Chapter 23

Black Politics, White Backlash1980 to Present

Dismantling the Great Society New Right’s goals - Reagan and Bush Reduced federal grants to cities by half Appointed black conservatives Ended programs crucial to many black

families Inner-city neighborhoods became

unstable “Trickle down” theory of economics Eventually the poor would benefit

The Thomas-Hill Controversy

Clarence Thomas to replace Thurgood Marshall. Appointed by George HW Bush

Seen as symbolic gesture to blacks Thomas wasn’t the civil rights champion that Marshall was Served only fifteen months as appellate court judge Urban League had concerns Anita Hill – Black Law professor Sexual harassment at EEOC Some question her integrity Thomas won confirmation 52-48

Debating Old and New Civil Rights

Reagan and Bush supported “old civil rights” laws

Brown and 1965 Voting Rights Act Opposed “new civil rights” laws Discriminatory outcomes vs. majority Affirmative Action Hire/accept more minorities and women “Philadelphia Plan” 1969 – Richard Nixon Hire minorities or be penalized

Affirmative Action Backlash California center of storm Alan Bakke – Medical School applicant at University of California School set aside 16 of 100 spots for disadvantaged and minority students

for Affirmative Action Supreme court ruled Bakkes rights were being violated and he was

allowed in Republican Governor Pete Wilson Ended affirmative action in state employment, 1995 Proposition 209 approved by 54% voters in 1996 Banned affirmative action in all state agencies Ward Connerly – black entrepreneur lead anti affirmative action campaign Received over $140,000 from state contracts set aside for minority

businesses Minority admissions at University of California have dropped

II. Black Political Activism Increasing participation

– Black men and women in Congress The MLK King Holiday Signed into law on November 2nd, 1983 Went into effect in 1985 Arizona refused to celebrate holiday, lead by Senator

John McCain 1990 – NFL threated to pull the 1993 Super Bowl from

Arizona 1992 Arizona passes state law accepting the holiday To late, NFL moved Super Bowl to Pasadena California http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrFOb_f7ubw&ob=av

3e

South African Racism

TransAfrica and Antiapartheid Movement Apartheid – isolated black people in South Africa. Glorified white racial supremacy. National and international activism Trade embargo with South Africa Randall Robinson – assistant for Michigan

congressman, linked African-American struggles to South Africa

Nelson Mandela – Imprisoned former President of South Africa – 1964

Released with defeat of Apartheid in 1990

III. Jesse Jackson

Civil rights activist Sought Presidential nomination, 1984 and 1988 Rainbow Coalition Black people, white workers, Latinos, feminists,

liberals Comprehensive and progressive economic policy Supporters disappointed Jackson not picked as

Vice Presidential nominee

IV. Policing the Black Community Rodney King Victim of police beating, 1991 Driving home from friends house after watching

basketball game, was drinking, on probation Seen speeding by police Initial report said 117 mph, later retracted to 90

mph King fled, feared DUI violated probation Exited highway, 60-80 mph through residential

area

Rodney King cont. Chase involved several police cruisers and a helicopter 8 mile chase Passengers complied with officers, King giggled,

waved at helicopter, showed resistance Police report filed that King was under the influence of

PCP Blood came back clean Thinking he had a gun, he was ordered to the ground,

King fought and was subdued by officers Tasered in the back Repeatedly beaten, caught by home camcorder

Rodney King cont.

King suffered many broken bones Public outrage lead to arrest and trial of four LA

officers Jury acquitted police White people saw police upholding law and order Black people saw police repression, injustice, racism Riot -Fifty-two people died and thousands injured http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITlz6lECfk0

Police repression and profiling Malice Green – 1992 Detriot, 35 year old

murdered by police Abner Louima – 1997 Brooklyn, Haitian

immigrant, beaten and sodomized Amadou Diallo – 1999 NYC, west African

immigrant, shot 41 times by police when they thought he was reaching for his gun while reaching for wallet. All 4 cops were acquitted

Patric Dorismond – 1999, shot and killed after he refused to purchase drugs from a team of undercover officers

Human Rights in America Amnesty International - 1998 Report on police brutality in America Excessive force on mentally ill or

disturbed people Suspects shot fleeing from minor crimes Beating unresisting suspects Misuse of batons, chemical sprays Victims - Members of ethnic or racial

minorities

Cool Down

How did the Conservative Reagan years negate some of the gains made during the 50s and 60s?

Crime High crime rates in black communities Black murder rate seven times that of

whites, 1997 Black victims accounted for 49% of all

murder victims Blacks made up 12% of population Devastated black neighborhoods Businesses leave inner cities Black on Black crime

Hubert Williams,Newark, New Jersey

Black Police Director, 1974-1985 Demoted and transferred deputy chiefs and captains Implemented a 911 plan and employed police decoys Police sweeps of high-crime sections, truancy task force Police storefronts fostered image as community service

workers “Color-conscious” policies in promoting and assigning

officers If a city was 50% black, then police force should be 50%

black Other cities followed this example 1990s saw more than 130 cities with black police chiefs

V. The Clinton Presidency

Bill Clinton 43%; George Bush 38%; H. Ross Perot 19%

Clinton took 78% of black vote Toni Morrison called Clinton “the first black

President” Cabinet mirrored the diversity found in America Focused attention on the economy Expansion of earned-income credit College student-aid program Empowerment zones in cities and rural areas

Welfare Reform Act, 1996

Reduced spending AFDC – Aid to Families with Dependent

Children Food stamps Limited families to five years of benefits Most welfare recipients to find a job

within two years

VI. Black Politics in the New Millennium

Election of 2000 showed “fault lines” Women favored Democrats led by Al Gore Men favored Republicans led by George Bush Blacks supported voter registration drives

Election decided by Supreme Court Gore v. Bush halted recount of disputed votes in

Florida George Bush gained victory in Electoral College

VII. Republican Triumph

Republicans gained Presidency and retained narrow majorities in House and Senate

President Bush appointed accomplished blacks to high positions

Colin Powell, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, National Security Adviser Education Reform: No Child Left Behind

– Rod Paige, Secretary of Education

Reparations

Slavery and racism justified reparations James Forman – 1969, called for churches to receive

$500 million for brutalization, killing and persecuting blacks throughout history.

Boris Bittker – Yale law professor, slavery justifies government to create programs to compensate blacks

John Conyers – congressman introduced bill every session of congress not to pay but to establish federal commission to investigate slavery and legacy of racial discrimination

Randall Robinson – 2000, Jews and Japanese Americans received reparations, blacks are long overdue

Opposition to Reparations

Some black writers and journalists rejected idea of reparations

Favored greater investment in education for African Americans

“The suffering of long-dead ancestors is not a claim check for a bag full of cash. I don’t want any money that belongs to a slave. That is obscene. The struggle of African-Americans for civil rights is not about selling out for a check.”

HIV/AIDS Jesse Jackson and others called

attention to HIV/AIDS epidemic in US and Africa

AIDS became leading cause of death for African Americans aged 25-44

1 in 50 black men and 1 in 160 black women are estimated to be HIV-infected

African Americans continue to suffer disproportionately from leading causes of death

September 11th, 2001

9/11 Reminded all Americans, black and

white, of shared bond and history Several hundred black Americans of

3,000 casualties that day Allowed for the invasion of Iraq and

Afghanistan Used Colin Powel to justify the war in Iraq

to the UN

VIII. The 2004 Presidential Election

Democratic Nominee John Kerry v. Republican incumbent George W. Bush

Black star of Democratic National Convention was Barack Obama, later elected to U.S. Senate for Illinois

Bush won re-election by three million votes Condoleezza Rice succeeded Colin Powell

Cool Down

What is your opinion of reparations for African-Americans?