39% of Americans Say Goverment Should Focus More on Minorities

January 19th, 2012 - By Brande Victorian

At least somebody gets it. A new poll by CBS and the New York Times shows that a decent portion of Americans think the government should focus more on minority issues. Specifically, 39% say the government isn’t paying enough attention to problems concerning people of color, while 35% think the right amount attention is being paid; another 16% say the government is already paying too much attention to minority issues.

White and black Americans see things drastically differently. One in five white Americans think the government is paying too much attention to minority issues, while another 31% think it’s not paying enough. Black people overwhelmingly say the federal government isn’t paying enough attention, 77%, and 17% say the government is paying the right amount.

There’s also a difference among political parties. Democrats mostly think the government isn’t paying enough attention to the needs of minorities, 55%, but most Republicans think either the right amount of attention is being paid, 43%, or too much 29%. That’s not surprising for a party that values limited government involvement.

Attention on minorities can be a bit of a catch 22 though, as we already know. More than just the right amount of attention, the government needs to have the appropriate focus on minority issues and not go the route of our dear frenemies Newt Gingrich, Jesee Peterson, and countless others who have a skewed view of race relations and concerns African Americans and other minorities are facing.

Where do you stand on the government’s focus on minority issues? Should they be doing more, less, or is their involvement just right?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

More on Madame Noire!

Tags:

, , , , , , , , , , ,
More from StyleBlazer
More from MommyNoire

Comment Disclaimer

Comments that contain profane or derogatory language, video links or exceed 200 words will require approval by a moderator before appearing in the comment section. XOXO-MN

  • Awewqt

    Women are sometimes fragile, want a real-man to protect you? Com uniformedkiss*CO*M–,
    here you will meet lots of servicemen and find friendship, love, romance,
    marriage or even more with those armed forces, police, navy, security, medical,
    ambulance, prison, air crew and fire fighters! You will not regret for dating with
    military personnel. Just sign up and nothing will lose if you don’t like it. Thanks

  • Guest

    Who cares, Blacks have got to get their own problems fixed. Here is the solution 3 things.

    1. Family – Black people need to be more family oriented. Father, Mother, Children. NOT Divorce and Child Support, that does not work for Blacks.

    2. Education - This will end all the stupidity done in the Black community. Education leads to better jobs, higher salaries, more stable homes. It also teaches you how to reason and think critically. Much needed in the Black community.

    3. Crime -  Black on Black crime is worst than any racial discrimination done by the USA. Killing, stealing, and harming your own community leads to genocide. Getting crime out of the Black community keeps all Black men out of JAILS and Prisons.

    That is the solution to the Black communities problem, not more government help to stop racial discrimination. Blacks are there own worst enemy!

    • JESSEVANDELL

      Agreed.

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_E54SCOJKYVWHNOSERA4R5IOHHI Truth Hurts

      Families aren’t stable because of drugs and the lack of education. And expecting a broken system to fix a broken system equals what?… a broken system. If the government is going to allow any and everybody to have babies, then it should be up to the government to help clean up this issue. Local governments throughout America over look those failing communities year after year and fail to provide funding and solutions. Getting rid of drugs in the streets would provide better stability in most homes, but law enforcement, lawyers, judges, and privatized jail owners are more concerned about a quota/profit than resolving this issue. Stable (no drug) families lead to better household incomes, which paves the way for their children to get a better education.
      Last time I checked this was America, thus making this an American issue, not just Black. Perhaps self greed and shaded the motto “United we Stand, Divided we Fall.” Which explains our current situation, overall.

      • JESSEVANDELL

         ”If the government is going to allow any and everybody to have babies,
        then it should be up to the government to help clean up this issue.”

        What???? How is it the governments job to dictate who and how many babies someone can have? This is not China.

        • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_E54SCOJKYVWHNOSERA4R5IOHHI Truth Hurts

          You’re right, this isn’t China because last time I checked China’s business was booming and US coporations hired more people overseas than USA. You clearly know nothing about politics or how the real world works. America is failing because we simply lack quality and standards as of 2012.

          • Strungoutoveru

            Ok so the US is failing.  Our govt has kicked us to the curb.  Now what?

            • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_E54SCOJKYVWHNOSERA4R5IOHHI Truth Hurts

              Better Standards, laws and regulations. When in doubt refer back to my original post and read between the lines. 

    • Californiadreaming

        S_R

      Absolutely agree.  I wish we would focus and rely on OURSELVES to fix Our proplems.  If we continue to expect and wait for the govt things will never change.  I too believe family is key. More stable2 parent families will make a huge difference in our community

  • Sugar_Spice

    In my personal opinion the government is focusing more on illegal immigrants than they are the legal minorities of this country.  Take for instance The Dream Act, an act designed to provide permanent residency for a six year period in addition to higher education on our dime. Why are they allowed these things when the youth right here in our own backyard have to fight everyday for a better education? I know too many blacks & asians who have to use someone else’s address just so they can go to a better school. I could go on and on with examples until I have cramps in my fingers but that’s beside the point.  Maybe that 16% is mistaking minorities for illegal immigrants.

    • Dori

      Quick African proverb – ‘it’s easier to take an horse to the river, but it’s clearly difficult to force it to drink water’. In the third world country where most of the immigrants clearly migrate from, the ‘worse’ form of education the African-Americans claim they are getting is way more better than the best in these countries. How come these immigrants (Africans especially) come into the US for a graduate program and yet still excel more than the African Americans?
      You know why, we are determined. Yes, determination and hard work. You call on the government to perform all kind of ‘magic’ for you but what are you doing for yourself? Africans face greater level of poverty, violence and political oppression than AAs, but do you hear us whining.
      FYI . The damage done by the Europeans and Americans in stunting Africa’s growth is greater than you can imagine. We were colonized too and don’t you forget that.

      • Sugar_Spice

        The point I was trying to make was that out here, especially in California, illegal immigrants are awarded certain opportunities that citizens are not just based on “good moral character”. Yes there are a lot of illegal immigrants who work hard but a lot of us minorities work very hard & are determined as well.  I didn’t just say AA’s either, I mean all minorities.

        • Californiadreaming

          You may be correct.  But that shouldnt prevent us from correcting what is wrong in our community.  If the govt is not living up to our expectations we shouldnt allow that to be an excuse to not improve our situation. 

          • Sugar_Spice

            I completely agree with you, we shouldn’t just lay down & except anything.  We’ve beaten the odds before & have accomplished a lot.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_E54SCOJKYVWHNOSERA4R5IOHHI Truth Hurts

    Here is my issue, I hear a lot of White people saying “Blacks need to fix there own issue(s)”, yet White people seem to forget the current results came from years of broken regulations, and failure to develop and execute -by law- a just and equal opportunity for people of all color. As it currently stands, Black people image is tainted world wide because of the social and economical disadvantages Blacks were forced to live by. As a result, Blacks are less likely to be accepted or granted equal opportunities for that career job, college, or that home/business loan. 39% is not enough especially when you consider the fact 12% are Black and another 12-15% consists of the minority. Until things are equal I will continue to say that our government has room for improvement. 

    • Jessevandell

      I agree to an extent….but lets be real for a second, the black community is broken in many ways that the government doesn’t have the responsibility to fix. Many of the issues only black people themselves can fix. The government can’t force black women and men to get married and stop the 70% out of wedlock birth rate ( basically stop being so  promiscuous and be more sexually responsible), they can’t force black fathers to stay in the home, The government can enforce kids to go to school to an extent but everyone knows that going to school and doing well is a major parental and individual responsibility ( Black drop out rates are sky high which also decreases your chances of going to college and  getting a good career…and increases your chances of getting involved in crime).  Any decent human knows not to rob, rape, and murder…yet the poorest black communities are crime ridden, and thus many black men end up in jail. The government can’t really force black people to eat right and become more healthier ( health problems are sky high in the black community, not to mention sexual diseases)…..the list goes on and on. Yes poverty is a huge factor in all of this and so is discrimination which the government need to look in to, but many of these issues black people have a lot of power to improve on there own, but they CHOOSE not to for other reasons. Obviously waiting for the government to do things will get us no where.

      “ As it currently stands, Black people image is tainted world wide because of the social and economical disadvantages Blacks were forced to live by.” 

      Many people around the world don’t know the history of blacks in America, or how American politics affect minorities. They get their information from the media and the internet …The average person in Taiwan might not be paying attention to American politics or reading American history books but he probably is looking at American movies and listening to American music.. Black people are very influential in the media, especially in music, and I have to say we don’t promote the best image of ourselves either. We often portray the very negative stereotypes that have been said about us for decades ( and sometimes we act like we are proud of it!)…so I’ve got to disagree with you to an extent again…If anyone is tainting the image of blacks around the world a lot of the blame falls on black people.

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_E54SCOJKYVWHNOSERA4R5IOHHI Truth Hurts

        The government can’t force black women and men to get married and stop the 70% out of wedlock birth rate.

        Poor education and drugs are the factors that significantly enhance the issue. Local government should increase funding for education in poor communities and focus on better economic development pertaining to educate those teens. Also, Duke University conducted a study a while back concluding that although Blacks are less than White to use drugs, Blacks are 10X time more likely to go to jail for drugs. Being in jails effects the relationship status, and future outlook for getting a job.

        Many people around the world don’t know the history of blacks in America.

        They may not understand the history of Blacks, however the world wide negative perception stands, and statistics have proven that the darker you are the less accepted you are in society. But don’t just take my words for it, when was the last time you heard of a Black country or predominantly Black area striving???? And I’ll admit some Black people may fuel that negative image of Blacks, but there are a lot of Blacks doing the right thing, however when media only portrays 95% ignorance and 5% good on Blacks behave that plays a factor.

        • JESSEVANDELL

          I don’t feel  poor education and drugs is to predominately to blame for the 70% out of wedlock birthrate….especially since drug use in many cases is predominately white ( you said it yourself) and many inner cities have a comprehensive sex ed program. You seem to be focused solely on teens,which is a major factor but I was talking about the race as a whole. As a whole about 40% of Americans children are born out of wedlock ( its also rising rapidly all over the world), yet the black community is at 70%, this is a figure that has been on the rise for decades and shows no signs of slowing down, it’s more of a generational thing, sexual irresponsibility and promiscuity, than a simple lack of education.

          As for the media….what form of media does the image of black people occur most often? where do people get this idea of “black culture” and what it means to be black?I personally don’t think its solely hollywood movies or tv, infact there are many positive black role models in movies and televison ( Will Smith, Denzel, Oprah, etc). Dont forget Obama’s campaign used the media heavily, and many would consider him a positive image. Music in particular is what really influences a foreigners idea of black culture.
          Most of which is negative. A lot of black produced shows and movies are also rather stereotypical and flat out ignorant.Yet many black people are strongly supportive of
          it. Remember those who run the media usually won’t show something unless there is a market for it, and black people themselves definitely provide a market for the “95%” of ignorance that’s being portrayed.

          • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_E54SCOJKYVWHNOSERA4R5IOHHI Truth Hurts

            Drug usage is predominately White, but Blacks are being arrested 10x times more and thrown in jail! I think the word is racial profiling and thats the issue. Also, education is a key factor because “when you know better, you do better.” And you keep talking about 70% have wedlock birthrate… we’ll here’s another fact for you 70% of Blacks that do marry, divorce! The government can set laws to benefit the our future but its unlikely they will not because people like you care more about have little to no standards, which explains why America is failing rapidly.

            As for the media, movies and shows are for entertainment. I’m talking reality news and the continous published information that is negative about Blacks. In foreign countries, they dont lounge around watching tv all day or even half the day like people in America, they read books all day and night, and get information online.

            Whites account for 70% of US population. 90% of them don’t care about the issues minorities face, and that same 90% will continue to help their own race. That same 90% controls 90%-95% of coporate America, legistlature, lawyers, judges, cops, banks, businesses, etc.. Most think like you, “its not our problem and were not fixing it”. So who is? You can’t expect a broken society to fix itself, it never has. This is America so its a American issue.

        • Californiadreaming

          Yes poor education and drugs are a major issue, but with more 2 parent homes, this issue will began to deteriate. 

      • Californiadreaming

        Great response TruthHurts.  I remember discussing with my mother the issues concerning black boys and drop out rates.  Her response was, “The government needs to do something about this.”  I replied, “The govt is not going to knock on the parent’s door every morning to ensure they are enforcing the law, which is, to make sure their child attends school daily.”  Too many are quick to rely on the govt.  Govt is not the parent and shouldnt be viewed as the provider.

    • Fceswfge

      I am in Air Force and seek ing someone .

      I need a woman who can love me back 

      …I also got a username nathanm on _____【M’ilitáry S’oulmáté.C óM】–_____ 

      It’s the largest and best club for seek ing Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force,
      Police Force, and the admirers of those who wear the uniform.
      I just hope you don’t mind me being a soldier …Please Check
      it out!I’m serious
      @@@@@@@@e8a2b4ffe2742f4d96d7cb7943654f89:disqus