Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Opinion: Barack Obama and Black Men - Has He Done His Job?

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University 

I did a recent CNN appearance along with the actor Hill Harper and Dr. Alvin Poussaint at Harvard University. The series was a one-year anniversary segment featuring political issues within the African American community. for the entire week, the primary focus was on the impact that President Barack Obama has had onAfrican American men. Given that I've been a black man for quite a while now, I found this conversation topic particularly interesting, so getting to speak to Richelle Carey again wasn't the only perk of doing the job that day.


It must be made clear that the president should not be expected to save the entire world in one swoop. His job is difficult, and he can't give everyone what they want all the time. But to the extent that President Obama has been positioned to trump pre-existing black leadership (remember that some say we now live in a post-racial America), one can argue that President Obama's rantings in black churches come with some degree of accountability from the Oval Office. Obama has spoken at NAACP meetings, telling black men to take responsibility for our families (as if none of us do) and to engage in more personal responsibility (as if we don't do that already). Such tough talk should be backed by meaningful policy, since structural incentives play a dominant role in the ultimate choice of the individual. For example, when companies get tax incentives to invest in new projects, they almost always do.

Click to read.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

News: Dr. Boyce Watkins on Black Planet – 11/22/09

OPINION: Depression in the Black Community – Why it is a Serious Problem

By Dr. Boyce Watkins November 22, 2009 8:27 am

OPINION: Depression in the Black Community – Why it is a Serious Problem

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TAGS: african american doctors, african american news, black doctors, black news, depression in the black community

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OPINION: Heather Ellis Finally Tells Her Story & Why I Believe Her

By Dr. Boyce Watkins November 21, 2009 11:20 pm

OPINION: Heather Ellis Finally Tells Her Story & Why I Believe Her

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TAGS: african american news, black news, Heather Ellis, heather ellis case

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OPINION: Heather Ellis Reaches Plea Deal, But I’ve Still Got Questions

By Dr. Boyce Watkins November 20, 2009 9:18 pm

OPINION: Heather Ellis Reaches Plea Deal, But I’ve Still Got Questions

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TAGS: heather, Heather Ellis, heather ellis case, heather ellis plea

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OPINION: Jesse Jackson Was Right About Artur Davis … Sort Of

By Dr. Boyce Watkins November 20, 2009 12:56 pm

OPINION: Jesse Jackson Was Right About Artur Davis … Sort Of

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TAGS: artur davis, black politics, Congressional Black Caucus, Jesse Jackson

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OPINION: How We Can Work Toward Justice For Heather Ellis

By Dr. Boyce Watkins November 13, 2009 5:05 pm

OPINION: How We Can Work Toward Justice For Heather Ellis

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TAGS: justice system, Missouri, Wal-Mart

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OPINION: We Should Mind Our Own Business In Chris Brown Vs. Rihanna

By Dr. Boyce Watkins November 8, 2009 11:35 am

OPINION: We Should Mind Our Own Business In Chris Brown Vs. Rihanna

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TAGS: Chris Brown, domestic violence, Rihanna

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OPINION: The Racial Ignorance Of Barack Obama’s Financial “Gurus”

By Dr. Boyce Watkins November 5, 2009 10:54 am

OPINION: The Racial Ignorance Of Barack Obama’s Financial “Gurus”

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TAGS: ben bernanke, poverty, wealth

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OPINION: 5 Things President Obama Can Do For Black Men

By Dr. Boyce Watkins November 2, 2009 10:30 am

OPINION: 5 Things President Obama Can Do For Black Men

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TAGS: Barack Obama, black men, education, prisons

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Sunday, November 1, 2009

Obama’s Fed Chairman Makes Racially Embarrassing Remarks

by Dr Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University, Your Black World 

I've always had mixed feelings about Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. I feel that he is better than the previous chairman, Alan Greenspan, but the Fed Chairmanship (like the presidency) is almost never given to the right man. Just the fact that it is almost always given to a man is problematic enough, and the truth is that only white men need apply for the job.
Well, when you are limited in your option pool for the top job, bad leadership and flat out ignorance can sometimes be the result. While Fed Chairman Bernanke might know some nuts and bolts about economics, he appears to be shockingly misinformed about economic disparities between blacks and whites. His embarrassing and highly inappropriate statements at Morehouse College serve as a significant case in point.
In a recent interview at Morehouse, the Fed Chairman was asked what he felt to be the reason for the wealth gap between blacks and whites. In response, Bernanke said that the gap was due to a lack of "financial literacy" and "financial education" on the part of African Americans. That's all he mentioned.

click to read.