Tavis Smiley: In past 10 years, blacks lost ground in every major economic category

Printed from: https://newbostonpost.com/2016/01/21/tavis-smiley-in-past-10-years-blacks-lost-ground-in-every-major-economic-category/

(CNSNews.com) – Talk show host and author Tavis Smiley told C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” on Friday that blacks have lost ground in every leading economic category in the last 10 years.

“It’s depressing. You have to go where the data takes you … and what the data tell us is … that black folk have fallen behind in every major economic category,” said Smiley, who talked about his book, “The Covenant with Black America: Ten Years Later.”

Smiley cites data compiled by Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs in his book.

“If you want the truth about the state of black America today, and perhaps some statement about where the future is headed, this text lays that out,” he said.

In health care, Smiley noted that the number of uninsured blacks dropped in the last 10 years from 19.5 percent to 11.8.

He said praised passage of Obamacare, but acknowledged that it didn’t do anything about health disparities among blacks.

“What you’ll read in this chapter about health care 10 years later is that black women, for example, still continue to die disproportionately from preventable diseases,” said Smiley, adding that he couldn’t wait until more provisions of Obamacare kick in so he could see “the impact positively” of African-Americans covered by insurance.

— Written by Melanie Hunter