June 12, 2004

The Good That Reagan Did For Black America

Syndicated columnist Joseph Perkins penned an editorial in yesterday's San Diego Union-Tribune that highlights some of the good things that the late former president Ronald Reagan did for black America.

Andrew Brimmer, the Harvard-trained black economist, the former Federal Reserve Board member, estimated that total black business receipts increased from $12.4 billion in 1982 to $18.1 billion in 1987, translating into an annual average growth rate of 7.9 percent (compared to 5 percent for all U.S. businesses.

Black social scientist Bart Landry estimated that that upwardly mobile cohort grew by a third under Reagan's watch, from 3.6 million in 1980 to 4.8 million in 1988. His definition was based on employment in white-collar jobs as well as on income levels.

Indeed, between 1982 and 1988, total black employment increased by 2 million, a staggering sum. That meant that blacks gained 15 percent of the new jobs created during that span, while accounting for only 11 percent of the working-age population.

Meanwhile, the black jobless rate was cut by almost half between 1982 and 1988. Over the same span, the black employment rate – the percentage of working-age persons holding jobs – increased to record levels, from 49 percent to 56 percent.

These statistics are equally matched by gains by black executives across the board.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reported that the number of black managers and officers in corporations with 100 or more employees increased by 30 percent between 1980 and 1985.

During the same period, the number of black professionals increased by an astounding 63 percent.

How call all of this be? To hear black so-called leaders tell it, the clock was turned back as a result of Ronald Reagan. To hear these so-called leaders tell it, joblessness skyrocketed as a result of Reagan. To hear these so-called leaders tell it, blacks were forced to the back of the bus.

Based on these and other statistics, the opposite is true.

The one thing -- the only thing -- that these so-called leaders can point at is that Ronald Reagan was [gasp] a Republican!

And in order to keep the masses doing what they want them to do, they have to paint the GOP as "evil." When nothing could be further from the truth...

Posted by mhking at June 12, 2004 01:07 PM
Comments

Over the past week I've heard people make the charge that Blacks struggled under the Reagan Administration at least a half-dozen times on network tv. Not once did I hear these numbers. In fact, aside from this blog and LaShawn's I haven't heard anyone even try to counter the charge.

In the week following his death, Reagan's critics have been complaining that the media and Republicans have engaged in revisionism, but it is they who are trying to rewrite history.

Posted by: Lawrence at June 13, 2004 09:26 AM

Cynthia Tucker went off on Reagan in her Sunday column in the Urinal and Constipation. The liberal venom is gonna be real bad for the next week or so.

Posted by: Denny at June 13, 2004 11:12 PM

I guess we're too damn dumb to actually realize when someone's trying to help our communities without handing us a welfare check, or better still, a blank check for reparations. Yippee!! (Keep dreamin......and yes, this is embarassing!)

No wonder those white liberals love our stupid black asses.

What the hell reason do they have not to? Charlie Rangel? He of unparallelled wisdom? Al Sharpton? Of same beauty shop?

Peasy head fools.

Posted by: Beau at June 14, 2004 09:22 AM
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