[quote name='sgs89']I think the racism charge is a load of bull and, in the end, is counter-productive.[/QUOTE]
In what way is it a load of bull? Is it because of the White House State of Emergency declaration from 8/26? (
Link) Did that do an adequate job in showing reverence for all races? Especially since so much was done on the federal end between this press release and 9/1, right?
Does race not matter in a city that is 67.9% African-American?
Does it matter in a city where the percentage of people with Bachelor's of higher if 4% *above* the national average (31% to 27%)?
Does it matter that the employment rate is 3.1% lower in this more well-educated area?
Does it matter when median household income is $11,000 *lower* than the national average ($31,369 to $44,684)?
Does it not matter in a city with a 4% higher rate of families living under poverty (14.5% compared to 10.1) and a 10% higher rate of individuals living below poverty (23.2% compared to 13.1%)?
(All data taken from
The US Census Intercensus 2004)
So, were black people drawn here because of poverty (and the fact that they must love to live in it), or was poverty drawn here because of the blacks?
Perhaps neither, you say? Would those of you who seem to think that race doesn't matter in this day and age, that any equally-qualified black man (or woman) has the exact same chance of getting the same job as an equally-qualified white man (or woman), say about this correlation of race and poverty? Would you simply say it's coincidence? Circumstantial? Perhaps even spurious?
The fact of the matter is that (1) NO has a far larger percentage of African-Americans than most cities (if not all, but I hesitate to say that), and (2) far larger percentage of families and individuals living in poverty. This is a pattern that simply can not be described as coincidence, unless you like to be overly simplistic and completely wrong.
Would you say that, in contemporary America, that equally qualified African-Americans have as much of a chance of getting housing (whether an apartment or a mortgage) as a similar white person? How about a car loan?
I do, for a cynical moment, want to thank those of you who seem to think that racism is dead in our society. Seriously. Not that you'll ever see my work (it's not bloody likely, since it involves reading, anyway), but I stand a very good chance of getting tens of thousands of dollars for research on housing discrimination based upon presumed race. For those of you who are bigoted but can't admit it, thank you. You keep me knee-deep in work, and well-paid in addition.