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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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 OPINION 
21

Stimulus Cash Isn't Making It to Hard-Hit Minorities

African-Americans, Hispanics pummeled by recession

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(Newser) – With unemployment at 14.7% among African Americans and 12.2% among Hispanics, the recession is hitting minority communities particularly hard. But as is often the case with so-called “colorblind” spending, stimulus funds, intended to be equal-opportunity, aren’t making it to these groups. The government must “start targeting recovery efforts toward communities that the recession itself is already targeting,” writes Angela Glover Blackwell in Salon.

“There are countless seldom-seen barriers to communities of color getting the help they both need and deserve,” Blackwell writes. Stimulus funds are going toward highways, not public transportation, which gets countless lower-income minorities to jobs; meanwhile, states are spending less than half their stimulus cash on cities. “The legacy of racism remains baked-in in the way our government spends its money,” Blackwell concludes, and it’s time to change that.

In this July 2, 2009, file photo, Hector Riser uses a computer to do a job search at the New York State Department of Labor in Brooklyn.
In this July 2, 2009, file photo, Hector Riser uses a computer to do a job search at the New York State Department of Labor in Brooklyn.   (AP Photo)
Janet Francis searches on a computer for jobs while her daughter, Kayli, 2, waits at the New York State Department of Labor, July 2, 2009, in Brooklyn.
Janet Francis searches on a computer for jobs while her daughter, Kayli, 2, waits at the New York State Department of Labor, July 2, 2009, in Brooklyn.   (AP Photo)
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The stimulus was supposed to be a shining example of broad-based, equal disbursement of federal dollars. Ostensibly, this was supposed to mean all communities got an equal share. It has not. - Angela Glover Blackwell

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21 comments
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godawgs
Jul 15, 09 2:02 PM CDT
We will talk about this, but there will be no mention of the people who live below the poverty line who are white, those that live in trailer parks will similarly be ignored. People need to realize that poor spreads across all colors and races not just minorities. Reply
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+4
IN RESPONSE:
freethemall
Jul 15, 09 2:11 PM CDT
You're absolutely right about that godawgs. Most poor people are white, though it's true that poverty disproportionately effects those of color.
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+2
IN RESPONSE:
Snowleopard
Jul 15, 09 5:34 PM CDT
true, but a disproportionately higher percentage of minorities are poor... I do hope that one day we move to a point where race is irrelevant in these discussions though.
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+3
IN RESPONSE:
emptycalm
Jul 15, 09 9:05 PM CDT
That is true but you would have to be a damn fool to think minorities don't get the shorter end of the stick.
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+1
Serenity
Jul 15, 09 2:15 PM CDT
Michigan has, I believe, the highest unemployment rate in the country, and it is effecting everyone. Especially those who worked the assembly lines in automobile factories. Race has nothing to do with it, we are ALL struggling. Reply
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+3

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