Black America Suffering the Brunt of the Economic Crisis
There is a saying that when White America catches a cold that Black America gets the flu. If that is true, then what does it mean for Black America when White America catches pneumonia? The harrowing economic crisis and related escalating unemployment rate is perhaps the strongest indicator that America has an acute case of pneumonia and well, African Americans, many are “catching their death” as the old folk used to say.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) the national unemployment rate in February 2009 was 8.1. On a state and regional level, North Carolina had the fourth highest unemployment rate in the country, (10.7) following Michigan (12.0), South Carolina (11.0) and Oregon (10.8). According to BLS data, North Carolina reported the largest jobless rate increase from a year earlier (+5.5 percentage points), jumping from 5.2 in February 2008 to 10.7 in February 2009.
On a national level as the economic pandemic continues to spread, efforts to stimulate the economy have been tantamount to quick injections of large amounts of funding into the arms of corporations and financial institutions (some of which may be too sick to save), many people in local communities and towns are waiting to receive what amounts to a teaspoon of emergency relief in comparison. This is especially true for African Americans when it comes to the jobless issue. African Americans aged 16 to 19 had an unemployment rate of 36.5 in January 2009 and 38.2 in February 2009 compared to whites aged 16 to 19 who experienced an unemployment rate of 19.2 in January and 20.5 in February 2009.
The unemployment rate for African Americans aged 20 and over was 12.4 in January and 12.8 in February 2009 compared to 7.3 for whites aged 20 and over in January 2009 and 7.7 for whites aged 20 and over in February. .
When the data are examined by race and gender, the picture portraying how African Americans are faring during these deleterious economic times is even bleaker. The unemployment rate for African American males aged 20 slightly increased in February (16.1) from 15.8 in January 2009 compared to white males (aged 20 and over) who experienced an unemployment rate of 8.3 in January and 9.0 in February. For African American males aged 16 to 19 the unemployment rate was 46.0 in January and 46.2 in February compared to white males aged 16 to 19 whose unemployment rates were 22 and 25.7 in January and February 2009 respectively. .
Women aren’t doing much better which is particularly frightening considering that most have African American women are also single-heads of household. African American females aged 16 to 19 experienced an unemployment rate of 29.1 in January and 30.4 in February 2009. African American women aged 20 and over their unemployment rates were 12.4 and 12.8 in January and February 2009. For both age groups, African American women’s unemployment rate almost doubles that for white women. White women aged 16 to 19, the unemployment rate was 14.7 and 15.4, in January and February 2009 and white women aged 20 years and over, experienced an unemployment rate of 6.2 for both January and February.
Not only are African Americans most likely than any other race/ethnic group to be unemployed but they remain unemployed for longer periods of time. The BLS data substantiates the fact that Black America is suffering the greatest in terms of the jobless situation during these very challenging and discouraging economic times. If there ever was a time in Black America’s history when the relevance and moral conscious of faith and civic organizations was put to the test, the time is now.
In addition to the dismal realities surrounding the economic crisis that our nation and state are currently facing, we must still deal with the record number reentry of ex-offenders back into the community whose very chance of not recidivating hinges on the availability of viable employment among other things i.e. housing and critical health and human services e.g. substance abuse counseling and mental health services. Add to the reentry issue the fact that the clock is continuing to tick away for hundreds of women who must get and keep gainful employment as conditions of their federal and state public assistance under the Temporary Assistance to Need Families requirements, which by the way was one of the more detrimental and poorly developed components of former President Bill Clinton’s “infamous” Welfare Reform laws.
And as if it wasn’t hard enough for certain segments of our population to gain employment that pays a livable wage, the push to the bottom of higher skilled, better educated workers who are seeking and getting jobs at lower skill and pay levels is going to cause an already bad situation to get even worse for low-skilled less educated worker e.g. welfare or TANF worker, ex-offender. Empirical data have shown time and time again that ex-offenders, welfare recipients, workers with long-term unemployment are less likely than any other group to receive job offers and get employment, even during times when the economy is stable or growing, yet alone during times of economic depression or recession.
If Black America is to survive its bout with pneumonia during this economic crisis, we are going to need more than rest and plenty of fluids. Now is the time to exercise political prudence tempered with morality and social justice when it comes to attending to the needs of the poor and disadvantaged populations. Similar to the strategy used by the Red Cross or UNICEF when responding to humanitarian crisis across the globe, we must use our resources to treat those who are the sickest and most vulnerable among us FIRST. We must ensure that those who have the least receive the greatest support and aide. And we must hold our elected officials accountable –from the Governor and state legislators to local bodies of government—to not causing greater harm and calamity by balancing the budget and stimulating our economy on the backs of our most vulnerable and disadvantaged populations.
