[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 41 (Thursday, March 8, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E280]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SEPARATE AND UNEQUAL: RACISM AND POVERTY 50 YEARS AFTER THE KERNER 
                                 REPORT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. MARCIA L. FUDGE

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 5, 2018

  Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 50th 
anniversary of the Kerner Report.
  In 1968, the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, known 
as the Kerner Commission, found that the civil unrest in the African 
American community was a result of white racism. From employment and 
housing discrimination to segregated and underfunded schools, racism 
was the root cause of systemic poverty plaguing African Americans.
  In 1969, the theme for Delta Sigma Theta under the leadership of the 
late Frankie Muse Freeman was,``One Nation or Two?'' As we continue to 
ask ourselves that same question 50 years later, it is clear that civil 
rights is still unfinished business.
  According to 2016 Census data, 12.7 percent of Americans live in 
poverty. For African Americans, the poverty rate is nearly double the 
national rate at 22 percent. And 33 percent of African American 
children are growing up in poverty.
  The persistent racial wealth divide and lack of economic progress 
among African Americans is cause for alarm.
  The Black unemployment rate has risen to 7.7 percent and continues to 
be nearly double that of White workers. In 1968, it was 6.8 percent.
  The median net worth for Black families is $17,600, compared to 
$171,000 for white families. When it comes to homeownership, 71 percent 
of White households are homeowners compared to 41 percent of Black 
households--practically the same as in 1968.
  On the campaign trail, the President said inner cities were more 
dangerous than war zones and repeatedly asked the African American 
community, ``What do you have to lose?''
  Every day, the Trump Administration's economic policies make clear 
what African Americans and communities of color have to lose: economic 
opportunity and upward mobility.
  The President's lopsided tax cut added at least $1.5 trillion to the 
national deficit with likely offsets to earned benefits and social 
safety net programs many families depend on like Social Security, 
Medicare, Medicaid, and SNAP.
  The President's budget would reduce funding for SNAP by $213 billion 
over the next 10 years and force 16 million households to survive on 
so-called ``Harvest Boxes'' that will cost more than they save in 
dollars and human capital. These proposed ``ration boxes'' are 
demeaning to families: shelf stable milk, ready to eat cereals, canned 
meat, fruits and vegetables, peanut butter and pasta. Is this what we 
have come to? This is the same Republican Party who told us that we 
couldn't provide our children healthy meals in schools.
  While roughly 1 in 6 Black households spend more than 50 percent of 
their income on housing, the President's budget eliminates the National 
Housing Trust Fund and U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, the 
legal aid program which helps families avoid unwarranted evictions, the 
Community Development Block Grant program, and the HOME Investment 
Partnerships Program.
  Republicans in Congress and this Administration have chosen to rob 
the American people of resources that could put people to work building 
infrastructure, improve public education, child care, and health care. 
Time and again, their proposals benefit the wealthy and hurt the 
working poor and communities of color.
  It's no coincidence that the President wants to eliminate diversity 
visas and prevent immigrants from Africa and Asia from coming into this 
country. It's no coincidence that our fellow Americans in the U.S. 
Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are still suffering and can't get the 
resources needed to truly rebuild after Hurricane Irma and Hurricane 
Maria. Black and Brown people are not wanted. They need not apply here.
  As we look ahead to the next fifty years, will this be one America or 
two? One Black and Brown, one White? One rich, one poor?
  America will only be great if we ensure our policies create 
opportunities for all Americans and address the structural racism that 
preserves the racial wealth divide. If we don't direct needed resources 
to communities of highest need, they will never catch up.

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