Although African-Americans voted overwhelming for the first minority President in the history of the U.S., Obama said Thursday, that he won’t be focusing on the challenges blacks face in these harsh economic times.
USA Today: President Obama said Thursday that it would be wrong for him to narrowly focus on the troubles blacks face in the recession, rejecting criticism from the Congressional Black Caucus that the government is ignoring the economic plight of minorities.
“The most important thing I can do for the African-American community is the same thing I can do for the American community, period, and that is get the economy going again and get people hiring again,” Obama told USA TODAY and the Detroit Free Press. Both newspapers are owned by Gannett.
On Wednesday, 10 members of the black caucus boycotted a key House committee vote on financial regulations. The group said it would push harder for Congress and the White House to tackle specific problems including an unemployment rate for blacks that was 15.7% in October, which was higher than the national rate of 10.2%.
