Sometimes it takes an event of almost cataclysmic proportions to wake Americans and their government up to the extent of problems afflicting a segment of their community. Surely the aftermath of the verdict in the Rodney King beating case qualifies as such an event. Yet, even a brief passage of time can eclipse its importance.
The Kerner Commission warned of two nations in our country, separate and unequal. The quarter century since the report has proved commission members to be very accurate predictors. Many Americans are unaware of the less than equal society, except for unpleasant segments on the local news.
The hope for betterment of our condition if not for us, then for our children is an important part of our national legacy. Yet, that hope is ephemeral, especially for many African-Americans.
A life without stability, adequate education, and, most of all, employment should be unacceptable. Yet, many endure such an existence unnoticed and unmourned until events such as the disturbances following the King verdict take place.
The particularly acute need for jobs in central cities—jobs that can support families—should have been made clear in recent commentaries. Those factory positions that supported so many new arrivals to American cities in earlier eras are no longer there. A substitute will not arise of its own accord.
The effects of joblessness on family life and values have been well-documented. In recent years, William Julius Wilson described the strong correlation between young adult male unemployment and crime, welfare case rates, and out-of-wedlock births. In 1940, Bakke’s Citizens Without Work described the effects of joblessness during the Depression on white working class families. Here too the result was breakdown with rising alcoholism, divorce, and abuse. The greatest irony in this tale is that the very size of the budget deficit—which has increased manifold since 1981—may prevent any significant effort to bring jobs to central cities. Without decent employment opportunities, two nations, separate and unequal, will continue to exist.
