Congressional Black Caucus
"The Conscience of Congress since 1969"
www.congressionalblackcaucus.net

(Washington, D.C.)- “U.S. Representative Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) will deliver the weekly CBC "Message to America" radio address this Saturday, October 1, 2005.  Representative Meeks will discuss the economic and education disparities between African Americans and other Americans. 

The CBC "Message to America" is distributed nationwide to the American Urban Radio Network's (AURN) affiliate stations.

            WHO:        U.S. Representative Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.)

            WHEN:      Saturday, October 1, 2005; 12:06 p.m. EST

            WHERE:   American Urban Radio Network Affiliate Stations

Representative Meeks is expected to deliver the following remarks:

“Hello, I am Congressman Gregory Meeks and I represent the 6th District of New York located in Southern Queens.  I am happy to speak to you today on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus.

“Many lessons can be learned from our response to Hurricane Katrina.  One is the extraordinary vulnerability of the most impoverished to nature's fury and government's folly.  Eliminating their vulnerability requires a responsive government, a responsible private sector, as well as economically empowering low-income and poor citizens.

 The scenes from the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast brought to light the disparities between the poorer neighborhoods of New Orleans and their more affluent neighbors.

“Footage highlighted the economic differences between Blacks and Whites and the devastating result of leaving a race of people, both literally and figuratively, behind.   In most areas of American life we are still steeped in deep racial divides.  Economic disparity is perhaps the most significant vestige of legal and de-facto discrimination in this country.

“For example, while the economy has slowly recovered from the 2001 recession, the African American community’s recovery has lagged well behind.  The median wealth for Whites is 10 times that of Blacks.  In New York City, over 40 percent of Black men are unemployed. 

“To a great extent, these race-based economic disparities are a function of race-based education inequities.  We know that a high quality education increases employment possibility and earning potential, yet our schools consistently fail to adequately educate minority children. 

“Economic empowerment also requires wealth creation in African American communities.  For most Americans, the greatest wealth-building asset is home ownership.  While more than 50 percent of Black Americans now own a home, they still lag far behind the 80 percent White home ownership rate.

“Discriminatory and predatory lending practices are a major impediment to Black home ownership.  Blacks in effect are forced to pay more for the same asset or they simply forego their dream of owning a home altogether; and there goes the equity that can put a child through college, start a small business and build the foundation of a secure retirement.

“Fifty years-ago Americans of conscience came together in a powerful civil rights movement.  This movement built up legal and legislative remedies in the form of the Brown decision, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and Great Society programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Head Start.

“Unfinished business and unfulfilled promises necessitates a new phase of that movement.  The second phase of the civil rights movement is economics.  Indeed, I believe in the 3 E’s: education plus economics equal empowerment. 

“On behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus, thank you for your support.  This is Congressman Gregory Meeks.”

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