The Declining Significance of Race -Version 2.0

2008-08-05
By Brian Glimore

Thirty years ago, the legendary Chicago sociologist, William Julius Wilson , in his book, “The Declining Significance of Race,” declared that race in America as an issue for African-Americans, had been superceded by class. Most Black Americans denounced Wilson’s premature announcement. It was in fact premature considering 1978 was the year of the Bakke decision that actually upheld the use of affirmative action based upon race in admissions to professional schools.

There was a lot of racial division ahead of us back then as well including Ronald Reagan’s rise to power in 1980 using his version of Richard Nixon’s “southern strategy” and other racially charged moments such as the Rodney King incident, the escalation of the war on drugs, and the racially divisive O.J. Simpson trial and verdict. 

But today, as Barack Obama, a black man, rises to the top of the political world, Wilson’s assertion is now real. Whether it is true or not, race, as an issue in America for African-Americans, is going to be diminished. Not that it is truly diminished statistically; but it is being diminished in public policy, in the media, and in society in general.

Even Bill Cosby, the entertainer, in his now infamous speeches criticizing black people for their failures, really made a class argument. His charge to the black poor that they were not holding up their end of the deal, made it clear that he was not talking to all black people.

But there are other indicators that demonstrate that economic class is becoming a larger issue in America just as a black man challenges hard for the office of President. Here is a sampling:

After the U.S. Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the use of race as a selection criteria in public school student admissions in the city of Louisville (and Seattle) in 2007, the Louisville Public School system has now instituted a new city wide admissions plan that takes into account economic disadvantage. The plan seeks to promote the city wide goals of diversity (racial diversity as well) in the education system just as before but will use economic disadvantage as a guide;

Presidential candidate Barack Obama, while announcing he is still in favor of affirmative action based upon race, has been quick to add that economic class should be the basis of affirmative action. “We have to think about affirmative action and craft it in such a way where some of our children who are advantaged aren’t getting more favorable treatment than a poor white kid who has struggled more,” Obama was recently quoted as saying on the issue.

In the recently passed comprehensive housing rescue bill signed by President Bush, the law creates a National Housing Trust . The fund is specifically designed to construct or rehab rental units for the low and extremely low income households across the nation. It takes affect in 2010.

Finally, in a recent, Washington Post-Kaiser Foundation-Harvard University poll just released, significant issues were revealed regarding the plight of low wage workers. Not only are these workers reporting that it is more difficult to pay bills, they also lack health insurance coverage, sick leave and many benefits on their jobs most middle class workers routinely receive.

This is just a bit of what is afoot. There is more of it to come surely because America has been dying to reach a day when the race issue could be avoided.

Of course, many African-Americans won’t like the emphasis on class that appears to be coming precisely because it suggests that racism has been conquered. But for the black poor, those African-Americans who stand to benefit from a change in focus and discussion, they should embrace the shift despite the de-emphasis on race and call for even more aggressive policies that address class issues such as employment (wages & benefits), job training, housing, health care, and public education.

Why?

For one, well-known racial remedial programs like affirmative action are not the magic bullet for them anyway. Affirmative action, from a racial standpoint, is really a program for middle class minorities.

Second, recent policy proposals directly address issues faced by the black poor. As an example, the housing trust fund, though it doesn’t take affect until 2010, is specifically for the poor and working poor. If a city is in need of affordable rental housing units, a city can seek use of the fund for that specific purpose. This again, is a government proposal, not necessarily for the middle class.

Finally, as is historically true, progress for Black Americans is often tied to progress for the entire country. One example: the G.I. Bill that sent many Americans to college and helped them buy homes after World War II and the Korean War, benefited all Americans. Many Black Americans got on board the opportunity train and reaped benefits that Americans of all races and ethnicities were receiving.

There is a hard lesson here for the black poor and working poor as the focus shifts. Those who speak for the black middle class don’t necessarily speak for them. And the agenda of the black middle class might not be the agenda of the black poor.

Brian Gilmore is a public interest lawyer and Washington D.C. based writer. He covers law and books for EbonyJet.com