KEYNOTE ADDRESS: NEA TWENTIETH A N N I V E R S A R Y L U N C H E O N

The Honorable David N. Dinkins

I am honored to be in the company of this distinguished and committed group of economists. The National Economic Association's role in in- volving African American economists in our nation's economic develop- ment is of especial import today.

As African American economists, you are uniquely able to analyze national and regional trends from the perspective of those communities which are often the hardest hit by shifts in the economy. Your input has become even more critical as we look toward the twenty-first century with a growing consensus that African American communities across this nation are in a state of crisis.

Today, fully one-third or 9.7 million African Americans are poor. African American poverty has increased to 33.1 percent for adults, 49 percent for children. Moreover, according to a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau in July of 1986, the income gap between African Amer- ican and white families has grown dramatically.

According to the report, in 1984, the median net household worth of white families was $39,135 while the median net worth of African Amer- ican households was $3,397--1ess than one-tenth that of white house- holds. Moreover, nearly one-third of all African American households had no net assets or were in debt.

This crushing burden of poverty affects every aspect of African Amer- ican life, including health, housing conditions, education and employ- ment.

Indeed, 58,000 so-called "excess" deaths occur each year among African Americans due to heart disease and stroke, compared with the number of deaths that would occur if the health of African Americans was on a par with that of whites.

32 The Review of Black Political Economy/Summer 1989

Here in New York City, 20.9 out of every 1,000 babies born in Harlem die before their first birthday--a rate approaching that found in a number of developing nations. The life span of a white person with AIDS is two years, while that of an African American AIDS victim is a mere 28 weeks.

The situation in education is no less discouraging. Nationally, there are fewer African Americans entering college now than there were fifteen years ago. Despite recent evidence that early childhood education im- proves the S.A.T. scores of minority students, Head Start programs have ceased to expand.

In New York City, where 90 percent of newly created jobs are ex- pected to require a high school education, 54 percent of African Amer- ican students and 60 percent of Latino American students drop out of our public school system before graduation.

African and Latino American New Yorkers suffer the brunt of the housing crisis as well. Over 20 percent of minority New Yorkers live in substandard or dilapidated housing. And a dismaying 95 percent of the city's more than 5000 homeless families are African or Latino American.

And though we have made some progress, African Americans continue to be underrepresented among elected officials and professionals. African Americans make up 11 percent of the United States voting age popula- tion, yet represent less than 1.5 percent of all elected officials.

Twelve percent of the nation's population is African American, yet in 1986, just 2.6 percent of all doctors and 2.9 percent of all lawyers were African Americans. Moreover, just 2 percent of American businesses are owned by African Americans.

Persistent poverty, a failing public education system, unemployment, homelessness and the growing chasm between the haves and the have- nots are problems common to most major cities.

Indeed, a conference convened earlier this year to assess progress in the twenty years since the Kerner Commission Report was issued con- cluded that our nation has in fact moved toward two socie t ies--"one black (and, today, we can add Hispanic), one white--separate and unequal."

While we have not witnessed urban disorders of the type which gave rise to the appointment of the Kerner Commission, we are witnessing urban decay of no less dramatic or deadly consequence--conditions la- beled "quiet riots" by the 1988 Commission on Cities.

The problems facing African and Latino Americans and other minor- ities in New York have remained virtually unchanged in the twenty years that have elapsed since the Kerner Commission issued its warning. Not

Dinkins 33

only have we failed to cure the illness, we have allowed the disease to spread. To be sure, we have opened doors in some areas. But discrimi- nation continues to darken the corridors of justice in many quarters.

What are the key areas that should claim our attention as we look toward the year 2000? I believe that we must focus on the improvement of public education as the foundation upon which the future will be built.

Secondly, we must redouble our efforts to secure employment oppor- tunities for African Americans by strengthening links between education and job training and by pushing for strong affirmative action programs. Thirdly, our commitment to the development of minority and women- owned businesses must be bolstered.

If African American communities, and indeed the city and the nation are to thrive in the twenty-first century, we must prepare the future workforce for the high-skill jobs that will become available. Today the New York City Public School System is inadequately prepared for this task.

In early 1987, I appointed a Task Force on Education and Decentral- ization. The task force issued its first report later that year. Several of its findings seem prophetic in light of recent allegations of school board corruption. Indeed some of the primary recommendations of the task force focused on reforming school board elections to prevent conflict of interest by prohibiting Board of Education employees from sitting on local school boards.

The second report of the task force, which will be released shortly, concentrates on the role of each school's "human resources"-- teachers, administrators, and parents--in revitalizing the learning environment.

The report will contain specific recommendations on reducing class size, reforming the licensing and training of teachers and principals, reducing the size of schools, and making schools and communities valu- able resources for one another.

In the area of employment, racial disparities continue to widen even in the midst of moderate prosperity. Nearly 27,000 new private sector jobs were created in Manhattan in the year ending in January 1988, compared to just over 19,000 in the previous year.

Official rates of unemployment are down for all groups, and there has been a smaller loss of jobs in the manufacturing sector than in recent years. Moreover, despite early predictions of financial disaster, the 1987 stock market crash has not had as great an impact as some had feared.

But there is another Manhattan, another New York existing beneath the prosperity; a New York that continues to suffer unacceptably high rates of

34 The Review of Black Political Economy/Summer 1989

unemployment and underemployment; a New York that includes a work- force unprepared for the 300,000 new jobs projected for our city by the year 2000.

A New York where unemployment rates for the city's African Amer- ican workers continue to be nearly twice as high as the rate for whites; for Latino Americans, the rate is higher still.

In some respects, conditions for minority employment in the public sector are no better than those in the private sector. In its recently- released report, the Mayor's Commission on Black New Yorkers con- tends that the city's Equal Employment Opportunity Program is not only ineffective, but injurious to the employment and promotion prospects of minorities in municipal government jobs.

African and Latino Americans are concentrated in low paying positions and virtually excluded from decision-and policy-making positions in a number of mayoral agencies.

Enhancing job opportunities for African American and other minorities is a complex and often daunting task. But there are concrete steps that can be taken on all levels of government. I have strongly supported "first source" legislation in the city of New York, which would require com- panies contracting with the city to turn first to city residents when hiring workers.

I have also sought to increase public-private partnerships in the bor- ough of Manhattan. The newly-designated economic development zone in east Harlem is one such example. The zone, one of four in the city and only twenty in the state, offers a package of tax and other benefits to manufacturers relocating or expanding in the area.

In exchange for receiving these benefits, businesses must hire at least 20 percent of new employees from the east Harlem community.

The third critical component of efforts to develop and revitalize Afri- can American communities is support for minority-owned businesses. The city's minority businesses are overwhelmingly small firms, and stud- ies have shown that proportionally, African- and Latino American-owned enterprises hire minority workers at higher rates than do others. Small businesses are also known to employ young people in greater numbers.

Equally important is the fact that small minority-owned businesses create an independent economic base in their own communities, thus contributing to neighborhood stability and cohesion. As such, the value of these businesses extends well beyond the obvious financial gain to individual owners.

Dinkins 35

The city of New York can and must do more to encourage and stabilize small, minority-and women-owned businesses. In fiscal year 1987, for example, $2.2 billion was committed by the city to major construction projects. Of that amount, only $13.4 million went to minority firms.

Minority business programs which include set-asides and reasonable goals and timetables are a minimum and necessary step in remedying the effects of discrimination. I have and will continue to disagree with our mayor, who opposes the use of quotas and set-asides based on race.

Indeed, in November of 1987 my office successfully negotiated an agreement with the mayor with respect to a project known as the Con- struction Management Program in Harlem. I was able to modify this project such that 40 percent of the apartments created under the program would be targeted to Harlem residents and 35 percent of the jobs gener- ated would go to minorities and women.

In addition, 20 percent of all contracts are to be awarded to small, minority-and women-owned businesses, and all construction firms in- volved in the project are directed to patronize local businesses to the greatest extent possible.

I believe the Construction Management Program can serve as a model for targeting jobs and contracts to the people and companies in most need of public support.

This is but one example of the type of programs and initiatives we can take to ensure equal opportunity for African Americans. Education, em- ployment and job training, and targeted community economic develop- ment programs should be at the top of our collective agenda in 1989 and beyond.

African American economists, especially the committed members of organizations like the National Economic Association, have a particular role to play in the effort to ensure a better future for the African American community.

You must become the economic watchdogs for the African American community nationally and in your local areas. You must take responsi- bility for analyzing the impact of national and local economic conditions and policies on our communities. You must also take responsibility for formulating policies and programs to ensure equal economic opportunity for African Americans.

What, for example, is the impact of the federal budget deficit on our communities? Are economic measures aimed at reducing the deficit cre- ating disproportionate hardship for African Americans?

36 The Review of Black Political Economy/Summer 1989

How can we prevent the federal government from balancing the deficit by cutting the human services vital to impoverished communities? What will be the impact of state budget crises in the Tri-State Region on African American communities?

How do we counter the argument that barring municipal contracts with companies that do business with South Africa will hurt urban African American communities in the United States? These and countless other questions require your input and your expertise.

Indeed, most economists never analyze the implications of economic forecasts on African American and other minority communities. Yet these are the communities that will be most adversely affected in an economic downturn and least affected, or left behind, when the economy is strong.

Perhaps most of all, we need you to speak out on these issues; to make your views on how to ensure economic prosperity for African Americans heard loud and clear and often.

We need you to put your skills to practical use in the development of innovative solutions to the problems which continue to keep our people on an economic treadmill.

And we need you, collectively and individually, to stand up for the truth--that African Americans have contributed to the building of this great country but have yet to reap the economic benefits. Our time is long overdue.