Welfare Monkeys
 

I hear from all sides, even from people who I know are not even remotely racist. "It's been 50 years since the civil rights movement killed Jim Crow." They've had affirmative action, hiring and school preference so long it's reverse discrimination." Why don't they get a job, move out of the ghetto, and pull themselves up by the bootstraps?"

Some of it stems from misinformation, a perception that most of welfare, SNAP(food stamps), and Medicaid goes to black families, which isn't so. Some comes from years of class friction. But I think some stems from the lack of understanding what the black experience has really been.

This article digs deeply into it, and talked of some things I wasn't aware of, things I thought were history but apparently still exist, as well as stuff I think is common knowledge, but may not be. Please don't let the title, "The Case for Reparations" put you off. After the first couple paragraphs it gets to the chase. And it's not a poor me pity party either, but clearly states how it was/is.

It's the most complete article I've read on it, but I'm certainly not a black studies scholar, so your mileage may vary. :)

Oh that was brilliant, thanks for posting it.

Yeah I was pretty up on the history up through Jim Crow and the movement, but pretty hazy on the period after that. Guess I was one of the people who thought the civil rights legislation had done the job and now the feds were keeping an eye out for abuse. It's embarrassing they didn't even have to lie to me, I never asked.:o

Finally finished it.
Excellent journalism, makes some very good points and is well argued. I was ignorant of almost all of this.