[IMC-Boston-Editorial] Column on Coretta Scott King and closing the racial economic divide

[Betsy Leondar-Wright]

Hello,
Would you be interested in running this column from United for a Fair
Economy?
Betsy Leondar-Wright


Coretta Scott King¹s passing reminds us all to address racial inequality
By Anisha Desai
 
Every politician, every news anchor and every newspaper eulogized Coretta
Scott King after her January 30 death, praising her commitment to civil
rights. But how much attention did we pay to Mrs. King¹s words and actions
when she was alive? Must it only be upon the passing of our iconic leaders
that we pause to grasp the depths of racial inequality around us, a real and
present danger which we ignore at our own peril?
 
Mrs. King¹s commitment was not just to a narrow definition of civil rights
as legal freedom from discrimination. She spoke up for economic justice and
peace, both before she met her late husband, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, and
after his death. In June of 1968, she called upon American women to fight
the three evils of racism, poverty and war. In 1974, she formed the Full
Employment Action Council, a broad coalition that advocated full employment
and equal opportunity. Recently, she urged President Bush to ask American
corporations to put their resources behind the effort to help the poor. She
recognized the economic consequences of militarism and considered money
spent on weapons, rather than education and health care, money wasted.
 
How sad that she did not live to see her vision become reality! At the time
of her passing, the African American unemployment rate was more than double
that of whites; the jobless recovery has been more jobless for some races
than others. The massive layoffs in the auto industry and the overall
decline in manufacturing have affected black workers especially hard. Black
families who had painstakingly risen from poverty through education and hard
work are falling backwards, losing health coverage and losing homes to
foreclosure. Federal programs that have boosted prior generations into the
middle class, such as Pell grants and housing subsidies, are being cut to
pay for war and for tax cuts for the rich. And despite President Bush¹s lip
service to narrowing the divide after Hurricane Katrina, he once again
proposed cuts to the ladder of opportunity in his recent budget proposal.
 
How sad that the last five years of Coretta Scott King¹s life were years of
backsliding on the progress she worked for all her life. While median income
has fallen since 2000 for every racial group, it has fallen fastest for
African Americans. While the typical white family gained six percent in net
worth from 2001 to 2004, rising to $136,000, the typical black family gained
not at all, remaining at a dismal $20,000, according to the Federal Reserve.
Though more and more jobs are located in the suburbs, beyond the reach of
public transportation, one in four black families owns no car, compared with
one in 14 white families. This disparity was tragically obvious during
Hurricane Katrina, as those left behind were overwhelmingly black and poor.
 
Mrs. King¹s death comes right after Dr. King¹s national holiday, one which
she fought so hard to achieve, and right before Black History Month. This
brief reflective time of the country¹s calendar sparks a variety of valuable
national forums about civil rights. But too often our focus is on a few
great historical figures, which obscures the need for all of us to call on
our country to live up to its ideals.
 
All too often we wait blindly for the one or two golden leaders to lead us
from the storm. We spend too much time lamenting the loss of charismatic
leaders of the past. But as a Hopi teaching reminds us, ³we are the ones we
have been waiting for.² Our everyday interactions and observations are
enough of a rudimentary tool kit to begin the work of spotlighting racial
injustice.  
 
Everyday people made possible the victories of the Civil Rights movement,
and everyday people can take the lead today. We can best honor the memory of
Coretta Scott King, Dr. King and Rosa Parks by committing ourselves to
challenge and close the racial wealth divide.

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Anisha Desai (adesai at faireconomy.org) is Program Director at United for a
Fair Economy and co-author of ³Nothing to Be Thankful For: Tax Cuts and the
Deteriorating Job Market.²
 
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Betsy Leondar-Wright
Communications Director, United for a Fair Economy
(617) 423-2148 x113
29 Winter Street
Boston, MA 02108
http://www.FairEconomy.Org


United for a Fair Economy is an independent national organization
that raises awareness of the damaging consequences of concentrated
wealth and power.

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