The Congressional Black Caucus’ national town hall meeting, “Economic Recovery & Opportunity,” should be a wake-up call for African Americans who are waiting around for someone to show them the stimulus money. Rep. Chaka Fattah, honorary co-chair of ALC ’09, noted:
Everybody’s not going to get a contract, but no one’s going to get a contract if they don’t go after it or bid on it.
Fattah added:
Stop complaining about what we’re not getting versus claiming the victory that’s right in front of us.
Truth is, victory is not assured. Eighty percent of stimulus spending is at the state level. The American people will not have access to data on how states have spent the money until Nov. 1. So right now, all we have is anecdotal evidence of the impact of the stimulus plan in African American communities.
And from all indications, stimulus funds are not reaching communities most in need.
Dr. Julianne Malveaux, president of Bennett College for Women, observed:
The Recovery Act has not trickled down to the black community. We need a recovery that is targeted for the least and the left out.
And African Americans are among the least of these. A new report by the Center for American Progress found that African Americans and Latinos have been hit the hardest in the current recession:
Some groups have felt more economic pain than others. The past 21 months are not much different in this regard than prior recessions, except that the length of the economic pain is lasting longer than before. African Americans and Hispanics have lost more economic ground and done so more quickly than their white counterparts from the end of 2007 to the summer of 2009, and the economic fortunes of minorities have fallen from lower levels than those of whites to begin with. This means that the gap in the economic security between minorities and whites is widening in this recession, as it has in previous ones.
Malveaux similarly noted:
We’re looking at a depression in our community. We have to deal with it. While the president is embroiled in the healthcare debate, we need to focus on job creation.
Indeed, that is the mission of Tracking Change Wiki. We are tracking and mapping the impact of the Recovery Act on reducing black unemployment and increasing opportunities for black-owned businesses.
When the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board releases the data, we will analyze the reports, and hold a public forum at which we will release our findings.
For more info, send an email here .
