Black Infant Mortality Declines from 2005 to 2011

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How Chained CPI Hurts African Americans

"Their lack of retirement wealth means that African-American seniors are heavily reliant on the Social Security benefits they earned. Indeed, 47 percent of African-Americans seniors rely on Social Security for 90 percent or more of their income upon retirement compared to 33 percent of whites.

"In a twisted bit of policy logic, the Obama Administration is arguing that the "chained CPI" is a good idea because it represents "a more accurate measure of inflation" while also acknowledging that it's a bad idea from which economically vulnerable groups need to be protected by designating special exemptions. Among the vulnerable groups they seek to protect are the very old, those who are 76 years of age and older.

"The "chained CPI" would have a disproportionately negative impact on African-American retirees not only because they are more heavily reliant on Social Security benefits but also because they have the shortest life expectancies out of all of the major racial and ethnic groups in the U.S. and are the most likely to die before becoming eligible for the special exemption for the very old." [Read more]

Claiming the 1963 March on Washington

"In that sense, August 2013 must not be a reunion tour of old civil rights leaders - with all due respect - reminiscing about a bygone era, but needs to be a militant display of mass disapproval of the manner in which both race and class are playing themselves out in today’s USA. August 2013 cannot be held hostage to discussions which focus solely on the memory of Dr. King - and who can claim that memory - but must recognize the breadth of the movement that brought about the famous 1963 March on Washington." [Read more]

A Simple, Legal Way to Help Stop Employment Discrimination

"The burden to fight discrimination today is mostly on workers who have been discriminated against to first discover this fact and second file a complaint and/or lawsuit themselves. The courts have tightened their definition of discrimination to include only deliberate acts proven to have been motivated by discriminatory intent - a very steep burden. And they have reduced workers' capacity to bring class actions, most notably in the Wal-Mart decision, which makes it hard to get good legal teams. As a result, few cases make it to court, and virtually no one wins. A study of 1,672 employment discrimination cases from 1988 to 2003 found that about half resulted in settlements (with a median value of $30,000), 6 percent went to trial, and one-third of those were victorious (with a median award of $110,000). Although more than 100,000 people file discrimination complaints with the EEOC, most workers lack basic information not only about the law and their options, but about their own employers' practices (as was painfully revealed when Lilly Ledbetter discovered she had been discriminated against by Goodyear for many years). And people who aren't hired in the first place have an even smaller chance with the law." [Read more]