Exploitation and Injustices Faced by Racial and Ethnic Minorities: Economic, Health, and Human Rights Overview

1. Overview of Economic, Health, and Human Rights Issues of Racial and Ethnic Minorities Martin Donohoe

2. Outline • Exploitation • Economics, Education, Environment, Health Care, Criminal Justice System • International Perspective • Solutions

3. Colonial Exploitation Christopher Columbus’ log entry upon meeting the Arawaks of the Bahamas: “They…brought us…many…things…They willingly traded everything they owned…They do not bear arms…They would make fine servants…With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.”

4. Colonial Exploitation • Sir Jeffrey Amherst (French and Indian Wars - smallpox): • “You would do well to try to inoculate the Indians, by means of blankets, … to extirpate this execrable race”

5. Colonial Exploitation • Winston Churchill (speaking in favor of RAF’s “experimental” bombing of Iraqis in 1920s, which killed 9,000 people with 97 tons of bombs): “I am strongly in favor of using poisoned gas against uncivilized tribes to spread a lively terror…against recalcitrant Arabs as an experiment”

6. Colonial Exploitation Cecil Rhodes (Rhodesia, Rhodes Scholarship, DeBeers Mining Company): “We must find new lands from which we can easily obtain raw materials and at the same time exploit the cheap slave labour that is available from the natives of the colonies. The colonies would also provide a dumping ground for the surplus goods produced in our factories.”

7. Historical and Contemporary Exploitation • Genocide of Native Americans • Slavery • Built U.S. infrastructure • Boarding schools, “stolen children,” destruction of indigenous cultures

8. Historical and Contemporary Exploitation • Apartheid • Civil Rights Movements (U.S. and international) • Immigration policies • Hate crimes against Muslims, other groups

9. Historical and Contemporary Exploitation • Rise of Trump/alt-right/militias/neo-Nazis/KKK • Pardoning of racist/profiling/ex-sheriff/ convicted felon Joe Arpaio • Increasing civil unrest • Militarization of police

10. Historical and Contemporary Exploitation • Statues/memorials to colonizers/ racists/Confederates • 1,740 Confederate symbols in U.S. • Taxpayers spent $40 million on Confederate monuments and heritage groups over the last decade • Columbus Day (vs. Indigenous Peoples’ Day) • 4 states, multiple cities celebrate Indigenous Peoples’/Native Americans’ Day

11. Exploitation leads to: Maldistribution of wealth and resources Environmental degradation Wars

12. Racial Disparities: Economic • Full-time African-American and Latinos earn 75% of what whites earn • Median income of black U.S. families as a percent of white U.S. families: • 60% in in 1968 • 62% in 2002 • 62% in 2011 (69% for Hispanic families) • Median net worth of white households 10X higher than black households and Latino households

13. 2015

14. 2015

15. Racial Disparities: Economic • Recession, housing crisis hit black and Latino families harder than white families • Home ownerships rates: whites (73%), Latinos (48%), African-Americans (43%) • 7.5% on Blacks live in substandard housing (vs. 2.8 % of Whites) • Trump’s HUD secretary Ben Carson unqualified, inexperienced, said “Poverty, to a large extent, is a state of mind,” has delayed Obama-era fair housing rule to reverse segregation • Minorities face higher levels of unemployment

16. Racial Disparities: Economic • Only 3 black CEOs among Fortune 500 companies (2018) • 90% of nonprofit CEOs in the U.S. are white (as are 84% of nonprofit board members) • 75% of U.S. corporate board members are white men

17. 2015

18. Poverty and Hunger • U.S.: 15% of residents and 22% of children live in poverty • Rates of poverty in Blacks and Hispanics = 2.5X Whites • Poverty associated with worse physical and mental health

20. Income Inequality Lower life expectancy Higher rates of infant and child mortality Short height Poor self-reported health AIDS Depression Mental Illness Obesity

21. Voltaire “The comfort of the rich rests upon an abundance of the poor”

22. Hudson River, 2009

23. Functional Apartheid • Segregated communities • Stress consequent to ongoing racism and poverty • Undocumented immigrants face constant threat of deportation, disruption of family and social relationships

24. Racism • Racist violence on the rise in the U.S. and throughout the world, especially under demagogues and dictators • Hate crimes: National Crime Victimization Survey estimates at least 250,000/yr; FBI program only reports 6,100/yr, but program highly flawed • 2018: 7% of Americans support “white nationalism,” 39% believe white Americans are “under attack”

25. Racism • 1,740 Confederate symbols remain standing in the U.S. (including 718 monuments and statues) • Only 113 have been removed since Charleston rally/killing • Hurricane Maria (Puerto Rico) – 2,975 deaths (not 64 as Trump claimed) • More than 9/11 • FEMA response, charitable contributions far below other, less serious hurricanes

26. Functional Apartheid:Disenfranchisement • Declaration of Independence: • “We the people….” • Yet 95% of the population (including Native Americans, women, slaves, indentured servants, laborers, and even those white men who did not own enough property) not considered “citizens” and thus could not vote

27. A Brief History of Voting Rights • 1790: First national election – only white, male property owners (6% of population) could vote • 1870: 15th Amendment adopted, allowing male citizens of all races, including former slaves, to vote • Late 1800s: Poll taxes and literacy tests adopted by numerous states • 1915: SCOTUS rules literacy tests unconstitutional • 1964: 24th Amendment bans poll taxes in federal elections

28. A Brief History of Voting Rights • 1915: Indian Citizenship Act gives Native-Americans right to vote • 1920: 19th Amendment gives women the right to vote • 1965: Voting Rights Act passed, consequent to actions of Martin Luther King, Jr. and others • 2018: White men constitute 31% of the population, but 79% of elected officials

29. Functional Apartheid:Voter Restriction Measures • Purging voter rolls of those who have not recently voted • Photo ID requirements • Limits on number of polling sites and poll hours • Elimination of Sunday voting • Long waits • Limits on early voting

30. Functional Apartheid:Voter Restriction Measures • Requiring college students to vote in their parents’ (not their campus) precincts • Gerrymandering districts (despite being ruled unconstitutional by SCOTUS in 1960) • Intimidation and trickery

31. Functional Apartheid:Voter Restriction Measures • Stated aim: eliminate voter fraud • 2000-2010: 643 million ballots cast in general elections, 441 killed by lightning, 13 credible cases of in-person voter impersonation • Recent study of 146 million registered voters found 10 cases of voter impersonation • Result: disenfranchisement of tens of millions of voters, mostly poor, elderly, and racial minorities

32. Migration/Immigrants • Over 213 million people live outside the countries of their birth (156 million 2 decades ago) • U.S. is home to 43 million immigrants (23 million 2 decades ago) • 2018 survey: 25% of white evangelicals think the U.S. has a responsibility to accept refugees (vs. 65% of religiously-unaffiliated Americans)

33. Worldwide Refugee Crisis • Over 50% of world’s refugees are under 18 • 55% of refugees worldwide come from 3 countries (Syria, Afghanistan, and South Sudan) • Over ½ of world’s refugees hosted by just 10 countries • U.S. #26 as a percentage of population • U.S. took only 11 Syrian refugees (out of 5.5 million worldwide) in 2018

34. Undocumented Immigrants • 25 million non-citizens in U.S. • 11-12 million undocumented • 80% of these in labor force • Constitute 30-50% of agricultural and 20% of meat processing/food service workforce • 2/3 have been in the U.S. for more than 10 yrs. • 40% lack health insurance, 2/3 lack source of non-emergency care (and many afraid to visit emergency rooms)

35. Immigrants • Immigrants (documented plus undocumented) account for 12.6% of premiums paid to private insurers, but only 9.1% of insurer expenditures (2014) • Annual premiums exceed care expenditures by $1,123/enrollee, which offsets a deficit of $163/U.S.-born enrollee • Surplus premiums of immigrants = $174 billion (for period 2008-2014)

36. Undocumented Immigrants • Trump administration’s zero tolerance policy (overturns Obama’s “catch and release” policy for families, unaccompanied minors, and those requesting political asylum) • Family separations increasing; children particularly affected • 14,000 unaccompanied immigrant children in custody as of late 2018 • Separating asylum-seeking parents from their children violates international law

37. Undocumented Immigrants • Trump declares “national emergency” to build border wall • Nearly 6,000 military troops sent to border • Teargas used • Lawsuits pending by states, landowners objecting to eminent domain, Congressional action possible

38. Undocumented Immigrants • Trump mythologizes MS-13 as major, transnational crime organization • The truth: • Founded in LA in the 1980s, then exported to El Salvador • 10,000 members in U.S. (out of total 1.4 million gang members) - unchanged over last 10 years • Vast majority of victims are undocumented minors

39. Undocumented Immigrants • US Border Patrol destroys water supplies left for migrants in desert • 6,000 bodies found along US border with Mexico between 2002 and 2018 • more than the death toll of 9/11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina combined • Conservative estimate

40. Functional Apartheid • Undocumented immigrants pay taxes: • State and local income • Property • Excise taxes • Employer’s share of Social Security • Medicare • Unemployment taxes

41. Functional Apartheid • BUT, they are not eligible for many public services: • Medicaid • Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program • Social Security • Medicare • All immigrants heavily subsidize Medicare’s Trust Fund (reducing immigration could seriously undermine Medicare) • Unemployment benefits • Temporary cash assistance

42. Functional Apartheid • 2014: Obama issues executive order allowing certain immigrants to apply for temporary legal status • 25 states sue federal government, blocking executive order • Trump has rescinded • 2018: Courts blocking Trump’s immigration orders, SCOTUS to ultimately decide

43. Census • 2020 Census may include citizenship question, likely to result in significant undercount and unfair distribution of federal resources

44. Educational Apartheid • High levels of de facto school segregation by race and SES • Gross discrepancies in per-pupil spending and teacher salaries • Achievement and graduation gaps growing

46. 2015

47. Benefits of Education • For every $1 spent on early childhood education, up to $17 are saved from increased school achievement, improved health, reduced crime, and reduced reliance on public assistance • Income increases 11% for every year of education

48. Benefits of Education • College graduates live 5 years longer than high school dropouts • Eliminating educational inequities would have saved 8X as many lives as medical advances from 1996-2002

49. Faculty Diversity • 2018 Baylor University Study: • Universities with “Chief Diversity Officers” (who are frequently paid six figure incomes) do not show increases in numbers of underrepresented racial or ethnic minority faculty members)

50. Physicians and Dentists • 5% of doctors and 3% of dentists are African-Americans (12% of U.S. workforce) • 6% of doctors and dentists are Hispanic (16% of U.S. workforce) • FMGs account for 22% of U.S. doctors, 18% of academic physicians, and lead 18% of clinical trials