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The State of Black America, 1987
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12770 |
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CURRENT ISSUES
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| Issue
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3 / 1987 |
1,944 Words |
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National Urban League
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Recently published articles in The State of Black America 1987 have drawn a clear portrait of today's Black America, one beset with economic, political, and social needs, but one with capabilities and strength. These papers present powerful analyses which show the state of Black America as it really is and not the way it is envisioned through clouded glasses. They are arguments for removing the smoke screens, which help too many people pretend that real problems do not exist.
If the information presented makes us uncomfortable, perhaps it will also help motivate us to seek new and creative solutions to chronic problems. As we approach the end of the twentieth century, we must forge a national commitment to equality and justice - goals that were once hallmarks of our country's national policies. That national commitment must be manifested in policies and leadership that demonstrate an understanding of the link between the different facets of the complex American economy and the even more complex global economy.
This "feel-good" administration has lulled us into a false feeling of security, while it discourages any contradictory observations. It has developed a political climate that helps us be comfortable with unemployment levels that are scandalous.
Unemployment rates are at recession level for the total community and at depression level for the black community. The so-called safety net for the unemployed is in shreds. Fewer than a third of the jobless received unemployment benefits compared to about two-thirds a decade ago. The nation's overall unemployment rate has stabilized at about 7 percent while black unemployment is a staggering 15 percent.
With a sluggish economy and inadequate federal policies that do not stimulate job growth, it is unlikely that the situation for black Americans will be ameliorated without a dramatic redirection in national policy.
Blacks are disproportionately concentrated in both declining industries and declining occupations, in some import-sensitive industries and government sector occupations. Black workers displaced by plant closings, relocations, and cutbacks are more likely to be worse off than their white counterparts. Only 42 percent of black workers displaced between 1979 and 1984 have found new jobs, compared to 60 percent of all workers. Those who have found new jobs, black or white, typically earn less than 80 percent of what they used to earn. In terms of purchasing power, for the first time in American history, our children can expect to earn less in real terms than their parents.
Over the past dozen years, the typical black family has lost $1,500 in income while economic needs increased. This erosion in black purchasing power has had devastating effects on black communities and on the economics of cities in which blacks are a significant portion of the population. Blacks are 12 percent of the population, but black income amounts to only 7.4 percent of all money income in the United States.
Total personal income from property in the United States amounts to almost $200 billion, but blacks share only about $3 billion of it. In the area of business ownership, black income from self-employment came to only about $3 billion or 1.7 percent of total black income. In comparing the
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