Black Americans Are Worse Off Than They Were 16 Years Ago, But Who is to Blame?

Protesters rally for criminal justice reform outside the U.S. Capitol on April 21, 2015. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Perhaps unsurprisingly, black and white Americans have very different views on the state of racism in America, and the differences also play out among Democrats and Republicans. How different groups view race in America may influence how politicians address this issue, one that their constituents clearly care about.

African Americans were worse off financially in 2016 than they were in 2000, The Washington Post’s Heather Long reported.

“African Americans are the only racial group the Census Bureau identifies that has been left behind. White, Asian and Hispanic households have all seen at least modest income gains since 2000,” she wrote.

One of the clearest examples of that gap is in homeownership, The Post’s Tracy Jan reported.

“Homeownership has traditionally been the primary way Americans build wealth. But the black homeownership rate is lower today than it was 40 years ago, with 42 percent of black families owning homes in 2016 compared to 44 percent in 1976,” she wrote.

Although only 8 percent of black voters ended up backing Donald Trump in the 2016 election, he spoke to these issues while campaigning for president.

“Our government has totally failed our African American friends, our Hispanic friends and the people of our country. Period,” Trump said in August 2016. “The Democrats have failed completely in the inner cities. For those hurting the most who have been failed and failed by their politician — year after year, failure after failure, worse numbers after worse numbers. Poverty. Rejection. Horrible education. No housing, no homes, no ownership. Crime at levels that nobody has seen. You can go to war zones in countries that we are fighting and it’s safer than living in some of our inner cities that are run by the Democrats. And I ask you this, I ask you this — crime, all of the problems — to the African Americans, who I employ so many, so many people, to the Hispanics, tremendous people: What the hell do you have to lose? Give me a chance. I’ll straighten it out. I’ll straighten it out. What do you have to lose?”

Click here to continue reading…

SOURCE: Eugene Scott 
The Washington Post