Opinion pieces and speeches by EPI staff and associates.

November 14, 2008

The work that remains: A forty-year update of the Kerner Commission report

by Abby Rapoport, EPI staff writer

African Americans today are twice as likely as whites to be unemployed—the same likelihood as in 1968. Nearly one in four African Americans currently live below the poverty line—about the same as in 1968. The child poverty rate is actually higher than it was in 1968.

Forty years ago, the Kerner Commission shined a light on the troubles of race relations in the United States. Its report emphasized the lack of economic opportunity for African Americans and the vastly different Americas that could emerge if these inequalities persisted.

Four decades later, the economic situation has barely improved. This was brought home Thursday, Nov. 13, as EPI and the Eisenhower Foundation co-sponsored an event titled "The Work That Remains: A Forty-year Update of the Kerner Commission Report." The four speakers all stressed the need for a political will to fix the opportunity gaps faced by African Americans.

Dr. Valerie Wilson (National Urban League Policy Institute) began the morning by giving a general update on the socioeconomic status of African Americans. Her findings were alarmingly similar to those of the Kerner Commission 40 years ago. For instance, blacks are three times as likely as whites to be incarcerated after an arrest. And while education attainment is increasing overall, Wilson reported on the growing gap in both early education and college enrollment.

Wilson was followed by Dr. Alan Curtis (Milton S. Eisenhower Foundation) who further emphasized the sobering similarities between the current situation and that of 1968. "We've in many ways gone backwards since the sixties," he said, pointing out that child poverty, income inequality, and school integration had all gotten worse since the time of the Kerner report. Dr. Algernon Austin (Economic Policy Institute) then explored the specifics of employment discrimination. His presentation began by looking at national employment rates among blacks and whites and then proceeded to examine specific sub-groups, by gender, education, and location. Austin demonstrated that although racist discrimination affects all African Americans, it does not affect them all equally. In terms of employment, less-educated black men, blacks in major cities, and black youth are all significantly worse off.

But the event was not without hope. To combat such sobering findings, Dr. Wilson presented the National Urban League Policy Institute's Opportunity Compact. The compact addresses four key policy areas: childhood development, employment, ownership, and increasing prosperity. Ten policy recommendations—including mandatory early education, expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit, and a Homeowner's Bill of Rights—advocated for the most direct and important means of tackling inequality.

EPI's John Irons gave even more reason for optimism by showing why the national deficit should not prevent legislators from pursuing policy priorities in this area. Dr. Irons' analysis showed that the deficit as a percentage of gross domestic product is well within normal historic limits. In fact, the deficits were significantly worse not long ago. "We're better off now than when President Clinton took office," he asserted.

After the four presentations, Hillary Shelton of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People joined the presenters in taking questions.

Taken together, the four presentations painted a picture of an enormous challenge but an even larger opportunity.

 

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Abby Rapoport is a staff writer for the Economic Policy Institute.

[ POSTED TO VIEWPOINTS ON NOVEMBER 14, 2008. ]