Are we talking enough about the black middle class? (Charles D. Ellison, April 2015)

[YoungDemCA]

Apologies for the long excerpts, but I thought that this article was really important....

In February, in case you missed it, hundreds of committed red state activists convened for the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference, affectionately known as CPAC, at National Harbor, Maryland. But, little known to most who visit, including the many conservative commentators, media stars, and prospective Republican presidential candidates, is that CPAC happened smack in the middle of the Crab State’s biggest and blackest suburban county. The swank National Harbor—with its impending Vegas-size MGM casino, docking stations for Potomac River yachts, and skyline views of the nation’s capitol—is the crown economic jewel of Prince George’s County, 70 percent black and home to the nation’s largest concentration of affluent African Americans.

CPAC reigns supreme as a well-televised exercise in ideological fire and brimstone for the political right. This year, the conservative dogma of slimmed government, low taxes, and even smaller social safety nets was hard to miss. Presidential aspirants such as Governor Scott Walker (R-Wisconsin) and Governor Chris Christie (R-New Jersey) spent a whole CPAC weekend taking on state employee unions and state government budgets. Yet unions and government workforces have been reliable avenues of economic stability for the black middle class—certainly for many of the middle class and affluent blacks who were commuting past CPAC (or working at National Harbor) that week.

With all the conservative fist pounding at CPAC about minority dependence on government programs, few at the event were bothering to pay much attention to the black middle-class story around them during those several days. That has slightly riled county residents (like myself) who would appreciate, at least, the passing shout out. But when I've mentioned it on occasion to conservative activists proudly getting their CPAC on, I’d be lucky if they didn't just walk off.

snip:

YouGov’s recent peek into racial attitudes shows whites overwhelmingly annoyed by discussions on race, the usual entry point into a conversation on black living. An earlier poll shows a slim majority of whites believing African Americans don’t face much discrimination today. Yet, released just before that was the Sentencing Project’s rather dark analysis on racial perceptions in a 2014 Race and Punishment study, which discovered whites’ strong association of blacks and Latinos with crime drives their support for “punitive policies.” A 2012 American National Election Study revealed the majority of whites believe blacks are less hard working and less intelligent. An oft-cited pre-election Associated Press 2012 poll reached similar conclusions on “anti-black attitudes.”

snip:

...there are troubling trends. Being “black middle class” today does not mean the same thing as being in the white middle class. Despite what many economists (but not all) think is a full economic “recovery,” many African Americans are firmly and disproportionately stuck in the tenuous position of reliance on local, state, and federal government resources just to get by.

On top of that, the college graduation rate for black students is still barely half that of whites. And nationally, racial wealth gaps are massive; according to Pew, the net worth of white America is 13 times greater than black net worth ($142,000 versus $11,000). As Brookings’ Richard Reeves points out, a black middle-class child today is much more likely to experience “downward intergenerational social mobility.”

Compounding those issues is a very real and persistent political problem erecting barriers to middle class entrance for African Americans:A powerful white electorate appears largely disinclined to sympathize or align its public policy interests with those of African Americans. Take the Affordable Care Act: When programs are politically derided as “Obamacare,” the result translates into 61 percent of whites disapproving of it, while 73 percent of blacks approve. These sentiments support a political climate of red states with large uninsured black populations, such as Texas and Louisiana, unwilling to accept a needed Medicaid expansion to make ACA fully effective. Perhaps more importantly, a recent Rasmussen poll found 49 percent of Americans believe government programs actually increase poverty. This is the kind of thinking that gives Congress little political incentive to pass something like an unemployment benefits extension. These are programs any battered middle class needs, especially a middle-class demographic as beat up as the black one.

snip:

In his 2003 analysis, “How the Poor Became Black: The Racialization of American Poverty in the Mass Media,” Princeton researcher Martin Gilens analyzed media trends between the 1950s to the 1990s. He found “[t]he media’s tendency to associate African Americans with the undeserving poor reflects – and reinforces – the centuries old stereotype of blacks as lazy.” “This coverage,” Gilens added, “has in turn shaped social, economic and political conditions.”

Gilens suggested these perceptions not only shape social interactions between blacks and whites but they eventually infect white electoral behavior. That behavior has managed to stunt black entry into the vaunted middle class: Because we think of blacks as poor, we also think of them as irresponsible, lazy, and violent. These stereotypes lead to either fearful or resentful whites—one group clutching its purse despite the neighboring black man in suit and tie, the other group voting against any candidate perceived as friendly to African-American political interests. Those interests are typically associated with health care programs, income inequality, wage gaps, and other issues key to black economic progress. But, rather than view these as remedies to longstanding social ills, a conservative—and mostly white—electorate will view them as “hand-outs” or “entitlements” to undeserving populations.

Blacks, at 13 percent of the population, represent 22 percent of the poor and 14 percent of those receiving “safety net” benefits. Yet, according to a Center for Budget and Policy Priorities report, whites—at 64 percent of the population and 42 percent of the poor—receive 69 percent of government benefits.

The commonly held view that African Americans perpetually feed from the government trough could use a bit of course correction. The largest beneficiaries of safety net programs—food stamps included—are white people. Yet these same white recipients are the most likely to vote for Republican candidates who oppose the existence of such programs. GOP candidates, in turn, frequently dog whistle black poverty stereotypes as both a cultural confidence booster and a vote grabbing tool for white voters. Recall 2012 GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum’s comments during a campaign stop in Iowa: “I don’t want to make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money.”

http://www.psmag.com/politics-and-law/are-we-talking-enough-about-the-black-middle-class

[JustAnotherGen]

1. In a nutshell?

No - the politicians are not.

There is one family of 'influencers' that see the opportunity. Same guys that gave a huge sum of money to the UNCF last year.

[qwlauren35]

2. Wow!

They really hate us.

Sometimes the stark reality of it is mind-blowing.

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

4. Be very careful what you say on DU about the white folks, they be real touchy

being one myself, I get it.

Being a recipient of white privilege on a daily basis, I get why we would not want to hear the truth

[qwlauren35]

3. Posted in General Discussion

Even used an inflammatory title.

I bet this will sink to the bottom by 1pm today.

Admittedly, it's because some people have me on "ignore".