March 15, 2014 - March 21, 2014, The Afro-American
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COMMENTARY
Our Challenge and Opportunity
Last month, President Barack Obama challenged America to do more to help young men and boys of color succeed in life. His charge was a personal one for me, as it should be for everyone who cares about the future of our country. The president showed vision and courage as he acknowledged that his own youth had been less than perfect. Yet, he declared, with the help and Elijah Cummings opportunity available to him in a “more forgiving” environment, he had been able to succeed. “They never gave up on me,” he declared, “so I did not give up on myself.” This, I believe, should be a lesson for us all as we seek to help the young Black boys and men in our own communities. President Obama made it clear to the young people he invited to the White House for the launch of My Brother’s Keeper, that the ultimate responsibility for their lives is squarely their own. Then, challenging us all, the president asked us to work both harder and smarter to instill hope and opportunity in a generation that is facing difficult odds. The president noted, but did not belabor, “the stubborn fact” that life chances for young Black and brown males are far worse than for their contemporaries. He did not soft pedal the devastating consequences of poverty, prejudice, or dysfunctional families. What President Obama did do was challenge all of us to do what we can to change the heartbreaking equations that plague far too many young men of color in our society. The $200 million initial commitment by the foundations and businesses that have agreed to work together as partners will not be the entire answer for young Black boys and men. Nor is there any quick fix for the devastation that is
consuming so many young lives. Still, as Washington Post’s Eugene Robinson has observed, “It’s a start.”
Now, the world knows something of the story of Solomon Northrup, a “free” Black American from New York who was kidnapped by slave-hunters in the 1840s and for the next 12 years suffered the life of a captive in America’s man-made hell of Negro Slavery. And now, the world knows a truer version of what antebellum America’s “peculiar institution” – its peculiar evil – was and the pain it caused Lee A. Daniels the nearly 4 million Africans and African-Americans directly ensnared in it and the half-million other blacks who, like Northrup, endured a precarious status that was far from true freedom. “12 Years a Slave” gained Hollywood’s highest honor, the Academy Award for the best picture of 2013, capping a spectacular run of film-world honors and “buzz” from its opening last year. It became the first feature film directed by a Black man to win the top Academy Award; and its victory was made all the sweeter by Lupita Nyong’o winning the Oscar for best supporting actress. Understandably, the glow of the acclaim rightly awarded the film and the emergence of its director, Steve McQueen, and Nyong’o as artists of the first rank is still neon-bright. So, it may be difficult for some to see the broader current of history that envelops both the film and Solomon Northrup’s
1853 written narrative of the same title—to understand what his experience of pain and brutality, countered, most importantly, by an indomitable will to re-gain his freedom shares with some recent developments that at first glance seem far removed in time and distance. I’m thinking, for example, of the stunning discovery in Munich, Germany late last year of more than 1,400 paintings stolen or confiscated by Nazi officials from their Jewish owners and from museums during the 1940s a shadowy, reclusive German had hidden away in his apartment all these decades. And I’m also thinking of the efforts of Japan’s current prime minister to erase the facts of the country’s savage expansionist policies and actions – and crimes against humanity – during the wars on the Asian mainland and in the Pacific in the 1930s and 1940s. The contrast is striking. On the one hand, the world has re-discovered paintings by some of the greatest artists of the last three centuries which had been lost to the world for nearly 70 years – an incalculable re-addition to the world’s cultural treasure. On the other, Japan’s national political leader is trying to pretend the evil his country engaged in a half-century ago didn’t happen. What these things, and many more, have in common is that they show that the events and facts of history can be buried, and re-discovered—and, if the world isn’t vigilant, buried again. Certainly, until recently that has described the arc of Black Americans’ existence. Solomon Northrup’s memoir was widely publicized and sold well when it first appeared in 1853, as the furious national debate about slavery careened inexorably toward the Civil War. But it was largely forgotten in the war’s aftermath, and
White America’s betrayal of Reconstruction. The truths of Black Americans’ enslavement and their achievements were most often distorted and drained of all positive meaning by “White” science, “White” theology, “White” politics, and “White” history—and, beginning with D.W. Griffiths’ landmark film of 1915, “Birth of A Nation,” by many of the “White” Hollywood movies that, far more than school history texts, were how most Americans “learned” about American history. Indeed, its innovative cinematic techniques and concepts combined with its vicious racism to make “Birth” an enormously influential justification for the pervasive racist laws and policies Whites in the North and South had adopted and were adding to. And its portrayal of Blacks hung like a winding sheet over Hollywood films whose plots contained even minimal references to Blacks or a token number of Black actors. Its most prominent film offspring, 1939’s blockbuster, “Gone With The Wind,” powerfully reinforced for another three decades Blacks’ second-class status on and off the silver screen. So, is it just a coincidence that “12 Years a Slave” has gained Hollywood’s most prestigious prize during the year that marks the 75th anniversary of the premiere of “Gone With the Wind,” and also the eve of the 100th anniversary of “Birth of A Nation?” Or is it correct to think that the breakthrough of “12 Years a Slave” at the box office and at the Academy Awards is the result of not only a gripping story, excellent script and fine cast and director at work, but of history, too? Lee A. Daniels is a longtime journalist based in New York City.
middle-income households, defined as- those earning $56,113 to $91,356, 25 percent of these consumers do not have enough savings to cover living expenses for three months. Further, the majority of consumers in 37 states and the District of Columbia do not have credit scores high enough to be eligible for the lowest available lending rates for short-term credit. In Mississippi, more than 69 percent of consumers have subprime credit scores, making it the worst state in the nation. The highest levels of liquid asset poverty are concentrated in nine Southern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. In Alabama, more than 62 percent – almost two out of three consumers – do not have a personal financial safety net. Nevada is the only state outside of the Deep South among the 10 worst rankings for liquid asset poverty. As CFED analyzed state and local policy responses in the wake of the nation’s financial crisis and recession, it created a policy scorecard that measured state responses to 67 policy areas. State and local concerns with growing economic inequality launched programs to raise the minimum wage, encourage long-term college savings plans and courted unbanked consumers to become a part of the financial mainstream. For lifting 9.4 million people out of poverty in 2011, the report praised the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). In addition to this federal program, 25 states and the District of Columbia enacted their own versions of EITC that ranged from 3.5 percent to as high as 40 percent of the federal credit. “For the first time, these rankings allow us to draw a line
in many states between the strength of policies and outcomes for family economic security,” the report notes. The data shows that policies aimed at decreasing poverty and creating more opportunities for low-income families can make a real difference. Even with these public initiatives, growing costs of higher education continue to lead to even higher levels of student debt. According to the report, the average student debt for college graduates grew from $27,150 in 2011 to $29,400 in 2012. Additionally, both employer-sponsored retirement plans and homeownership levels respectively dropped a percentage point from 2010 to 2012. Nationwide in 2012, retirement plans slipped to 44 percent. For consumers of color, CFED’s report reads much like the familiar financial refrain of earlier research: Two out of three households of color are liquid asset poor, lacking a financial cushion to respond to financial emergencies; Only 42 percent of consumers of color were homeowners; while White homeownership now stands at 72 percent; and The median net worth for consumers of color amounted to $12,377 – only one-tenth of the median net worth of White consumers – $110,637. The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) advocates that homeownership remains the best investment vehicle to help low-wealth families to build wealth and grow into the middle class.
We know, for example, there are critical junctures in young lives where positive intervention and support can make a big difference. Now, on a national basis, foundations, corporations, and the executive branch will be working to identify and build upon those local solutions that already are making a difference. This is the rekindling of a movement, a national effort in which we all have important roles to play. Our central organizing concept is both simple and profound: support what works. Memories like my own, I believe, are what give the president confidence when he declares, “We know what to do for these young men.” I was honored to be invited to this event at the White House. Yet, during the presentations, it was the wonderful human beings who lifted me up in life – more than memories of my own efforts on behalf of our young – that filled my mind. Like President Obama, and most of us who have gained a measure of success, I know precisely whom to remember, and thank, for my life. I thought about Dad and Mother, who struggled economically to give their children an empowering education, taught us values by their example, and accepted no excuses when we stumbled along the road to our dreams. I remembered the NAACP’s Juanita Jackson Mitchell, who stood up for us children during the integration of Riverside swimming pool, showing us that we had rights that others had to respect. I recalled great teachers like Mr. Hollis Posey, who taught to my strengths and never allowed me to fall prey to the lowered expectations that some had held for me and community
leaders like “Captain” Jim Smith, who made our neighborhood recreation league into an all-encompassing family. There is the AFRO’s John (Jake) Oliver, a powerful role model who took the time and effort to encourage me academically; and Dr. Albert Friedman, our neighborhood pharmacist, who trusted me, gave me my first regular job, and helped me all the way through college. These positive memories are what allow me to push past my doubts and work to make a difference in young lives. So too, we all can have confidence in our competence to contribute because someone made that difference for us. We all know of similar programs that are making a difference in young lives. Now, President Obama is challenging each of us to get involved. For young Americans of color, we can, and must, become their ladders to opportunity. U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings represents Maryland’s 7th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. Read more on afro.com
‘12 Years a Slave’ and the Tides of History
Ways to Close the Nation’s Wealth Gap
Charlene Crowell
Today, middle class households feel the same financial stress that lowand moderate-income families have borne for years, says new research by the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED), a national nonprofit organization working to alleviate poverty and create economic opportunity. In its report, Treading Water in the Deep End, CFED analyzes the financial security of American households and public policy responses to
the financial crisis. “As millions of Americans struggle to save for emergencies, investing in their futures is increasingly out of reach,” the report notes. Liquid asset poverty is defined in the report as a household budget that is so tight that any unforeseen expenditure such as a car repair or medical expense cannot be managed without incurring debt. The financial insecurity of America’s liquid asset poor is CFED’s focus of findings. The report found that the majority of the nation’s liquid asset poor are employed (89 percent), White (59 percent) and have at least some college education (48 percent). Even among
Charlene Crowell is a communications manager with the Center for Responsible Lending.