Black councilmembers have done little to help the black community
Low-Impact Representation
by Barney Blankeney
charlestoncitypaper.com
In a couple of weeks the madness will be over. Charleston voters will have cast their ballots. And I’m thinking not a whole lot will have changed. At least not as far as minority representation is concerned.
Three of council’s five black members are up for reelection, and I’m betting they will each be sent back to council. That would be a good thing if it meant black constituents in their respective districts would somehow benefit.
For the past 32 years, blacks in Charleston have had significant representation on City Council. Until four years ago, half of its 12 members were black. But that’s never translated into significant advantages for the black community.
It’s amazing that significant political representation never seems to benefit black people. Despite having five black representatives on council, the per capita income of blacks in the city remains at roughly about half that of whites while black students are about twice as likely to drop out before graduating than their white classmates. That’s been true since Charleston adopted single member district representation in 1975.
Even in areas where black representation on City Council can have a direct impact on social or economic policy, it has failed to make its weight felt.
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The benefits of black representation on City Council have been equally as dismal on social issues. Violent crime and illegal drug trafficking continue to ravage black communities, but few initiatives to reduce crime in the black community have come from black councilmembers.
Municipal government has been virtually absent when it comes to the city’s predominantly black public schools or recreational opportunities for black kids. While the city has a number of partnerships with public schools in its domain, they all seem to be paper tigers, especially if you consider that all the city’s predominantly black schools are failing schools. (more…)
See, and when someone says this, the assumption is that this is some sort of inditement against ALL Black people everywhere–classifying the person as a “self-hater”. I beg to differ. This is an inditement against all of those out there who feels that ethnic representation alone is the silver bullet against injustice. As a resident here in California, I can assure you the same thing happens in many of the mostly Hispanic communities.
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