On Sunday [January 17, 2015] Republican candidate Donald Trump sat down with ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos as he was questioned about his views on Martin Luther King Jr‘s legacy.
When asked what he would say to African-Americans who believe Dr. King’s dream hasn’t been achieved, Trump quickly responded he was in accord with the notion, blaming President Barack Obama for transgressions the African-American community may face today.
“We have an African-American president and the Black youth, the African-American youth, has essentially all never done worse. You look at the unemployment in the ’50s. You look at African-American people that are 30 and 35 and 40, in the height of their strength and lives, and they’re doing horribly. President Obama, an African-American, has done a terrible job for African-Americans.”
When taking the view President Obama has never clearly outlined what some would call a ‘Black agenda,” it doesn’t mean his work for Black Americans should go unnoticed.
When looking at the great gap between African-American unemployment in comparison to other races, specifically the white majority of the United States, it’s easy to get sucked into Donald Trump’s logic and come to the same conclusion.
However, it’s all too important to note since the inception of this nation, in comparison to the white race, Black Americans have never “done well.” Even in times of economic prosperity, the Black unemployment rate has been higher than its white counterpart.
Back in November, the national unemployment rate was standing at five percent, while the Black unemployment rate was at 9.2 percent. Going into December that same percentage lowered to 8.3 percent, cutting August 2011’s rate of 16.7 percent in half.
The best number the African-American community has seen since 1975 was an unemployment rate of 7.6 percent in 2000, only 0.7 percent lower than last month’s measurement.
Numbers don’t lie and what we’ve seen is the improvement of the African-American unemployment rate in the seventh year of Barack Obama’s tenure. While the percentages still have a way to go until the noticeable gap is abolished, it’s safe to say the Black community is thriving in regard to unemployment.
