Researchers and Activists Sound Alarm on Minority Plight in U.S. Economy: Researchers and activists representing national minority organizations and progressive public policy groups urged members of Congress during a congressional hearing Wednesday to target specific programs and funding to alleviate the disproportionate impact the recession is having on African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Asian-Americans.
Citing evidence that minority unemployment and home foreclosure rates continue to dramatically outpace that of Whites, several people, including the congressional committee chair who presided over the hearing, questioned whether stimulus funding and federal programs to help homeowners avoid foreclosures are helping minorities at all.
“As our nation lays down the tracks of economic revitalization, we must be sure that every American has boarded the train toward recovery,” said U.S. Congressman Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.). “Unfortunately, recent reports indicate that not only are certain racial and ethnic-specific groups being left behind, but many never received a ticket to board the ‘recovery train’ to start off with.”
