Black lawmakers on Monday said GOP-proposed budget cuts would move the country in the opposite direction of the civil rights movement.
The lawmakers, all members of the Congressional Black Caucus, used the last day of Black History Month to argue the GOP-backed cuts would fall hardest on black Americans.
"It's really especially poignant that this year during Black History Month, the Republican leadership has proposed a budget for fiscal year 2011 that will fall most heavily, mind you, on the backs of the most vulnerable in our society: African Americans, Latinos, and poor, those who have been shut of the American dream," said Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), who described the cuts as ill-timed and destructive.
"At a time when we should be remembering and uplifting the accomplishments and contributions of African Americans, to the history, culture, civil rights and economy of America, we are literally during this month debating steps that will severely undercut and undermine that legacy," she said.
Assistant Minority Leader James Clyburn (D-S.C.) also connected the spending cuts to civil rights, and said improving the GOP spending bill is imperative. "I do believe that if we focus on these continuing resolutions that we've been debating, we can have a much better future than the history has been for African Americans in this country," Clyburn said.
"This is not befitting of the final day of African American History [Month]," added Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of the spending cut plans.
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4 comments:
What bothers me the most is that African Americans and other minorities want to be treated as equals, but the demands of some of the individual minorities and the demands of a lot of the minority organizations don't scream equality.
The tax cuts and proposed budget plans don't target a specific race or ethnicity. A rich black man is going to be taxed the same as a rich white man. A poor black man will/should be taxed and receive the same benefits as a poor white man. So I don't see what the discrepancies are. Should we hand out different benefits based on race or ethnicity? Absolutely not! In neither circumstance should one race or ethnicity be favored over the other.
The way I see it, if society treats everybody as equal then nobody should receive an edge or preference. There shouldn't be all black schools just like there shouldn't be and aren't any all white schools. If there minority scholarships then why aren't there any white-only scholarships? I, as a white male, would be a minority at UMES, but would I get minority treatment and benefits? Certainly not. In many cases, minorities receive the edge in society whether by way of hand outs or simply preferential treatment.
In my business I simply hire the BEST applicant for the job. I have hired black, whites, Asians, Hispanics, men and women as well as folks that I wasn't sure what they were to begin with; I DO NOT discriminate based on race or sex. I have hired a black man over a white woman, an Asian woman over a white man and a white man over a black woman; simply put, I want the best person for the job! hiring quality employees is how I make my business successful. If he or she happens to be black, white or purple then so be it. The way I see it is that we are all AMERICANS...we aren't African Americans, Asian Americans, Mexican Americans, German Americans, etc. WE ARE SIMPLY AMERICANS! My grandfather was fresh off the boat from Germany, but I don't go around calling myself a German American. He fled his Country to be something that he couldn't be in his homeland- he sought freedom and liberty in the United States-he was an American and I AM AN AMERICAN!
My intent here is not to denounce the heritage of minorities nor is it to invoke prejudice. My intent is to express equality through equal treatment regardless of ethnicity. I want the day to come when people don't say "she got that job because she is black" or "he got that job because he is white" or "he got in to college on that scholarship because he's Hispanic." I want people to say "he did this because he earn it" or "he did got that because he worked hard for it." I want true equality...on both sides of the coin. Go out, work hard and earn your respect; don't expect it to have it given to you. Let's get past the civil rights era and actually treat EVERYBODY equally.
I hope most of you see that the CBC is composed of politicians, not your MLK mold of civil rights leaders. Many of the leaders of the "pro-black" organizations are little more than political hacks out to gain power themselves. The CBC and many of these organizations no longer represent blacks. The fact is that there is a plurality of views among black people (just as any other race). Show me one man who says he knows 'what black people think" and I'll show you a charlatan or a fool.
11:01....great job! You said everything I wanted to and more. If only it would actually do some good and sink in to minds that dilute our society with un-wanted backlash because of color...and my heritage comes from German as well, but I am a American-that's it, nothing else.
""This is not befitting of the final day of African American History [Month]," added Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of the spending cut plans."
I'll tell you what. Why don't we simply cut the Month back to a Weekend. It's still a day more than President's day and they'll be less chance of a befit.
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