Black History for NWA - N****'s With Amnesia, Bush Style

Just in time for Black History Month, the nation enters a dialogue about race that could have important socioeconomic implications for generations of African Americans. At issue is President Bush’s charge that the Social Security system is unfair to African Americans because they do not live as long as whites and cannot draw down on retirement benefits and that they would do better financially if the nation embraced a privatized system of individual accounts that can be invested in the stock market.  While there is a stark need for a plan of action addressing race-based income and health disparities, of surprise to many is that President Bush and prominent members of the Republican Party have introduced this conversation.  After all, these are the people who have spent the last four years providing tax relief for the wealthiest Americans while laying the groundwork for dismantling the very programs that have helped blacks mitigate the effects of centuries of deprivation.  Among the health and wealth creation vehicles on the President’s chopping block are Affirmative Action, Perkins loans, Community Development Block Grants, empowerment and enterprise zones, Section 8 and Hope VI federal housing subsidies, minority health disparities research, and Medicaid. Each of these policies have been important for elevating the socio-economic condition of African Americans in the post-Civil Rights era, yet they have been challenged, seriously curtailed, or eliminated under the Bush Administration.  Now, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, African Americans are expected to take the GOP’s newfound interest in their socio-economic security at face value.  [more]