black New York
City (which the Urban League has published off and on for 40 years) is that it
presents a broad picture of the multifaceted disadvantages blacks face-and weds those
indicators to a critique of what the report calls America's "race-constructed
society." Explaining the study's purpose, New York Urban League chairman Noel Hankin
told the room that "to monitor, measure and track the effects of racism is very
important."
That's especially true when those effects can be multilayered, hidden within crises
that also affect whites, or masked by cosmetic changes to a more visible problem.
Take the number of blacks in construction jobs. Unsurprisingly, blacks are
under-represented in the industry. But digging deeper, blacks who have managed to get
into construction jobs make 61 cents to every dollar their white counterparts make.
That's in part because, according to economist Darrick Hamilton, an assistant
professor at The New School, "Within the industry, blacks are clustered in the
low-wage jobs." Among construction job titles, black participation drops 17 percent
for every $10,000 increase in average wages.
Housing affordability affects every racial group in the city as increasing numbers of
city residents devote a major portion of their paycheck to keeping a roof over their
heads. But the effects aren't colorblind: One quarter of black homeowners pay more
than half their income to cover housing costs, versus 17 percent of whites. And among
renters, "Low-income blacks pay substantially more of their income for housing than
low-income whites," said Lucille McEwen, president of Harlem Congregations for
Community Improvement. The current subprime loan crisis also has a racial tinge, she
said: "Some lenders routinely steer African Americans to subprime products."
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I intend to last long enough to put out of business all *****-suckers
and other beneficiaries of the institutionalized slavery and genocide.
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"The army that will defeat terrorism doesn't wear uniforms, or drive
Humvees, or calls in air-strikes. It doesn't have a high command, or
high security, or a high budget. The army that can defeat terrorism
does battle quietly, clearing minefields and vaccinating children. It
undermines military dictatorships and military lobbyists. It subverts
sweatshops and special interests.Where people feel powerless, it
helps them organize for change, and where people are powerful, it
reminds them of their responsibility." ~~~~ Author Unknown ~~~~
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