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Black America's Deferred Dreams . . . 40 Years Later May, 2004
There is something tragically poetic about the pendulum that defines black economic progress in America…about the hopes inspired by the Civil Rights laws; and, the years that followed. And, just four years ago, a similar kind of hope, based on a white house, committed to addressing the needs of All Americans, and making real efforts to level the economic playing field. The tragedy is that our hopes and dreams are overwhelmingly controlled by others' fears, and distrust of change. While we could spend the rest of this column discussing the ills of the current administration, and why their policies don't work for most people who look like us…or, for most Americans, we'd be beating a dead horse. The problem of losing ground depending on who's in the oval office, will remain a recurring reality unless some brave leader seeks systemic changes. Unless the next person in the oval office understands the root of the problem is worth talking about, dissecting, and taking action to make America better - not keeping it the same; and, unless our next leader understands that America has always been made up of immigrants, and racism is the worst terrorism of all, holding us all hostage, and forcing a whole country to be less than it can be… Without such leadership, we will be singing this same sad song in 2008… a faltering economy, joblessness, an indefinite war, a blown budget surplus, all symptoms of a failing leadership without a sense of history, or a passion to leave this world a better place for all Americans. Ironically, the next 12 months will include myriad discussions about the status of black America - 40 years later; and debates about which political leader is best suited to lead this country into the 21st Century. Some smart politician once said, "all politics is local"…and, what we know today, is that black America is enjoying about 73% of the American dream. Our question to the next leader of the free world: How will you help balance the pendulum of economic progress for black America? In most schools, 73% is a "C", normal, average, medium. But, it depends on whether you're an eternal optimist or a pragmatist, how you view 73 out of 100. And, even the most hopeful of us, should at least question whether 73 was, in fact, our goal, 40 years ago. Are we satisfied with a "C," when all Americans were promised an "A", if only they worked hard enough and followed the rules? While the glass might be more than half-empty, it is still a long way from being full. The progress for some, is far from representative of the masses. We achieved integration, but at what costs to our communities, and to our economic stability? While our children can now sit in integrated classrooms, and we can sleep in Hiltons and Marriotts, and live in gated communities 50 miles from our jobs…economic equity yet eludes us. Economic equity was a piece left out of the great civil rights equation, and now we know that it is the truest test of America's commitment to civil rights. For, economic equity affects every facet of our existence, and our rights. The National Urban League recently reported that our 73 percent of the American dream is based on: blacks dying from disease and homicide twice as often as whites; our imprisonment rates being three times that of whites; black men's wages being 70% of white males; and homeownership for blacks stagnating at 50%, while we're being denied mortgages at twice the rate of white Americans.It is little wonder, then, that 40% of black Americans surveyed see the glass half-empty, and little progress in the 40 years since the passage of the civil rights bill. No wonder, there is an almost palpable fear and hopelessness echoing throughout our country, especially in our own backyards…saying, every step forward garnered over the last decade, is being snatched away at warp speed. Historically, black America's economic progress, since the era of reconstruction, has been short-lived; our hopes and dreams, far too easily eroded by the winds of new politics, and economic turmoil. But, who can deny that ten years ago we learned America's possibilities? It can happen, again. But, only if there is a leader with compassion for Americans of all persuasions…and, one who understands that when one black child's dreams are shattered, or denied; America suffers… maybe today, but surely tomorrow. Janis F. Kearney is a Chicago writer, former journalist and diarist to President Bill Clinton. A Harvard W.E.B. Du Bois Fellow, she is currently completing William Jefferson Clinton: From Hope to Harlem; and a personal memoir, Cotton Field of Dreams.
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