African-American columnist Joseph Perkins took a look how Blacks fared under the Reagan administration and found that “on balance, the majority of Black Americans made considerable progress in the 1980s.” Among the facts he listed include:
• 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.
• Upwardly mobile cohort grew by a third under Reagan’s watch, from 3.6 million in 1980 to 4.8 million in 1988.
• the middle class constituted more than 40 percent of Black households by the end of Reagan’s presidency
• 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.
• 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 number of Black professionals increased by an astounding 63 percent.
• Black college enrollment increased by 100,000 between 1980 and 1987
• 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.
Not that this will stop the left from calling the right racists, but the facts need to get out there.
These are the type of things we need to work on getting out to minority communities. This is not pandering, but explain how our policies and belief systems benefit them. The changing demographics in our country say that we need to do more outreach to the black and latino communities.
H/T African American Conservatives.
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Well-stated. But is this the Republican Party of the 80s? I would argue it is not.
Lately, I have been surprised by the number of blacks I know who view certain GOP prospects in a positive light: Huntsman, Christie, Steele, etc. Like them or not, those guys are still Republicans.
I am equally surprised by the number of blacks I know who voted for Bush or some other GOP-er over the last 20 years. Several of my fellow entrepreneurs; and I suspect a couple of anti-gay-rights religious people that I personally don't agree with.
I honestly think the GOP of yesterday could have made some (not a ton, but maybe another 10-20%?) of inroads into the black community by now. But today, when "they"/"we" see leading voices in the GOP declaring without any equivocation (or any evidence for that matter) that blacks vote for Obama in an act of "racist" solidarity, or that blacks just "want stuff", etc. Well, frankly, what do you expect?
Based on my observations of the GOP's feelings toward other groups that lean Democrat, Republicans wouldn't have a problem with a black community that only voted 70%-75% Democrat, since we never hear as much consternation from them about Jews, Latinos or Asians who vote that way. (I guess they haven't crossed that tacit threshold yet)
Cutting into the black vote an additional 20% was once attainable. Admittedly I can't say that now, but it ain't because Obama is black.
A "white" Obama would STILL get 95% of the black vote in 2012 -- guaranteed, and it's not because "blacks want stuff" either.
It's about all that other "stuff" that the conservative media stars are so loathe to acknowledge. Case in point: How many times did I hear white conservatives -- in '08 AND '12 -- express serious concern over an Obama loss because they thought your rank-and-file black voter was so out of control that he/she would freak out and riot as a result of losing a close race?
Like Bobby Jindal said, kinda-sorta, you're probably not gonna attract people that YOU don't even like.
Of course now, since Romney lost, we see people all over the country (not black) seriously talking about secession. But somehow, that's understandable.
Are the vast majority of GOP-ers racists? Absolutely not, and it's inexcusable as well as ignorant when the left so casually accuses the average conservative person of racism. But unfortunately, too many on the right miss the point that they aren't the only people who are offended by stupid, false accusations.
The vast majority of African-Americans aren't racists either, and they/we don't like being mislabeled in that way either. And if I had to say what turns off most Blacks from the GOP of today, it would be WAY more complex than most white right-wingers seem to think.
Frankly, when the GOP's continues to acquiesce to people who constantly discount any data that counters their beliefs; like polls, or election results, or birth certificates, etc., we shouldn't be shocked when some smart and decent people decide to vote Democrat.
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