Black History

AFRICAN-AMERICANS ARE NO BETTER OFF THAN 50 YEARS AGO DATA SHOWS

SAN ANTONIO OBSERVER — 50 year serves as a great opportunity to look back and see how far race in America has come and according to Race and Social Policy Research Center Director, Wornie Reed, “the bottom line is that we have not come very far, if at all, since 1968.”

Published

7 years ago

January 2, 2019

By CeCe Leonard

By Cece Leonard, The San Antonio Observer

December 26, 2018 — As 2018 comes to an end, we close out a 50 year period that began with the tumultuous 1968. This was the year Martin Luther King, Jr was assassinated; the year the Fair Housing Act passed; the year the Kerner Commision report revealed the cause of riots; and the same year John Carlos and Tommie Smith gave the Black Power salute at the Olympics.

50 year serves as a great opportunity to look back and see how far race in America has come and according to Race and Social Policy Research Center Director, Wornie Reed, “the bottom line is that we have not come very far, if at all, since 1968.”

Reed notes “Unfortunately, the data show that with all of this progress on the electoral front there was little if any relative improvement in the lives of African Americans. In fact, with the gutting of the Voting Rights Act by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013, made 2018 one of the the worst years for voter suppression of African Americans and other minorities since 1968.”

Quoting Reed

Poverty:

Poor People's Campaign then and now

“This year marked the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s Poor People’s Campaign when MLK put his life on the line to start a very aggressive push to force the country to address the issue of poverty. He said, “I choose to identify with the underprivileged. I choose to identify with the poor. I choose to give my life for the hungry. I choose to give my life for those who have been left out…This is the way I’m going.” We called the rate of poverty an outrage then. It is worse now. The numbers and proportions of people in poverty in the United States have increased since 1968.”

Housing:

AFRICAN-AMERICANS ARE NO BETTER OFF THAN 50 YEARS AGO DATA SHOWS

“In 2008 the National Commission on Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, co-chaired by former Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretaries, Democrat Henry Cisneros and Republican Jack Kemp, investigated the state of fair housing. To assess progress since the Fair Housing Act of 1968, the Commission held hearings for six months in five major cities. They concluded that ongoing discriminatory practices in the nation’s housing and lending markets continued to produce residential segregation.”

“Despite this bipartisan assessment, the current Administration is scaling back fair housing enforcement and moving to make it more difficult to find patterns of discriminatory or predatory lending. They have passed legislation to exempt banks from their obligation to collect and provide data routinely collected on their lending processes.”

Economics:

“The Great Recession of 2007-8 was far worse for African Americans. Black homeowners had a higher percentage of their wealth tied up in home equity, and they were much more likely to be victims of predatory lending during the housing boom. Blacks and Latinos were more than twice as likely as comparable whites to receive high-cost loans. African-Americans have lost over half of their wealth since the beginning of the recession through falling homeownership rates and loss of jobs.”

“African American families are continuing to fall behind whites in building wealth — how much a family has in savings, investments, real estate, and cash, less any debts. White family wealth was seven times greater than black family wealth in 2016. Despite some fluctuations over the past five decades, this disparity is as high or higher than was in 1963.”

“Further, there has been no reduction in labor market discrimination. At the Race and Social Policy Research Center at Virginia Tech, we analyzed the income of all black and white full-time workers in the United States between 1967 and 2005. Controlling for education, we found that for every dollar a white worker earned in 1967 a black worker earned 65 cents. In 2005 a black work earned 66 cents for every dollar that a white person earned, not a real increase.”

Sports:

“During the last 50 years African Americans have become even more prominent in sports, with four current stars arguably considered the best of all time in their respective sports: Simone Biles in gymnastics, Serena Williams in Tennis, Tiger Woods in golf, and Lebron James in Basketball. Nevertheless, just like in 1968 black athletes are protesting racial discrimination. Two years ago Colin Kaepernick took a knee to protest the disproportionate use of police force against African American males and related issues, That protest was joined by other African American athletes, in football and other sports. And some of it continues.”

Kerner Commission Report:

“One month before Martin Luther King was assassinated, the Kerner Commission released its report. This Presidential commission investigated the riots and disorders of the mid-1960s and reported what MLK called a “physician’s warning of approaching death, with a prescription for life.” The Commission offered the most forthright analysis and discussion of the racial situation in America that has ever been done by a high-level commission or committee.”

“The Kerner Commission stated that “White racism is essentially responsible for the explosive mixture which has been accumulating in our cities since the end of World War II.” And they continued, “What white Americans have never fully understood but what the Negro can never forget—is that white society is deeply implicated in the ghetto. White institutions created it, white institutions maintain it, and white society condones it.”

“The Kerner Commission concluded that the United States had three options for dealing with the situation. One was to do nothing, which was not acceptable. A second option was to work on improving black ghettoes, which was useful but not desirable. The third was to integrate cities, suburbs, and transportation to workplaces (factories and plants). Many Americans thought we would choose the third option and be on our way to a better America. However, one month later Martin Luther King was assassinated, blacks rioted all over America, and the narrative changed—from correcting what white society had wrought to blaming it all on the problematic culture of black folks. To this day we have not overcome the political and policy effects of that narrative.”

About Reed

Reed is the Director of the Race and Social Policy Research Center at Virginia Tech. He is an expert on race, ethnic health disparities, social policy, criminal justice and his research focus is on criminal justice, discrimination, healthcare, and labor. Reed’s expertise has been featured in Huffpost, CTV (Toronto, Canada), WBFO (Buffalo, NY NPR Affiliate), WFAE (Charlotte, NC NPR affiliate), WCVE(Richmond, VA PBS member station) and WVTF (Virginia NPR affiliate).

This article originally appeared in The San Antonio Observer.

By CeCe Leonard

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COMMENTARY: The National Protest Must Be Accompanied with Our Votes

Just as Trump is gathering election data like having the FBI take all the election data in Georgia from the 2020 election, so must we organize in preparation for the coming primary season to have the right people on ballots in each Republican district, so that we can regain control of the House of Representatives and by doing so, restore the separation of powers and balance that our democracy is being deprived of.

Published

2 days ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper. File photo..

By Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper

As thousands of Americans march every week in cities across this great nation, it must be remembered that the protest without the vote is of no concern to Donald Trump and his administration.

In every city, there is a personal connection to the U.S. Congress. In too many cases, the member of Congress representing the people of that city and the congressional district in which it sits, is a Republican. It is the Republicans who are giving silent support to the destructive actions of those persons like the U.S. Attorney General, the Director of Homeland Security, and the National Intelligence Director, who are carrying out the revenge campaign of the President rather than upholding the oath of office each of them took “to Defend The Constitution of the United States.”

In California, the primary comes in June 2026. The congressional races must be a priority just as much as the local election of people has been so important in keeping ICE from acquiring facilities to build more prisons around the country.

“We the People” are winning this battle, even though it might not look like it. Each of us must get involved now, right where we are.

In this Black History month, it is important to remember that all we have accomplished in this nation has been “in spite of” and not “because of.” Frederick Douglas said, “Power concedes nothing without a struggle.”

Today, the struggle is to maintain our very institutions and history. Our strength in this struggle rests in our “collectiveness.” Our newspapers and journalists are at the greatest risk. We must not personally add to the attack by ignoring those who have been our very foundation, our Black press.

Are you spending your dollars this Black History Month with those who salute and honor contributions by supporting those who tell our stories? Remember that silence is the same as consent and support for the opposition. Where do you stand and where will your dollars go?

Oakland Post

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Activism

Congresswoman Simon Votes Against Department of Homeland Security, ICE Funding

“They need accountability. Republicans already gave these agencies an unprecedented $170 billion for immigration enforcement, funding they have used to conduct raids at schools, separate families, and deploy a masked paramilitary who refuse to identify themselves on American streets. This bill gives them more funding without a single reform to stop unconstitutional, immoral abuses,” she said.

Published

2 days ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12). File photo.

By Post Staff

Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) released a statement after voting against legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which supports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB).

“Today, I voted NO on legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security through Feb. 13, 2026.

“ICE and CBP do not need more funding to terrorize communities or kill more people,” she said in the media release.

“They need accountability. Republicans already gave these agencies an unprecedented $170 billion for immigration enforcement, funding they have used to conduct raids at schools, separate families, and deploy a masked paramilitary who refuse to identify themselves on American streets. This bill gives them more funding without a single reform to stop unconstitutional, immoral abuses,” she said.

“The American people are demanding change. Poll after poll of Americans’ opinions show overwhelming support for requiring ICE agents to wear body cameras and prohibiting them from hiding their faces during enforcement actions. This is the bare minimum transparency standard, and this funding legislation does not even meet this low bar,” Simon said.

“Republicans in Congress are not serious about reining in these lawless agencies. Their refusal to make meaningful changes to the DHS funding bill has consequences that go beyond immigration enforcement. TSA agents who keep our airports safe and FEMA workers who help our communities recover from disasters are stuck in limbo due to Republican inaction.

“The Constitution does not have an exception for immigrants. Every person on American soil has rights, and federal agencies must respect them. The East Bay has made clear at the Alameda County and city level that we will hold the line against a violent ICE force and support our immigrant communities – I will continue to hold the line and our values with my votes in Congress.”

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Post Newspaper Invites NNPA to Join Nationwide Probate Reform Initiative

The Post’s Probate Reform Group meets the first Thursday of every month via Zoom and invites the public to attend. The Post is making the initiative national and will submit information from its monthly meeting to the NNPA to educate, advocate, and inform its readers.

Published

2 days ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Tanya Dennis

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) represents the Black press with over 200 newspapers nationwide.

Last night the Post announced that it is actively recruiting the Black press to inform the public that there is a probate “five-alarm fire” occurring in Black communities and invited every Black newspaper starting from the Birmingham Times in Alabama to the Milwaukee Times Weekly in Wisconsin, to join the Post in our “Year of Action” for probate reform.

Reporter Tanya Dennis says, “The adage that ‘When America catches a cold, Black folks catch the flu” is too true in practice; that’s why we’re engaging the Black Press to not only warn, but educate the Black community regarding the criminal actions we see in probate court: Thousands are losing generational wealth to strangers. It’s a travesty that happens daily.”

Venus Gist, a co-host of the reform group, states, “ Unfortunately, people are their own worst enemy when it comes to speaking with loved ones regarding their demise. It’s an uncomfortable subject that most avoid, but they do so at their peril. The courts rely on dissention between family members, so I encourage not only a will and trust [be created] but also videotape the reading of your documents so you can show you’re of sound mind.”

In better times, drafting a will was enough; then a trust was an added requirement to ‘iron-clad’ documents and to assure easy transference of wealth.

No longer.

As the courts became underfunded in the last 20 years, predatory behavior emerged to the extent that criminality is now occurring at alarming rates with no oversight, with courts isolating the conserved, and, I’ve heard, many times killing conservatees for profit. Plundering the assets of estates until beneficiaries are penniless is also common.”

Post Newspaper Publisher Paul Cobb says, “The simple solution is to avoid probate at all costs. If beneficiaries can’t agree, hire a private mediator and attorney to work things out. The moment you walk into court, you are vulnerable to the whims of the court. Your will and trust mean nothing.”

Zakiya Jendayi, a co-host of the Probate Reform Group and a victim herself, says, “In my case, the will and trust were clear that I am the beneficiary of the estate, but the opposing attorney said I used undue influence to make myself beneficiary. He said that without proof, and the judge upheld the attorney’s baseless assertion. In court, the will and trust is easily discounted.”

The Black press reaches out to 47 million Black Americans with one voice. The power of the press has never been so important as it is now in this national movement to save Black generational wealth from predatory attorneys, guardians and judges.

The next probate reform meeting is on March 5, from 7 – 9 p.m. PST. Zoom Details:
Meeting ID: 825 0367 1750
Passcode: 475480

All are welcome.