Congressional Black Caucus Urges Federal Reserve to Address Rise in Black Unemployment

Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) and members of the Congressional Black Caucus issued the following statement about the concerning rise in Black unemployment rates across the country:

“Black workers across our country are once again bearing the brunt of an uncertain economy. In recent months, unemployment among Black workers has risen sharply under the economic conditions shaped by policies of the Trump Administration. In November, Black unemployment reached 8.3 percent—the highest level we have seen since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Behind this number are families struggling to make ends meet and communities facing unbearable economic hardship.

“The Congressional Black Caucus believes this moment demands urgent action. To better understand how the Federal Reserve is responding to this crisis, we request a briefing for Members of the Congressional Black Caucus. The Federal Reserve must step in to address this growing unemployment crisis and confront the deep-rooted inequities that continue to leave Black workers behind. Black workers earn about 20 percent less than white workers, a gap that has contributed to a stark racial wealth divide. Today, the median Black family holds just $24,520 in net worth, compared to $250,400 for the median white family. This inequality did not happen by accident and cannot be ignored.

“We are calling on the Federal Reserve to address the crisis impacting Black workers and to develop a clear strategy to reverse these trends and ensure that Black workers and families are not left behind.”

Congressional Black Caucus to Trump: We Have Lost A Lot

During his election campaign Trump asked African Americans What do they have to lose. Weeks before the November midterm elections, the Congressional Black Caucus has released a video that answers that question. The nearly four-minute documentary is titled “We Have Lost a Lot.” and sharply criticizes the policies of Donald Trump’s Administration,discusses how his policies have hurt African Americans, and urges African Americans to vote in response.

The video features African American lawmakers and CBC members Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Terri Sewell (D-Ala.), Karen Bass (D-Calif.) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ).

Watch the video below:

Hey conservatives, black people can deal with more than one issue at a time.

George L. Cook III

Hey conservatives, black people can deal with more than one issue at a time. By George L. Cook III

This post is written about conservatives regardless of race. I have read post by African American conservatives and heard them on radio doing some of the very things mentioned is this post, so don't try to make this a race issue. It's an ideological one.

During the recent debate over whether the Confederate Flag should fly near the South Carolina capital or anywhere on government property conservatives turned to their tried and true method of debate.

They brought up other issues that yes are more important, but that had nothing to with the debate over the Confederate Flag.

Suddenly when confronted with the fact that there was no good reason to fly the flag on government grounds conservatives started to point out black unemployment, black dropout rates and black murder statistics as red herrings.

The one thing you will notice is that these are things that conservatives don’t talk or pretend to care about these issues until there is an incident involving race.

They don’t bring these things up because they care, they bring them up to divert focus from the situation at hand. If they cared, these issues would be part of their platform on a consistent basis.

But what really bugs me is that they seem to think that focusing on one issue somehow means that African Americans can’t focus on other issues in our community.

If they did some actual research, they would learn that there are groups and individuals fighting against many of the ills that face the Black Community. Many of these groups and people get no publicity from liberal or conservative media, but they continue to fight every day to make things better in their communities.

Many issues of employment, education, incarceration, voting rights, and crime are important and being focused on individually. Of course, someone or a group focusing on one of these issues alone doesn’t help with the other issues. Of course, these issues may be more important than a damned flag but maybe that flag was the low-hanging fruit at the moment.

Maybe taking down that flag and claiming a victory can be the momentum changer to drawing attention to other issues and those that are addressing them.

But best believe these issues are being addressed and were being addressed long before conservatives pretended to give a damn. If you want to make the argument that in some situations things could be done better that would be honest but saying that these issues are not is simply being dishonest and telling an outright lie.

George L. Cook III georgelcookiii@gmail.com

Black Unemployment Rate Hits Seven Year Low

The unemployment rate for black Americans fell below 10 percent in April, for the first time since the economic downfall in 2008.

During the recession, black unemployment had peaked at 16.8 percent in March 2010, while unemployment for whites was almost half that rate. This past April, the unemployment rate for African Americans dipped into the single digits category at 9.6 percent. While the latest data shows signs of improvement, it’s clear that an employment gap still exist between races. Despite the national unemployment rate falling to 5.4 percent, blacks in states like Illinois, Michigan, California and Pennsylvania face unemployment rates above 12 percent.

Read more: Black Unemployment Rate Hits Seven Year Low