Issues & Perspectives
Devotion: A Journal of Cultural and Christian Perspectives February 2007 Vol.3 No. 1
Achievements and Broken Promises
Once again we dawn upon another celebration of Black History month, a time when we reflect on the achievements, contributions, struggle and progress of African Americans, an annual celebration that has existed since 1926. As we acknowledge the contributions of civil rights leaders, educators, architects, inventors, scientists, sports heroes, and others, we must indeed celebrate our rich cultural and historical past, but also acknowledge that the struggle is not over. We should be very proud of the accomplishments of African Americans, but it is also important that we do not become complacent with that progress. We mustcontinue to fight for greater economic prosperity, recognition, and independence in our society. We must also acknowledge that despite coming a long way, there have been several broken promises that still continue to plague our community.
As we celebrate and acknowledge the legacy of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and school desegregation, one cannot help but be proud of what is perhaps the most important judicial decision of the American century—the notion of separate but equal finally being struck down in 1954 in Brown v. Board of Education. Segregation was built on the false foundations of white supremacy and provided legal justification for "Jim Crow" laws that required separate accommodations for whites and blacks in many U.S. states and cities, laws that continued right into the 1960s.
While there has been progress, the legacy of separate but equal lingers in the comparative high school and college graduation rates for African Americans versus their white counterparts. According to the Africana Studies and Research Center at Cornell University, in 1960 only 20 percent of the black population finished high school, compared with 43 percent of whites. Only 3 percent of African Americans graduated from college, less than half the white graduation rate of 8 percent. Yet almost 30 years later, over 50 percent of young African Americans were graduating from high school, and 8 percent of black students graduated from college a rate still less than half that of white high school graduates. Despite the opportunity to attend desegregated schools and colleges, African Americans still lag far behind other ethnic groups in graduation rates. Complicating the slow progress in education is the rate of incarceration. In 2002 about 800,000 blacks were jailed, compared with 600,000 registered in institutions of higher learning. African Americans account for 46 percent of the total jailed population in the nation. Approximately one in five blacks serves time in jail at some point during his or her life. However, the bottom line remains that, according to the Harvard’s Civil Rights Project, schools are more segregated today than the past, making desegregation another broken promise.
On the economic front, the emergence of a successful middle class remains the highlight of any community. The small but powerful African American middle class that has enjoyed the fruits of its hard work and investments, like its white counterpart, must be acknowledged. According to Dr. Ronald Taylor, Professor of Sociology at the University of Connecticut, between 1967 and 1990, the percentage of black families with incomes of a least $50,000 more than doubled from 7 to 15 percent. The median income of African-American families in which both husband and wife worked rose from $28,700 in 1967 to $40,038 in 1990, an increase of more than 40 percent. By comparison, the median of white family income with two wage earners increased 17 percent during this period, from $40,040 to $47,247.
Despite this proud accomplishment of our emerging middle class, we should not become complacent with this progress. According to the 2003 Census Bureau annual report, there were an estimated 38.7 million U.S. residents who were African Americans. This group accounts for approximately 13 percent of the total U.S. population. The Census Bureau reported that the poverty rate of African Americans as nearly twice the national rate, with 24.4 percent of blacks living below the poverty line in 2003, slightly higher from 24.1 percent a year earlier. According to the Urban Institute, a non-partisan research organization, blacks have poverty rates almost three times as high as whites. What is more disturbing is the poverty rate among young African Americans. According to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a non-profit research group, over one-third of black children are living in poverty today (34.1 percent). This is the highest of all race groups, and this sharp upward trend continues. In fact, reports have suggested that many young African Americans are living in economic conditions equivalent to that of third world countries. One need only think about the desperate circumstances Hurricane Katrina unveiled as an example. The large number of Blacks living in poverty detracts from the promise of a growing middle class.
Science, too, is an arena where we see progress but in which cannot be complacent. We celebrate and acknowledge the work and legacy of Dr. Charles R. Drew, who was responsible for organizing the concept of the blood bank, and later led the field in pioneering the research of blood plasma for transfusion. He initiated and developed the modern day Red Cross blood bank and blood transfusion techniques that continues to play a vital role in medicine, yet despite the legacy of this accomplishment, the healthcare system today remains one of the most segregated sectors in our society. Reports have suggested that there is a dual system, one for Blacks and another for whites. The American Medical Association, reports that physicians who treat many black patients were less likely to be board-certified and more likely to struggle to provide high-quality care than physicians who treat white patients. According to Dr. Peter B. Bach, an epidemiologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, who was the lead author of the study in the New England Journal of Medicine, many Black people in the United States get their primary health care in a separate and apparently inferior system. He also stated “When Black patients go to the doctor, they're more likely to be treated by a doctor who can't harness the full capabilities of the health care system.” An unequal healthcare system is another broken promise we should not be complacent with.
The foremost legacy acknowledged by Black History month is the struggle for civil rights in America. The movement advanced opportunities for African Americans guaranteeing their constitutional rights, eradicating legalized and systematic racism in the Jim Crow south, and leveling of the playing field for everyone in America. The question still remains, however, how far have African Americans advanced since the Civil Rights Movement? How would Dr. King view the struggle today, would he be happy or disappointed?
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 simply aimed to guarantee African Americans the right to vote without any form of intimidation. Yet despite this important legislation, the right to vote for black citizens was strongly resisted. Among others, the Ku Klux Klan, the Knights of the White Camellia, and other terrorist organizations attempted to prevent the 15th Amendment from being enforced with violence, literary tests, gerrymandering and other forms of intimidation.
According to Civil Rights activist and NAACP chairman Julian Bond, dirty tricks and intimidation tactics against black voters are alive and well. In Louisiana in 2002, Bond reported that fliers were passed out in African-American neighborhoods advertising the wrong date for a U.S. Senate runoff election. In the 2003 mayoral election in Philadelphia, he added, men wielding clipboards and official-looking law enforcement insignia patrolled African-American neighborhoods asking voters for identification. During the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, there were allegations of data irregularities and systematic flaws which may have affected the outcome of the presidential and local elections. The fundamental right to vote and its promise are still challenged with modern day obstacles.
As we reflect on Black History month we must truly be proud of the contributions of African Americans in every aspect in our society. The legacy of Dr. King and other civil rights leaders, scientists, educators, inventors, sports heroes, and common citizens have played a key role in the development of the American society. We should be very proud of these accomplishments and advances, but it is also important that we do not become complacent with this progress. We must continue to fight for greater economic prosperity, pride and independence; we must keep a promise to our selves that Black History month is much more than celebrating our past, but also paving our future.
Stephen Balkaran currently teaches Political Science at Central Connecticut State University and Middlesex Community College.
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