African American scholars and policy analysts discussed the Obama administration’s response to issues of vital concern to African Americans as the nation inches toward the critical midterm elections. Dr. Julianne Malveaux, president of HBCU’s Bennett College and Dr. Ron Daniels were among the speakers.
The Shirley Chisholm Presidential Accountability Commission was assembled in honor of the memory of Rep. Shirley Chisholm, the first woman to run for the presidency. Founded by Daniels, who is also the president of the Institute of Black World 21st Century, asked the august panelists to deliver their report card of the president’s performance two years after his historic election.
Malveaux: “The economic times that we’re in does not warrant an A, except that if it were not for the policies that this administration implemented, we’d be in worse shape than we are in now. If we look at the unemployment rate [it’s] 9.7 percent and going up. And the [stated] unemployment rate for our people is fiction. Our real unemployment rate is 28.7 percent. This is an unreported fact. The money that has gone to states? States, not cities. What’s the flaw? the president and his team have done what they’re supposed to do, and that is put money in people’s hands. What do we know about states? Legislators tend to be rural, melanin-deprived with anti-urban bias making decisions about how money goes to cities. Obama and his team did not understand the level of antipathy [state legislators] have toward progress and urban areas. And where do you find most black people? In the cities. The black poverty rate is above 25 percent. Black income is dropping and others incomes’ are rising. Over 50 million people do not have health insurance. They voted down the extension of the unemployment benefits for four months. He’s taken a page out the Clinton playbook and says you’ve got to get something done. That’s why I give him a B. In terms of interaction with us, I give him an incomplete because someone from his administration should have been here today.”
Connie Nixon, CEO, Practices Project: “Our infrastructure is under-funded. And It is race that decides who gets what monies, and there hasn’t been the kind of civil rights enforcement even though there is an initiative to try to really look at the disparity in funding. That’s where we want to see more improvement. If I grade objectively, I have to give him a C.”
Dr. Mtangulizi Sanyika, planning and development director consultant, African World Studies, Global Encounters in Houston: “First of all, his predecessors get F’s across the board. The condition of our people always stay[s] the same and I don’t expect to see much difference this time. Not because I don’t wish to see such but the cultural constraints of this president do not allow him to eliminate the exploitation that is rooted in the American capitalistic system. Obama’s response to New Orleans, post Katrina: unequivocal A. His support for recovery is less ambiguous [than his predecessor]. His understanding [of] the problem is much more brilliant than his predecessor.
Conditions for black people in New Orleans: a grade of incomplete. The … city is whiter and more expensive than it used to be. The number of minority, black, Latino, local and women-owned contractors receiving money to help recovery is dismal. The president can help [make] changes, that is the basis for the incomplete. Our homes are worth less than they were during Katrina.
Urban policy: All of you are living in cities on the brink of disaster. We have [to turn] the effort into coherent policy. … In this area, we give the president a B.” –terry shropshire
