What changed? More specifically, how has the outgoing administration either failed to help or worsened race relations? Unsurprisingly, economic instability and The Great Recession of 2008 had a lot to do with it, but more importantly, the policies for the recovery are at the center.
In 2008, everyone was hit hard, but there was a racial disparity in the economic impact. While the upper class had greater absolute losses in wealth, the percentage losses were far worse for an already struggling lower class. When the economy began to recover, there was a rebuilding of wealth and income rose across the board. Unfortunately, during the recovery, the income disparity between races increased. Before the great recession, median household income for whites was 10 times that of blacks. In 2014, that multiple rose to 13.
The Obama administration’s answer to the crisis was the ARRA (The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009), the main purpose of which was to create jobs, and quickly. Did it do that? There is still no complete consensus, but most economists (about 80%) say it did succeed in the short term, but that long-term effects remain to be seen. What it did not address, however, was where jobs were created. The Act gave tax cuts to both individuals and businesses, but, in terms of businesses, failed to protect working class people (of any race) from layoffs. As a result, while blacks and Hispanics were disproportionally affected, working-class class whites were in the same boat. This led to increasing economic frustration in an increasingly divisive political climate. It was in this environment that #BlackLivesMatter was born. It was in this environment that David Duke and the KKK made national news, that led to police officers were sniped by a lone ranger in Dallas, and Charlotte declared a state of emergency during a riot.
