I cast my very first presidential ballot for Ronald Reagan. That set me apart from most of my fellow black Americans, 90 percent of whom gave their votes to Jimmy Carter in 1980 and Walter Mondale in 1984. Posted on 06/11/2004 8:54:49 PM PDT by South40
I cast my very first presidential ballot for Ronald Reagan. That set me apart from most of my fellow black Americans, 90 percent of whom gave their votes to Jimmy Carter in 1980 and Walter Mondale in 1984.
Even as the nation mourns Reagan's passing this week, many blacks retain their animus toward the 40th president, as evidenced by the uncharitable remarks by several black leaders.
"Black grandmothers like mine said always speak well of the dead or keep quiet," Rep. Major Owens, the New York Democrat told The Hill, a newspaper that covers Congress. "I choose to keep quiet."
"Many in the African-American community strongly disagreed with his domestic policy," said Rep. Al Wynn, a Maryland Democrat.
"In terms of being a president for African-Americans," said Diane Watson, a Los Angeles Democrat, "he was not."
Based on the remarks by Reps. Owens, Wynn and Watson, and similar sentiments expressed by other black leaders, one might conclude that the Reagan era was a period of retrenchment for the black population.
But the reality is, the 1980s, with a conservative, free-market Republican in the White House, were a boom time for black America.
Indeed, Andrew Brimmer, the Harvard-trained black economist, the former Federal Reserve Board member, estimated that total black business receipts increased from $12.4 billion in 1982 to $18.1 billion in 1987, translating into an annual average growth rate of 7.9 percent (compared to 5 percent for all U.S. businesses.
The success of the black entrepreneurial class during the Reagan era was rivaled only by the gains of the black middle class.
In fact, black social scientist Bart Landry estimated that that upwardly mobile cohort grew by a third under Reagan's watch, from 3.6 million in 1980 to 4.8 million in 1988. His definition was based on employment in white-collar jobs as well as on income levels.
All told, the middle class constituted more than 40 percent of black households by the end of Reagan's presidency, which was larger than the size of black working class, or the black poor.
The impressive growth of the black middle class during the 1980s was attributable in no small part to the explosive growth of jobs under Reagan, which benefited blacks disproportionately.
Indeed, between 1982 and 1988, total black employment increased by 2 million, a staggering sum. That meant that blacks gained 15 percent of the new jobs created during that span, while accounting for only 11 percent of the working-age population.
Meanwhile, the black jobless rate was cut by almost half between 1982 and 1988. Over the same span, the black employment rate – the percentage of working-age persons holding jobs – increased to record levels, from 49 percent to 56 percent.
The black executive ranks especially prospered under Reagan. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reported that the number of black managers and officers in corporations with 100 or more employees increased by 30 percent between 1980 and 1985.
During the same period, the number of black professionals increased by an astounding 63 percent.
The burgeoning of the black professional, managerial and executive ranks during the 1980s coincided with a steady growth of the black student population at the nation's colleges and universities in the 1980s.
Even though the number of college-aged blacks decreased during much of the decade, black college enrollment increased by 100,000 between 1980 and 1987, according to the Census Bureau.
Meanwhile, the 1980s saw an improvement in the black high school graduation rate, as the proportion of blacks 18 to 24 years old earning high school diplomas increased from 69.7 percent in 1980 to 76 percent by 1987.
On balance, then, the majority of black Americans made considerable progress in the 1980s.
More of us stayed in high school, graduated and went on to college. More of us were working than ever before, in better jobs and for higher wages.
The black middle class burgeoned to unprecedented size, emerging as the dominant income group in black America. And black business flourished, creating wealth in the black community.
Reps. Owens, Wynn and Watson may think that all of those wondrous developments were simply happenstance.
But the credit goes to Ronald Reagan, who initiated the policies that fostered the economic growth and job creation of the 1980s, which produced the prosperity that most black Americans enjoyed.
FYI
bttt
Democrats will continue to promise special privileges to Blacks, and Blacks will continue to vote for Democrats in exchange.
I'm glad to see this article. Many black Americans joined the ranks of the middle class under Reagan's presidency.
But that's not what CNN reported this week. I wish more black Americans would research the real facts for themselves.
That's better. Discrimination is discrimination.
If you want on (or off) of my black conservative ping list, please let me know via FREEPmail. (And no, you don't have to be black to be on the list!)
Extra warning: this is a high-volume ping list.
FWIW, this doesn't surprise me. One of GmbyMan's enduring themes is that low tax rates help those trying to become wealthy more than those who already are. Since there were (and still are) a higher percentage of wealthy white Americans than wealthy black Americans, it stands to reason that lower tax rates will help blacks more than whites.
Someone alert Tom Brokaw to this fact!
Do you have a source for this? I certainly can accept that there are more wealthy whites (in numbers), or that more of the wealthy are white than Black, but I hadn't seen any statistics that said that a higher percent of whites were wealthy.
It's one of those "Common Belief" statements. I'll work on finding a source and freepmail you with it if I find one.
These are the median incomes for the different racial groups according to the census in 2000:
White: $54,773
Black: $36,079
Hispanic: $28,817
Asian: $43,211
Hope this helps.
No, that doesn't help. We already know that a higher percent of Blacks are poor, so of course their median income would be lower than that of whites.
That doesn't give any clue as to what percent are wealthy.
The median income means that there are as many people (or in this case "households") above that level as below. The median income for whites is $54,773. For blacks it is $36,079. So unless blacks are stacked up like the country of Mexico with no middle class and with people being only poor or rich, there is a high percentage of rich white people than black people.
That's pretty sad.
Actually, I think that might be the case. We know (as Cosby just validated) that the Black community has a high drop out rate from schools. Those people are poor, and likely to stay that way.
We also know that many Blacks are becoming multi-millionaires in entertainment and athletic fields, and some by starting their own businesses (Johnson and Cain, for two)
I really do think that the statistics for Blacks are dragged down by the inner city problems.
Excellent article. Black America needs to get engaged in and become more active in the political arena. The time is now or we will continue to fall behind on the economic front.
Interesting point. I'll do more research and get back to you. I think you might be wrong, however. I think blacks in this country, like every other racial group, have a burgeoning middle class.
read later bump
As a black conservative, I was in shock when I first read your post. Then I re-read it and realized you were pulling our leg.
You almost got me.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.