Commentary
-
Our commentary partners will help you reach your own conclusions on complex topics.
Listening to all the rhetoric in the popular media, you would think America is the most unfair, racist nation in the world.
You would think that Black Americans are uniformly living in oppression and poverty, with no hope for the future, save the federal government arriving on the scene to their rescue.
Sorry to trouble you liberals with facts. But indeed there are facts.
And the facts tell a far different story than what we are hearing in the left-wing dominated news.
Let’s start with the most recent annual report of the Census Bureau: Income and Poverty in the United States: 2019.
According to this report, annual real median household income in the U.S. increased 6.8% in 2019, the largest annual increase recorded by the Census Bureau going back to 1967.
Black median household income in 2019 increased 7.9%, the largest on record.
Moreover, in 2019, 29.4% of Black households had income of $75,000 or more, compared with 28.7% of Black households that had income of $25,000 or less.
In 1967, 44.5% of Black households were low-income, compared with 9.1% high-income
2019 was the first time, ever, that the percentage of high-income Black households exceeded the percentage of low-income Black households.
In 2019, Business equity among Blacks increased 138%.
How about other measures of achievement?
Per the Census Bureau, in 2019, 88% of Blacks had a high school diploma, 98% of the national average.
Compare that to in 1950, the percent of Blacks with a high school diploma equaled 50% of the national average.
In 2018, 37.8% of Blacks ages 18-24 were enrolled in college, compared with a national average of 40.9% in this age group.
In the age group of 25-39, 28.4% had a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared with 40.5% of the general population.
The high school dropout rate among Blacks in 2018 was 4.9%, compared with a national average of 5.7%.
Am I trying to divert attention from the many real economic and social problems in many Black communities?
Certainly not.
But what I do wish to disabuse is the focus on problems in certain Black communities and using this data to generalize about all Blacks.
It’s certainly false and a distortion, and ironic how often this is coming from those who pretend to be fighting racism.
It certainly is true, again according to the Census Bureau, that in 2019, Blacks, who constituted 13.2% of the population, represented 23.8% of those living below the poverty line.
But is this about racism?
The data tells us that this is about family breakdown, not racism.
And the problem of family breakdown is afflicting the whole nation. It just happens to be hitting many Black communities particularly hard.
Poverty is excessive in households of all races that are headed by single women.
Blacks just happen to have a very high percentage of households headed by single women.
But, according to Statistica, only 6.4% of Black households headed by a married couple live in poverty.
So, enough of racist generalizations about Blacks.
And enough of the distortions that Blacks have not been gaining ground in our free country and that where we do have problems, we need more government.
Black progress and achievement since the 1960s have been substantial.
Where problems exist, and where progress is disappointing, invariably, government has been the problem, not the solution.
-
Don’t blame Israel, and keep the pressure on Hamas
Negotiators working to achieve a permanent cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war have experienced a roller coaster of highs and lows since the Oct. 7 attack, at times coming close to a workable deal. Complicating their work is the difficulty of establishing any long-term political and security framework that meets the needs of both the Israeli… -
Harris-Walz extreme abortion views out of step with Americans
Abortion is poised to be a central issue in the 2024 presidential election. As a senator, presidential nominee Kamala Harris was a strong advocate for abortion rights, including cosponsoring legislation that would have banned state-level restrictions like mandatory medical tests. Harris’s vice-presidential pick, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, signed a law in early 2023 safeguarding abortion… -
Democrats’ double standard when selectively building security walls
During Donald Trump’s presidency, many progressives opposed building a wall along the southern border, which was intended to prevent illegal crossings from Mexico into the United States. Recently, another “wall” was constructed around the National Democratic Convention in Chicago to manage potential pro-Palestinian protests. In the video above, Straight Arrow News contributor Star Parker argues… -
Pro-life conservatives must reject Tim Walz
Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota has a celebrated record among his constituents, and has wide-ranging support from progressives, moderates and conservatives. On the Right, however, some Republicans have argued that Walz’s positions on abortion access and transgender rights are too far Left. Watch the above video as Straight Arrow News contributor Star Parker criticizes Walz… -
Harris’ record of failure and divisiveness makes her unfit for presidency
Now that Vice President Kamala Harris is the Democratic presidential nominee, both critics and supporters are scrutinizing her record on key issues to either bolster or undermine her campaign. Immigration, crime, reproductive rights and the economy are among the key topics being analyzed. Those topics will likely continue to be debated in the three months…
Latest Opinions
-
Michigan’s first ‘I Voted’ sticker contest draws inspiration from folklore and more
-
IRS recovers $1.3B in unpaid taxes from high-income Americans
-
Rome considers timed ticket system for Trevi Fountain
-
NOAA says Vineyard Wind won’t kill sea life, issues permits for it to do just that
-
Trump campaign staffers involved in Arlington cemetery altercation identified
Popular Opinions
-
In addition to the facts, we believe it’s vital to hear perspectives from all sides of the political spectrum.