Congressional Black Caucus Boycott Yields Results: What We Can Learn

They did it. The Congressional Black Caucus raised a little hell and made things happen. By standing together to boycott a key House committee vote and threatening to abandon support for banking regulations, the CBC was able to get $6 billion added to key legislation to help the African American community.

Of the $6 billion, $4 billion of it was added to a Wall Street regulation bill and $2 billion added to a House bill on jobs. After firmly supporting the moves of the CBC last week, I again say, way to go.

African Americans are learning a lot about politics in light of the election of President Barack Obama. After being marginalized from the process for 400 years, some of us are just now beginning to truly understand how American politics works. I am learning a great deal after watching the ups and downs of Obama's young presidency as the African American community celebrates his success. The recent bold and controversial moves of the CBC lead to a few thoughts you might want to consider:

1) In American politics, if you ask for nothing, you get nothing. For some reason, someone decided that during Obama's presidency, the entire African-American community should become the "36 million spooks who sat by the door." Some of us decided that our job was to sit and watch the president, providing unconditional support for everything he does, while doing nothing to become politically active and engaged. The Congressional Black Caucus, in their recent activities, have reminded all of us that in Washington, only squeaky wheels get oiled. Sitting by quietly, afraid to challenge your political leaders will only lead to your vote being ignored and other parties getting what they've asked for. The scenario is quite similar to some marriages, where some will ignore those who love them the most, because they no longer have to prove themselves worthy of freely granted affection.

2) Negotiating tough is nothing personal: Most of us love Barack Obama. While the Congressional Black Caucus may appear to be hostile toward Obama, the truth is that strong political negotiation is the only way you can get respect. For example, Hillary Clinton has far more respect for Barack Obama after getting whipped by him than she would have if he'd meekly asked for a position in her cabinet. In politics, while you may want to support a certain political leader, that support must always be backed by the implicit threat of removing the support if the other party takes your support for granted. The Democratic party takes the African-American vote for granted, which is why a threat of going independent or not supporting key Democratic measures can go a long way. The CBC's $6 billion dollar prize proves that this approach is more effective than sitting and watching the world go by. Unemployment rates more than 50 percent higher than white Americans should not be acceptable for anyone. While the president is not able to solve this problem in just a few months, the fact that none of his economic advisers has even been shown to care about this issue is incredibly problematic.

3) The proof is in the potato salad: President Obama and the Democratic party can say all they want about caring for the needs of the African-American community, but if there is no meaningful policy communicating a serious commitment to the issue, then it's all just rhetoric. Remember that phrase, "Talk is cheap"? Well, politicians tend to want to use as much of the cheap commodity as possible before moving to more expensive ones. President Obama has, thus far, done quite a bit of talking, but the Congressional Black Caucus has backed the talk up with the walk. While the CBC is certainly not perfect (I've critiqued their effectiveness on multiple occasions), Maxine Waters and company are proving themselves to be the most potent political tool we have in Washington right now.

4) Targeted economic policy is necessary and President Obama needs new economic advisers to help him with the implementation. As I've explained in the past, Lawrence Summers and Ben Bernanke (the heads of the National Economic Council and Federal Reserve, respectively) are woefully unqualified to care or help with the devastating economic challenges of the African-American community. They have communicated no desire to close the wealth gap and have come to accept 30 percent to 50 percent black male unemployment in urban areas as "just the way things are." Well, I'm sorry my friends, that is NOT how things have to be, and it is unconscionable for any of us to accept political leaders who whine about 9 percent unemployment in white America, but consider 15.6 percent overall black unemployment to be a normal course of business. The inability to obtain jobs continues to destroy the black family, and this only adds to the marginalization experienced by African-American males in the criminal justice system and other parts of our society.

Dr. Julianne Malveaux, president of Bennett College, said it best: "President Obama says he is working for our entire nation, and that when unemployment rates drop, they will drop for everyone. Perhaps that is what he has to say. But even Ray Charles can see the disproportionate unemployment burden that the African-American community is carrying. Targeted public policy is the only way to close the unemployment rate gap."

The President needs to call some leading African-American economists to the White House and get ideas on how to close the wealth and employment gaps between white and black Americans. Black people should not be second economic fiddle in our nation, for even when the rest of the economy does well, our community suffers. We pay taxes too, so some of our tax money should be allocated to supporting our needs. If we can have targeted policy for Wall Street, automobile manufacturers and everyone else, then targeted policy for urban America is nothing out of the ordinary.

Good job to the Congressional Black Caucus. When it comes to getting out of the Great Black Depression of 2009, you might be our only hope.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Finance Professor at Syracuse University and author of the book, "Black American Money." To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.