Americans could be forgiven for a sense of optimism after U.S. President Barack Obama’s fifth State of the Union Address, delivered to the Congress on 29 January. Obama confidently promised a “breakthrough” year for the United States as he set out his economic agenda for the year, which came packaged as a move to eradicate inequality, and will work for some.
However, Obama, recasting inequality as a consequence of class, outlined his agenda without acknowledging the prevalent racism against African-Americans and Hispanics in many American institutions. Unless his solutions are reworked in accordance with this reality, they will fail for many of the people who need them most.
During the speech Obama proudly described his College Opportunity Summit as a “concrete commitment to reduce inequality in higher education”, allowing all Americans a path to success. While well-intentioned, this summit will only be positioned to help the 62% and 68% of African-Americans and Hispanics that do graduate their de facto segregated schools which are isolated from white educational standards and resources.
That is if the justice system does not get them first. In August last year, a Florida jury acquitted George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, of the murder of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin under a controversial self-defense law. However, another judge in Florida blocked the invocation of the same law when it came to Marissa Alexander (a black woman) after she fired a warning shot into her ceiling to scare off an assailant. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison. African-Americans and Hispanics are six and three times more likely to be incarcerated than whites, mostly for non-violent crimes.
These facts dent the upward mobility fantasy Obama laid out in his speech. Paths of social mobility even today remain largely closed to blacks and Hispanics, and if institutionalised discrimination is not addressed, his “breakthrough” year is not likely to offer them solutions.
Hal Bergold is a Research Intern at Gateway House.
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