by Dr. Boyce Watkins
Various media outlets are celebrating the fact that November and December were very good months in the battle against chronic unemployment. This month, overall unemployment dropped from 8.7% to 8.5% and 200,000 jobs were created. This is a big win for the Obama Administration, which has taken heat for economic problems. This is the second straight month where the overall data has gotten better for the US economy as a whole.
But one untold story within the numbers is what has happened to black America. In both November and December, nearly all of the gains in unemployment went to white Americans, with black American unemployment actually getting worse. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, black unemployment rose once again from a startling 15.5% to an even worse 15.8%. This is the second-straight increase, after last month’s rise from 15% to 15.5%.
Black women experienced the worst of the unemployment outcomes for this month, with their jobless rate rising from 13% to 13.9%. Black teens saw their unemployment rate rise from a tragic 36.9% to an even worse 42.1%. Black males, surprisingly, saw a decline in their unemployment rate (16.4% to 15.7%), but continue to have the worst unemployment rate of any gender/racial category in the country.
The racial disparity in unemployment is not the kind of information that will be revealed in “mainstream” media, cable news or network television. Even MSNBC, the liberal organization that they are, would likely ignore such data because it undermines their desire to paint the Obama Administration in a positive light. Anyone who gave me flack for the piece I wrote about Melissa Harris Perry joining MSNBC would be wise to remember that most news networks and political leaders only care so much about racial inequality.
But we must speak to this matter and realize one important, fundamental fact: The current economic plan is not working for black America, and it has not worked for the last three years. This is not a direct challenge to the Obama Administration, but they certainly must take responsibility for promoting a racialized version of trick down economics by making it clear that they have never felt compelled to promote targeted economic policy for those hit hardest by the recession.
In the last calendar year, white unemployment has dropped from a relatively mild 8.3% to an even rosier 7.5%. At the same time, black unemployment has risen from a 15.2% to 15.8% today. When the recession is over, black unemployment will likely still be worse than white unemployment is right now. Most hilariously, black people will be expected to cheer for the numbers that currently have white folks rioting in the streets – the same 7.5% that makes Tom Smith furious at President Obama will be fine for Shaniqua Jackson. Such disparities make no sense and speaks clearly to racial inequality in America.
It’s time for a change in policy and time for us to start speaking up. The media isn’t going to talk for us, so we must demand our own voice. Also, inequality should be confronted squarely by our political leaders in order for our country to move forward. If politicians aren’t acting to remove economic inequality, educational inequality and the effects of mass incarceration, they don’t deserve the African American vote. This goes for Democrats, Republicans and everything in between – we deserve to feed our families too.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Your Black World Coalition. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.
