Two years after Martin Luther King Jr. recounted his famous dream at the 1963 March on Washington, he confessed to the congregation of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church that “dreams often turned into nightmares.” Did.
Not only was his dream “shattered” by continued violence against civil rights activists in the South, but the “absolute hopelessness” King saw among unemployed men and women in Harlem, Chicago and other Northern cities. was also crushed by “And he’s not just black,” King declared. “I’ve seen my dreams shattered because I’ve been through Appalachia. I’ve seen white brothers and blacks living in poverty.”
“ Sixty years after the march on Washington, the United States has made significant progress towards racial equality, but it is still grappling with the persistent poverty and unemployment that turned Martin Luther King’s dream into a “nightmare.” I have not. ”
poverty in prosperity
As we celebrate MLK Day 60 years later, the plight of unemployed Americans remains depressingly similar. As in 1963, we live in a time of relatively high employment. But, as in the past, these national figures are riddled with regional exceptions, especially in African-American communities, where unemployment remains about twice as high as whites.
In fact, inequality has not changed in the 60 years since the March on Washington. The pockets of unemployment that King saw among Appalachian white workers remained in Carter County, Kentucky, and the high unemployment rates among Latinos in Imperial County, California and Native Americans in Apache County, Arizona. It is the same.
Addressing these persistent pockets of unemployment requires federally funded programs aimed at creating new jobs at prevailing wages. By covering some or all of the costs of hiring new employees, subsidized employment programs can increase demand for workers, provide needed services, and reduce the cost of hiring new workers in the most economically stressed areas of the country. can generate economic development.
Closing the unemployment gap between blacks and whites would bring about 1.5 million African Americans into jobs and pay an additional $70 billion in wages to the black community. Subsidized employment also increases overall income in predominantly white communities, such as Appalachia, where unemployment is high.
But the benefits go far beyond income, as jobs are created in needed businesses and public services, and skills and products are developed that benefit communities and fuel economic expansion.
subsidized work is effective
The United States has a long history of successful federally subsidized employment programs, especially during periods of economic downturn.
During the Great Depression, the Bureau of Labor Progress funded state and local governments to engage millions of unemployed people in building roads, parks, schools, and other infrastructure. Much of this infrastructure is still in use today. The Civilian Conservation Corps also provided grants to employ millions of young people in road construction, fire protection, and other useful projects.
In the 1970s, the Inclusive Employment and Training Act subsidized hundreds of thousands of jobs in local public services and non-profit organizations. This includes community arts and recreation programs, clinics, law enforcement, child and aged care facilities, and battered women’s shelters. Low-income housing weatherproofing projects.
Also, during the Great Recession, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allowed states to use funds from Temporary Assistance Programs for Families in Need to help nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and other state and local governments. , federal, and tribal governments to subsidize employment.
Subsidized employment programs are effective.Ah A recent meta-analysis of 102 randomized controlled trials—the gold standard in scientific research—found subsidized employment to be the most effective of the four worker-centered employment strategies.
Subsidized employment was more effective than vocational training, job search assistance and entrepreneurship support to increase individual employment and income. moreover, I saw these programs While reducing recidivism, increasing public safety, receiving less public benefits, and improving the lives of our children, we often have to pay for ourselves in the long run.
history of discrimination
Unfortunately, the benefits of these programs have often been limited by discrimination and funding instability. By allowing states to control the distribution of funds or opt out of programs, previous programs created room for discrimination against the poorest communities.
The WPA currently employed more than 400,000 black workers, the equivalent of 1.4 million, and many more black workers could have been employed if the state had mandated that workers be hired regardless of race. would have been CETA and ARRA contained stronger anti-discrimination policies, but both ended before they could be fully effective.
To be fully effective, subsidized employment must be controlled by federal authorities and funded for at least 10 years. To ensure that funds are not used to fund existing jobs or replace existing workers, participating employers will be required to create new jobs at prevailing wages.
The United States has made significant progress towards racial equality in the 60 years since the March on Washington, but has yet to address the persistent poverty and unemployment that turned Dr. King’s dream into a “nightmare.” Hmm.
A federally funded, long-term subsidized employment program addresses that longstanding shortcoming and could be a first step toward Dr. King’s goals. Full employment for all Americans.
William P. Jones is professor of history at the University of Minnesota and author of The March on Washington: Jobs, Freedom and the Forgotten History of Civil Rights. Algernon Austin is Director of Racial and Economic Justice at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, DC.
