While the State of the Union is a unique opportunity for President Barack Obama to talk directly with all Americans, this year’s speech had special significance for African-Americans.
The president’s speech emphasizes three primary themes – opportunity, action and optimism. Opportunity initially appears the most relevant to African-Americans, as the president talked about increasing the minimum wage to more than $10, job training and expanded pre-K education programs.
Both action and optimism, however, are perhaps even more important, because they prompt African- Americans to proactively define both short-term and long-term policy priorities.
On their face, action and optimism mean that the White House will try to work with Congress, but if needed the president will take action using other strategies. The White House will focus on what the administration can accomplish.
For example, the White House has already coordinated several executive branch agencies (e.g., Labor, Education, HUD, Justice) to work together on initiatives like African-American Educational Excellence, reentry for former offenders and economic development Promise Zones. The president also recently convened college presidents to discuss increasing success among disadvantaged students, and is convening business leaders to focus on hiring the long-term unemployed.
Action and optimism are also themes, however, that should shape African-American political debate. Unfortunately, too much conversation has centered on old rhetorical paradigms, such as “do the president’s speeches focus too much on individual responsibility instead of structural racism?” These conceptual debates go unresolved and rarely yield concrete policy changes.
While the administration has had some significant accomplishments (health care, fighting hate crimes, sentencing and reentry reforms, the Black farmers’ $1.2 billion settlement, an aggressive defense of the Voting Rights Act, and a gradual but steady decline of the Black unemployment rate), more tangible policy work can be done.
Fewer than three years of the Obama administration remain, and real issues persist. New Department of Education rules, for example, resulted in over 14,000 HBCU students being denied Parent PLUS Loans. The “blue slip” process controlled by Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy has allowed GOP Southern senators to block judicial nominees who protect civil rights, and push nominees who oppose civil rights. There is an open question about whether the Affordable Care Act enrollment process will comply with federal requirements to offer voter registration.
Another immediate action item is to develop longer-term ideas and policy options on the future of African-Americans. This involves pulling together scholars, experts in traditional subjects like civil rights and criminal justice and fast-changing areas like technology and globalization. The process will also require significant input from elected officials, journalists, business, think tanks, foundations, clergy, community leaders and other communities of color.
People of color are changing the political landscape by becoming a greater share of the electorate. One year from now, Republican and Democratic presidential primary candidates will start campaigning across the country. Will African-Americans take action now, and be ready to engage each possible future president with clear policy options on the future of Black Americans?
Spencer Overton has served as the Obama administration’s principal deputy assistant attorney general for legal policy, and also as national co-chair of the Obama campaign’s African-American Leadership Council.
