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number of steps that would demonstrate the truth of President Reagan's "rhetorical statements that he cares deeply about racial justice." They are: • Supporting the civil rights bill now before the Congress, a bill that would protect minorities and women from discrimination and correct last term's Supreme Court decision in the Grove City College Case. • Ordering a reappraisal of U.S. policy toward South Africa and an end to the policy of "constructive engagement" that gives the apartheid regime the security of America's friendship. • Instructing Administration officials to cool their rhetoric and stop fanning the flames of racial polarization by their ill-tempered attacks on black organizations and on important principles such as affirmative action and desegregation. • Ending the shameful pattern of exclusion of blacks from key positions that has given this Administration the worst minority appointment record in a quarter of a century. • Strongly supporting his own Administration's initiatives that promise help for the poor, such as enterprise zones and elimination of taxation of below-poverty incomes. Excerpts from each of the papers comprising "The State of Black America-1985" follow: The Phenomenon of the Jesse Jackson Candidacy and the 1984 Presidential Election: "But what about the turnout for the presidential race? Could the hands 'that once picked cotton,' indeed, in 1984, pick a president? The simple answer is that too many whites turned out and voted for Reagan to make whatever blacks did have any impact. Generally, white Americans gave President Reagan 66% of their vote, and this margin was too consistent in those critical states where Mondale stood even a slight chance. In other words, whites were not behaving behaving as they did in 1980 (55% for Reagan,) they were outdoing themselves by at least 11 points more. Only three racial/ethnic groups gave Mondale-Ferraro respectable support: blacks (91%), Jews (66%), Hispanics (65%). But these three groups constitute only 10%, and 3% respectively, of the 1984 total electorate. Such a percentage can have a swing-bloc effect in electoral politics only if the election is reasonably close. Stated another way, with so many whites making up their minds to favor one candidate over the other, it made little difference what blacks, Jews, and Hispanics decided to do." Modern Technology and Urban Schools: "Working class white schools appeared to be much more likely to expose their best students to computers. Approximately 51% of the working class white elementary schools used computers most extensively with their above average students while only 26% of the predominantly minority elementary schools provided computer activities for above average students. Predominantly minority schools, by contrast, were much more likely to report that their most extensive use of computers was with below average students (32%). Only 10% of the working class white schools, 12% of the middle income, and 16% of the affluent white elementary schools targeted computer uses for their below average students." Aged Black Americans: Double Jeopardy Re-Examined: "The demographic trends suggest that, at least between now and 1999, many aged blacks will be eligible for and in need of federally subsidized goods and services. The sparse data now available about the efficacy of federal programs for aged blacks prohibit definitive conclusions about needed modifications in public policies for aged blacks. Nevertheless, some recommendations were made about how modifications in public policies for the aged could improve the well-being of aged blacks. These recommendations were in line with Viscusi's contention that "the most important statistical indicator of any group's economic well-being is its economic level." Blackening in Media: The State of Blacks in the Press: "Media content continues to leave black Americans under-represented and misrepresented. Both in print and electronic media they are victimized, despite the occasional spurts of laudable media content on blacks and other minorities. Self images of black children are being undermined, and the children are being conditioned for continued deprivation, educationally and culturally, as a result of the media content and the large majority of them are wired into. Political and educational advancement of Black America is lagging as black leaders chosen by their won communities are frequently subject to harsh media treatment that appears to be more severe than that faced by white leaders in similar situations. The nation's news media employ a double standard that sees them dealing more negatively with blacks than whites, both as news sources and as subjects of new content." Blacks in the U.S. Labor Movement: Working or Not? "It is clear that the fate of the labor movement and the fate of black workers cannot be separated. Like a microcosm of the United States itself, blacks, through disgruntled with perpetual and adaptable racism will forego critical protection of their collective bargaining, financial, international and political rights if they abandon the labor movement or if unions are eventually rendered ineffectual." The Black Family Today and Tomorrow: "In any discussion of the black family it is important that in the deluge of statistics describing its plight, we do not lose sight of the fact that over one-half of them (53%) are intact, married-couple families. Such families represent the most economically viable family unit, boasting a median income in 1983 of $26,686 when both husband and wife were in the labor force. Unfortunately, the married couple family as a percentage of all black families has declined over the last two decades from 68% in 1960 to 53% in 1983. Fortunately, on the other hand, the precipitous decline in the percentage of married families that was evident between 1960 and 1975 has slowed in the years since 1980." The Potentials and Problems of Black Financial Institutions: "The numerous studies on black banks and S&Ls do allow us to develop a perspective in examining the current state of this sector. These studies have Continued on page 416 414
