Poverty Isn't A Racial Issue, It's An American Disaster

Wednesday, September 5, 2012 Poverty Isn't A Racial Issue, It's An American Disaster More than one-fourth of African Americans are living in poverty today. As devastating as that figure is, particularly for the 42 million Americans who identified as black in 2010, broadcaster Tavis Smiley and Princeton University professor emeritus Cornel West say there's an even grimmer statistic. "One out of two Americans, that's 150 million people ... is either in or near poverty," Smiley told The Huffington Post. That figure is the crux of a book, "The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto," that Smiley co-authored with West earlier this year and a four-city "Poverty 2.0 Tour" on which the duo is set to embark next week. Though both men have gained fame championing the civil rights of African Americans, they say the issue of poverty is one that transcends race. 'Crack Babies' Comparison To Neonatal Drug Withdrawal Ignores Racist Rhetoric Of 1980s, Experts Argue The Reason POTUS Is Running Late To The DNC Celebrities For Obama: 10 Stars Who Have Publicly Supported The President Chris Lighty Funeral: Mogul's New York Funeral Draws Several Stars BLOG POSTS Dennis D. Parker: The Economic Crisis Isn't Colorblind A meaningful debate about the path to recovery requires a careful examination of the uneven impact on African-American and Hispanic families and the role of racial discrimination in creating the ongoing distress. Marybeth Gasman: HBCU Presidents and Social Media From my perspective, HBCUs, having limited financial resources but robust human resources, should fully capitalize on social media in all ways possible. Stephanie Rawlings-Blake: Tourism An Important Pillar Of Growth For Urban Economies As thousands of Democratic National Convention delegates descend on the great City of Charlotte, North Carolina, mayors across the country are reminded of just how important our convention, tourism and hospitality industries are for our local economies. In Baltimore, we have made smart investments in tourism to promote our city as a desired destination for large conventions, sports fans and the casual weekend traveler. These investments have had major impact on the city as a whole and the well-being of all of our residents. Earl Ofari Hutchinson: Can Romney Win With Just White Votes? The drop-off does not take into account the blatant and sneaky voter suppression tactics that GOP governors and GOP state legislators have worked feverishly to put in place to further damp down the black and Hispanic vote.

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