What do 'the blacks' have to lose under a Trump presidency? Actually, quite a lot

Rss@dailykos.com (kelly Macias) · Thursday, February 02, 2017, 9:02 pm

We are at the beginning of Black History Month and since we are also in the first month of a new presidency, it seems fitting to explore what impact the Trump presidency could have on black Americans. Trump only received about 8 percent of the black vote and recent research suggests that roughly three-quarters of blacks believe that race relations will become worse during his tenure. While it’s important to understand that blacks (not “the blacks” as he likes to call us) are not a monolith and hold diverse social and political views, it is probably safe to say that most blacks do not support or have faith in Donald Trump—with good reason.

Trump sold himself to the country as a successful business man who could bring back jobs. And while he has greatly exaggerated (or used the “alternative facts” that he and his administration are now known for) about the numbers of black unemployment, he is right about one thing. There is, in fact, a problem when black unemployment is and has been consistently higher than unemployment for the rest of the population.

Those who've been left behind by the economy elected Trump, largely, to reinvigorate it. They're right that the economy is not operating at its full capacity. A record number of the population are not participating in the labor force, and while 2016 ended with an official unemployment rate of 4.7%, among African-Americans it was 7.8%.

Yet this figure is the lowest it's been since August 2007 (7.6%) and February 2001 (7.7%). In fact, only once in the past 30 years has the unemployment rate among blacks been consistently lower: the years 1999 and 2000. The black unemployment rate has been double that of whites for most of the past six decades.

While there is not just one reason that this exists, it is certainly reflective of an economic system that has a long history of exploiting blacks.

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