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Study Shows Blacks
Will Never Gain Wealth
Parity With Whites Under the Current
System
By Glen
Ford
The gap between
Black and white household wealth quadrupled from
1984 to 2007, totally discrediting the conventional
wisdom that the U.S. is slowly and fitfully moving
towards racial equality, or some rough economic
parity between the races. Like most American myths,
it’s the direct opposite of the truth. When measured
over decades, Blacks are being propelled
economically downward relative to whites at
quickening speed, according to
a new study by Brandeis University.
The gap between
Black and white households ballooned during the
23-year study period, as white families went from a
median of about $22,000 in wealth to $100,000 – a
gain of $95,000. In the same period, Black household
wealth inched up from a base of $2,000 per family to
only $5,000. The sweat and toil of an entire
generation had netted Black families only $3,000
additional dollars, while white families amassed 100
grand that can be used to send a couple of kids to
college, make investments, help out other family
members, or contribute to the larger (white)
community. The typical Black family has no such
options.
Viewed another
way, the median white family was 11 times richer
than the median Black family in 1984 ($2,000 vs.
$22,000). By 2007, the white household had become 20
times richer than its Black counterpart ($5,000 vs.
$100,000).
Any way one
measures it, the numbers show African Americans are
tumbling out of the nation’s economic orbit,
wealth-wise, on a trajectory that can never achieve
parity with whites. I repeat: never.
On the campaign
trail in 2007, Barack Obama flippantly declared that
African Americans had “already come 90 percent of
the way” to equality, with only 10 percent more to
go. Whatever the future president was thinking, it
wasn’t economics. The meter of progress is running
backwards on Black America, toward greater
inequality and relative poverty. Everything else
you’ve heard is propaganda.
The Brandeis
study, conducted by the university’s Institute on
Assets and Social Policy, showed that upper income
Blacks fell even farther behind their white peers
than lower income Blacks. During the survey period,
higher income Blacks saw their wealth drop from
$25,000 to just $18,000, while their white
counterparts wealth soared to $240,000.
Black folks
have been integrated long enough to know that the
white family didn’t get richer by a quarter million
dollars because they were smarter than the Black
family. Privilege, especially cumulative privilege
over generations, works wonders, like compound
interest only better. Whites are both collectively
privileged and capable of bestowing an endless
stream of privileges on each other, while Blacks are
deliberately positioned outside of the stream, and
are preyed upon as a group by powerful (white)
financial forces that profit from the wealth
differential.
The Brandies
report recognizes the “powerful role of persistent
discrimination in housing, credit and labor markets”—that is, the institutionally racist crimes of
finance capital. Had the survey continued past 2007,
the carnage of the Great Recession would have
revealed even more dramatically the incredibly
shrinking nature of Black wealth in the current era.
Enemies of all
colors and sly servants of the rich will use the
news of the evaporation of African American wealth
to heap blame on Black “culture.” This “shaming”
strategy is designed to keep Blacks looking inward
for the source of their woes, and to simultaneously
despair of finding salvation in our own capacity for
group agency. Meanwhile, the Lords of Capital devour
us like piranhas—quicker than they do whites, who
are padded with the fat of relative privilege—$95,000 worth of it, the racial wealth spread of 23
years.
Although Black
parity with whites has never been on the horizon,
impatient whites have insisted since 1969 or
thereabouts that “it’s time” African Americans were
made to “stand or fall” on their own, minus all the
imagined assistance Blacks have supposedly received
from phantom federal and state agencies. After all,
say the anxious whites, how long is society (meaning
themselves) supposed to pay for the slavery and
segregation of the past? Most white folks—and
President Obama—believe, or pretend to believe,
that whatever legitimate grievances Blacks might
harbor against the United States stem from
circumstances deep in the past. The only question
is, when will Blacks finally “get over it?”
The Brandies
study shows that the racial wealth gap, although
historically rooted in slavery and Jim Crow
oppressions, has grown dramatically under post-civil
rights era conditions. The gap is not simply a
legacy of some ancient American apartheid, but a
product of the recent past and of the present. This
is a different paradigm, entirely, in which past
racial wrongs are compounded by additional layers of
institutionalized anti-Black behavior in the 1980s,
90s and in the 21st century—wounds so harmful they
set African Americans on a backward course in terms
of wealth accumulation.
In 2004, United
for a Fair Economy came out with the first of its
annual “State
of the Dream” reports. Readers were shocked out
of complacency by data that showed Blacks would not
reach wealth parity with whites until the year 2099.
It was surely a bummer to realize that no one then
alive would see the “promised land” of evenly
matched Black and white median household wealth. But
at least the study indicated that “we, as a people”
would eventually get there, as someone famous once
predicted. There are no such condolences in the
Brandies data. At the rate Blacks have been falling
behind in wealth since the mid-80s, the Black and
white median paths will diverge ever farther, never
to connect under this system of economic and
political rule. Blacks cannot shop or invest or save
or borrow our way to a just society. Social justice
and true human equality can only be achieved through
our collective political action in opposition to the
current order – by any means necessary, as another
famous man once urged.
Source:
Black Agenda Report
Glen Ford is a veteran
journalist, executive editor of
blackagendareport.com. In the late ’70s, he launched America’s Black
Forum, a national black news TV program, and in ’87 he launched the first
nationally syndicated hip-hop music show called Rap It Up. He also
co-founded the weekly political journal Black Commentator in 2002. Glen Ford
has been a critic of Barack Obama. Glen Ford gave very positive coverage of
Cynthia McKinney, the Green Party candidate for President. Glenn Ford
confessed that it was easy for even himself to get caught up in the kind of
“Mecca for African Americans” that was this day of Inauguration for a black
president
Glen.Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com
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Capitalism and the Ideal State:
Marcus Garvey / Negroes and the Crisis of Capitalism
(Du Bois) /
Economic Emancipation
of Africa
Liberty and Empire
/
Money is Speech
/
On Capitalism:
Noam Chomsky
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Study finds median wealth for single
black women at $5—9 March 2010—by Tim Grant—Among the most startling
revelations in the wealth data is that while single white women in the prime
of their working years (ages 36 to 49) have a median wealth of $42,600
(still only 61 percent of their single white male counterparts), the median
wealth for single black women is only $5. . . . Researchers at the Insight
Center for Community Economic Development, based in Oakland, Calif.,
analyzed data from the 2007 Survey of Consumer Finances, a voluminous report
the Federal Reserve Board issues every three years that examines household
finances in this country. Wealth, or net worth, measures the total of one's
assets -- cash in the bank, stocks, bonds and real estate; minus debts—home
mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and student loans. The most recent
financial data was collected before the economic downturn, so the current
numbers likely are worse now than at the time of the study. Black women, in
general, were more likely to have participated in the subprime loan crisis
with upper-income black women being five times more likely to have received
a high-cost mortgage than upper-income white men. . . . For all working-age
black women 18 to 64, the financial picture is bleak. Their median household
wealth is only $100. Hispanic women in that age group have a median wealth
of $120.
"That means half of [black women] have
a net worth of more than $100 and half have a net worth of less than $100,"
Ms. Lui said. "So that gives you an idea of how far in debt some women of
color are." Married or cohabitating white women have a median wealth of
$167,500. Married or cohabitating black women have a median net worth of
$31,500. . . . According to a recent report by the Institute for
Women's Policy Research and the Women and Girls Foundation of Southwest
Pennsylvania, more than four out of 10 families headed by single mothers in
Pittsburgh and more than one in three in Pennsylvania, live in poverty.
In Pittsburgh and across the country,
the financial burdens of single parenthood fall mostly on women, but black
women are more likely to endure the work and responsibility of raising
children on their own. They are more likely to be the backbone of their
families and communities, with greater responsibilities to support
struggling friends and families.
In a 2008 study of black women and
their money, the ING Foundation found that black women—who frequently manage
the assets of their households—financially support friends, family and their
houses of worship to a much greater degree than the general population.
They also are more likely to be
employed in jobs and industries—such as service occupations—with lower pay
and less access to health insurance. And when their working days are done,
they rely most heavily on Social Security because they are less likely to
have personal savings, retirement accounts or company pensions. Their Social
Security benefits are likely to be lower, too, because of their low
earnings. . . .
Rather than strictly comparing income,
researchers in the Insight study looked at the wealth gap. The current
economic crisis has shown that a person's wealth affects not only retirement
security, but also a person's ability to handle financial setbacks such as a
job loss or a health emergency. High unemployment and high incarceration
rates for black men also lower the likelihood of single black women finding
a partner to help build a more secure financial future.
Ms. Lui said the Insight report would
be used to encourage the government to close the wealth gap and improve the
outlook for women of color, just as it did for Americans who received land
through the Homestead Act, and education through the GI bill. . . ."Our
government knows how to build wealth for people. They've done it for others
and they can do it for all of us. They need to focus some attention on women
of color. Look at the situation and see what we need."— Post-Gazette
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Bill Moyers and James Cone (Interview) /
A Conversation with James Cone
John
Coltrane, "Alabama" /
Kalamu ya Salaam, "Alabama"
/
A Love Supreme
A Blues for the Birmingham Four
/ Eulogy for the Young Victims
/ Six Dead After Church
Bombing
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Obama and Black America Unconditional, unrequited love?—By Kevin Alexander Gray—2 September 2011—For all Americans, the average life expectancy is 78 years and two months according to the Centers for Disease Control. But for black Americans life expectancy is 74 years and three months—for black women it’s 76.8 years, and black men 70.2 years. If Commission members had their way the retirement age for full benefits would be raised to 69 from 67 by 2075. Obviously, black males would be the biggest losers in such a setup, literally working till death. At the moment, one in five blacks has no health insurance, compared to 12 percent of whites. And insurance companies routinely reject covering former inmates with the claim that they come from an “at-risk population.” One in seven African Americans is out of work—the highest in nearly a quarter century. More than two out of ten African Americans—and three out of ten black children— live in poverty. For every dollar of wealth owned by the typical white family, the typical family of color owns only sixteen cents, according to a study published last March by the Insight Center for Community Economic Development entitled ”Lifting As We Climb: Women of Color, Wealth and America’s Future.” Nearly half of all single black and Hispanic women have zero or negative wealth, meaning their debts exceed all their assets. The median wealth for single black women is only $100, for single Hispanic women, $120. This compares to just over $41,000 for single white women. About a third of single Hispanic women and one-fourth of single black women have no checking or savings account. Overall, blacks continue to earn far less than whites. The median annual income for a black household in 2009, the most recent year statistics were available, was $33,463 while for whites it was $54,671.—TheNewLiberator
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Audio:
My Story, My Song (Featuring blues guitarist Walter Wolfman Washington)
*
* * * * NATO: Free Africa from the Africans!
By Glen Ford
As far as the United States and Europe are concerned, Africans have nothing to say about what happens in Africa. South African President Jacob Zuma made a second trip to Libya this week, on behalf of the African Union, seeking a diplomatic end to NATO’s war against Mouammar Gaddafi’s government. Just as with a previous African Union peace keeping mission, back in early April, Col. Gaddafi agreed to the peace plan. And just as before, the so-called rebels and their American and European bosses refused even to consider a cease fire. As has been obvious from the beginning of this “humanitarian” farce, the Great White Fathers of Europe and the “Wall Street mascot” from the United States, as Obama has been called, will be satisfied with nothing less than regime change in Libya—and to Hell with what Africans think!
. . . . .
The West encourages South African President Jacob Zuma to help bring chaotic Black countries into line, but Zuma and the African Union are not authorized to interfere with imperial wars on the continent. . . . When the Western attack helicopters arrive, the Benghazi-based rebels will cheer, as if they won something. The Gunga Dins should carefully study those helicopters and their awesome firepower, because those guns will one day likely be turned against them. The U.S. and Europe have no intention of allowing Libyans to rule Libya. And after all, why should the imperialists hand over all that oil to a bunch of local flunkies who couldn't even fight their own war.—BlackAgendaReport
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Noam Chomsky: Who Owns the World?
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Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in
America
By Melissa V.
Harris-Perry
According to the
author, this society has historically exerted
considerable pressure on black females to fit into one
of a handful of stereotypes, primarily, the Mammy, the
Matriarch or the Jezebel. The selfless
Mammy’s behavior is marked by a slavish devotion to
white folks’ domestic concerns, often at the expense of
those of her own family’s needs. By contrast, the
relatively-hedonistic Jezebel is a sexually-insatiable
temptress. And the Matriarch is generally thought of as
an emasculating figure who denigrates black men, ala the
characters Sapphire and Aunt Esther on the television
shows Amos and Andy and Sanford and Son, respectively.
Professor Perry
points out how the propagation of these harmful myths
have served the mainstream culture well. For instance,
the Mammy suggests that it is almost second nature for
black females to feel a maternal instinct towards
Caucasian babies.
As for the source
of the Jezebel, black women had no control over their
own bodies during slavery given that they were being
auctioned off and bred to maximize profits. Nonetheless,
it was in the interest of plantation owners to propagate
the lie that sisters were sluts inclined to mate
indiscriminately.
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Sex at the Margins
Migration, Labour Markets and the Rescue Industry
By Laura María Agustín
This book explodes several myths: that selling sex is completely different from any other kind of work, that migrants who sell sex are passive victims and that the multitude of people out to save them are without self-interest. Laura Agustín makes a passionate case against these stereotypes, arguing that the label 'trafficked' does not accurately describe migrants' lives and that the 'rescue industry' serves to disempower them. Based on extensive research amongst both migrants who sell sex and social helpers, Sex at the Margins provides a radically different analysis. Frequently, says Agustin, migrants make rational choices to travel and work in the sex industry, and although they are treated like a marginalised group they form part of the dynamic global economy. Both powerful and controversial, this book is essential reading for all those who want to understand the increasingly important relationship between sex markets, migration and the desire for social justice. "Sex at the Margins rips apart distinctions between migrants, service work and sexual labour and reveals the utter complexity of the contemporary sex industry. This book is set to be a trailblazer in the study of sexuality."—Lisa Adkins, University of London |
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|
Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the
Assault on Democracy
By
Noam Chomsky
The
United States has repeatedly asserted its
right to intervene militarily against
"failed states" around the globe. In this
much-anticipated follow-up to his
international bestseller Hegemony or
Survival, Noam Chomsky turns the tables,
showing how the United States itself shares
features with other failed states—suffering
from a severe "democratic deficit,"
eschewing domestic and international law,
and adopting policies that increasingly
endanger its own citizens and the world.
Exploring the latest developments in U.S.
foreign and domestic policy, Chomsky reveals
Washington's plans to further militarize the
planet, greatly increasing the risks of
nuclear war. He also assesses the dangerous
consequences of the occupation of Iraq;
documents Washington's self-exemption from
international norms, including the Geneva
conventions and the Kyoto Protocol; and
examines how the U.S. electoral system is
designed to eliminate genuine political
alternatives, impeding any meaningful
democracy. Forceful, lucid, and meticulously
documented, Failed States offers a
comprehensive analysis of a global
superpower that has long claimed the right
to reshape other nations while its own
democratic institutions are in severe
crisis. Systematically dismantling the
United States' pretense of being the world's
arbiter of democracy, Failed States is
Chomsky's most focused—and urgent—critique
to date. |
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The White Masters of the
World
From
The World and Africa, 1965
By W. E. B. Du Bois
W. E. B. Du Bois’
Arraignment and Indictment of White Civilization
(Fletcher)
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Ancient African Nations
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If you like this page consider making a donation
* * * * *
Negro Digest /
Black World
Browse all issues
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Enjoy!
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The Death of Emmett Till by Bob Dylan
/
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
/
Only a Pawn in Their Game
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson Thanks America for
Slavery /
George Jackson /
Hurricane Carter
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The Journal of Negro History issues at Project Gutenberg
The
Haitian Declaration of Independence 1804
/
January 1, 1804 -- The Founding of
Haiti
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posted 19 May 2010
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