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April 1, 2004

New times, new ideas

Times change. That is an ineluctable law of nature. Issues and ideas prominent in the past will eventually lose their relevance. Unfortunately, many people are unable to keep up with the changes and their thinking soon becomes anachronistic.

This has happened to many African Americans who formed their ideas about social action to oppose racial bigotry in the civil rights era. The issues then were clearly racial in nature: discrimination in employment, education and places of public accommodation. All of these raised equal rights claims under the U.S. Constitution. The appropriate strategy was civil disobedience to confront authority.

That strategy worked and Congress passed The Civil Rights Act of 1964 to establish remedies for those who suffered such racial discrimination. With the expansion of opportunities in education and employment, a substantial black middle class has developed in the past 40 years. However, political conservatives are now in the process of establishing policies which will curtail opportunities for all Americans not part of the wealthy class.

The third annual 21st Century Black Massachusetts Conference convened by state Senator Dianne Wilkerson is scheduled for April 2 and 3 to discuss the contemporary issues confronting African Americans. Her theme, "Honoring the Legacy: Building the Future" indicates her awareness that the issues have changed from those of the ‘50s and ‘60s.

While it is good for blacks to attain racial solidarity, the major issues African Americans now face are not necessarily the result of racial discrimination. The problems result from the greed and lack of compassion of the wealthy. All of those in the lower income brackets are victims regardless of race. Unfortunately, when those issues are framed only with reference to their impacts on blacks, other ethnic groups often feel alienated. Consequently, the ability to develop an ethnically diverse political coalition to oppose the changes is impaired.

The real objective of the Bush administration is to asphyxiate the philosophy of public policy which was born in President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. The fundamental concept was that from those who were blessed with wealth, more would be expected to benefit the needy. At the core was a system of graduated income taxation. Those with higher incomes would pay a greater percentage in taxes than those with low incomes.

According to many of the wealthy, it is unfair that they should pay a higher tax rate than the poor. President Bush shares their pain. He has supported tax cuts for the rich even though there has been a growing inequality of wealth within the country. A rising share of income has been going to the wealthiest of the top 20 percent of families at the expense of the middle-class.

According to one analyst, the 13,000 richest families now have almost as much income as the 20 million poorest. Furthermore, the increasingly regressive tax structure makes it more difficult to finance the safety net programs needed by poor families for survival. In the face of budget deficits triggered by inadequate tax revenues there will be considerable political pressure to abandon low-income families.

Of course, African Americans are disproportionately affected because of their greater number of families in the low-income category. Nonetheless, these are not just black issues. Senator Wilkerson’s conference is designed to provide an awareness of the many complex issues so that African Americans will be motivated to form political coalitions to confront the conservative agenda. Everyone should attend.

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