The College Republicans, Black Student Union and College Democrats gathered on Thursday to discuss the issues that plague the economic situation of black Americans in a friendly panel of leaders from each group. Hosted by the College Republicans, the event brought together more than 60 members from the three university groups. After a short introduction by event coordinator and vice president of the College Republicans, Michael Plummer, attendees dug into pizza supplied by the College Democrats and watched a mid-1980’s documentary by Philadelphia-born black conservative economist, Walter E. Williams. The documentary, which centered around Williams’ 1982 book, “The State Against Blacks,” focused on the economic issues that keep black Americans as one of the poorest and slowest growing minority groups in America.
The 20 minute film primarily focused on removing restrictions on the free market and dismantling welfare programs as a solution to economic disparity. Williams cites other successful minority groups in America who have gained political power by focusing first on building economic capital, starting small businesses in deregulated areas. It also discussed the double bind experienced by the black youth – that they are delivered a fraudulent education without actually learning anything and kept from gaining work experience by minimum wage laws and occupational licensing laws.
After the documentary, the organizations sat behind a table at the front of the room and each answered the same seven questions about quotes from the documentary.
In response to a quotation from Williams’ documentary about money being a great unifier in that it has no defined racial ties, John Auer and Sam Dugan of the College Republicans began the discussion in support of the statement, citing Nobel Laureate, Milton Friedman’s example of how capitalism requires cooperation across countries and ethnic groups to create goods. Grace Harvey of the College Democrats criticized what she saw as an oversimplification on Williams’ part. With fellow College Democrats member, Jessica Henry, agreed that while money has a ubiquitous element to it, there are a lot of racial factors that determine who has that money and how much it means. Elliot Mason, President of the Black Student Union, pointed out the generalization that he believed overlooked the racist policies which gave money the power it has today. Nia Chaney, also of the BSU, agreed. “You can’t compare money and race,” said Chaney, arguing that examining the two as more or less identical terms overlooked important elements of both issues.
The three organizations went on to discuss other issues from the film, including: the advantages of economic power versus political power, the educational rights of underprivileged black Americans and the role of minimum wage and occupational licensing in small businesses. Jake Rosenberg of the College Democrats disagreed with Williams’ stance against welfare programs, preferring them as an alternative to letting laborers work unsustainable low wages. In his defense, Rosenberg cited an example of criminal underpayment used in the film where a woman worked for $1 an hour ($2.67 adjusted for inflation) in a sweatshop in inner city Philadelphia. “I don’t want to see people work in sweatshops,” said Rosenberg, seconded by Jessica Henry. Micaela Fennell of the BSU expressed her agreement with certain parts of Williams’ argument, especially the dependence that certain programs nurture and the lack of education that these programs give recipients which would help them climb to financial freedom. However, Fennell disagreed with Williams’ idea that welfare programs should be abolished completely.
Sam Dugan of the College Republican discussed the “welfare cliff,” a phenomenon where certain welfare programs will stop support of a recipient if their job pays more than a designated amount- often making it advantageous to not accept raises or promotions because you end up making less money from not receiving government support.
In a rare display of bipartisan agreement, the College Republicans, Black Student Union and College Democrats sided together on the overuse of occupational licensing in businesses like barber shops and salons. “Here’s something funny, I actually agree with the College Republicans,” said Elliot Mason, sending a wave of laughter through the room. Event coordinator Michael Plummer said between questions, “We need to notice these moments when they arise.”
Mason and the BSU’s final statement called for a closer look at the public perception of the relationship between poverty and black Americans, and a re-evaluation of a welfare system that sometimes serves to sustain the power dynamic and suppression that black Americans have seen since the days of slavery. “If you’re going to give me a hand out, could you give me a hand up to something beyond that?” said Fennell.
The night concluded with a statement of thanks from the College Democrats to the College Republicans for hosting, with all three organizations hoping they could have more meetings like this in the future. “I definitely want to give a lot of props to the College Republicans,” said Mason. “It’s easy to invite the College Democrats, but to take the extra step to invite the Black Student Union was an inclusive step.”
John Auer of the College Republicans expressed his happiness with how the event went. “Conversations today are more important than they’ve ever been,” he said. “For everybody to agree but to express it in their own unique way, that’s what’s so beneficial and what we desperately need.
Jessica Henry of the College Democrats also felt the discussion had been productive. “Overall I thought it went well. Of course there was stuff we disagreed on, but it was a really productive discussion.”
“The narrative from the media is that everyone is so divided,” said College Republican representative Sam Dugan, “and it doesn’t have to be the case.”
Brendan Lordan is a second-year student majoring in English writing. BL895080BL