February 23. 2011
The
Page 27
Portland Observer Black History Month
O pinion
The Ronald Reagan I Remember
He was no hero for blacks,
workers or the poor
dency to declare affirmative
The airw ays
action and race-based remedies
were filled with
"reverse discrimination" and
praise and acco­
"black racism." He not only de-
lades for Ronald
prioritized civil rights enforce­
Reagan this month
ment. his Attorney General
on the 100th anni­
Edwin Meese actually used the
versary of his
power of his office to file law­
birth.
suits on behalf of whites who were
1 have a different set of reflec­ allegedly harmed by affirmative
tions and perspectives on his action programs.
legacy.
Reagan skillfully attacked the
My recollections of him are welfare and food stamp programs
mostly negative. Frankly, he and other aspects of the New Deal
seemed like a very amicable per­
son and 1 admired the remarkable
love affair between him and his
adorable wife Nancy. My reac-
tions have to do with policy not
, i
by
R on D aniels
personality
ture o f rights for working people
and the poor than any president
in the latter half of the 20th cen-
tury. He was no hero or iconic
figure for blacks, workers or poor
people.
The Reagan I rem em ber
launched a vicious and calculated
assault on race-based remedies
like affirmative action and other
initiatives emanating from the civil
rights movement.
He was the first president to
use the "bully pulpit " of the presi-
viduals guilty of violating the rules
of these programs who just hap­
pened to be black. Despite the
fact that there were always more
whites than blacks on welfare and
food stamps, the racial subtext of
the Reagan assault played to the
misconception that these were
"black programs," which com­
bined with civil rights laws and
affirmative action initiatives, were
encroaching on rights and well­
being of whites.
Under the guise of reducing
the size of government to provide
relief for taxpayers, his goal was
to dramatically reduce or elimi­
nate social safety net programs.
The Reagan I remember advo-
Reagan skillfully attacked the
welfare and food stamp programs and
. r i
r>. i
t
other aspects oj the New Deal and
Great Society social safely network,
contending that they constituted a
heavy and unjustified burden on the
hacks oj American taxpayers.
and Great Society social safety
network, contending that they
constituted a heavy and unjusti-
fied burden on the backs of Ameri­
can taxpayers.
He declared war on "welfare
queens" and "food stamp cheats,"
cleverly citing examples of indi-
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them with non-union workers.
In an era where capital flight,
plant closings and globalization
were beginning to take their toll
on organized labor, Reagan basi­
cally sent an unambiguous mes­
sage on behalf of the economic
elite that labor had better get used
to working for the wages, benefits
and conditions offered by the
bosses or else face losing jobs all
together. He ushered in an era of
corporate dominance of unions
and workers, the effects of which
we are still reeling from today.
Reagan claimed to have never
seen racism. Therefore, it is un­
derstandable that he generally op­
posed civil rights legislation. He
once remarked that "If an indi­
vidual wants to discrim inate
against Negroes or others in sell­
ing or renting his house, it is his
right to do so."
The Reagan I remember was so
oblivious to negative racial atti­
tudes towards blacks, or so he
wanted to pretend, that he went to
the Neshoba County Fair in Mis­
sissippi, near the site where four
civil rights workers were murdered
in 1964, to launch his campaign
for president in 1980.
He delivered a ringing endorse­
ment.of "state's rights" and railed
against government dictating un­
popular policies to the states.
Without a doubt, this was a calcu­
lated extension of Richard M.
Nixon's "southern strategy" and
a blatant appeal to white voters,
large numbers of whom held racial
animus towards blacks.
Perhaps, the pundits, analysts
and commentators had amnesia
about this "darker side" of Ronald
Reagan. Or perhaps they, like so
many Americans, even those who
were hurt by his policies, were
deceived by his pleasant smile
and charming demeanor.
Ronald Reagan never received
an Academy Award as a B rate
actor, but he deserves one for his
performance as President of the
United States. Apparently, he
fooled a lot of people!
cated dramatic tax cuts and de­
regulation to stimulate busi-
ness» so-called supply side eco-
nomics." His director of the Office
of Management and Budget later
admitted this approach was es­
sentially a "trickle down eco­
nomic" scheme to further enrich
the wealthy.
As Rev. Jesse L. Jackson char­
acterized it, Reagan's sleight of
hand was "reverse Robin Hood"
where he took from the poor and
gave to the military and the rich.
The Reagan I remember was a
pro-big business, an ti-lab o r
hardliner hell bent on destroying
unions as the guardian of the as­
pirations of working people.
When the air traffic controllers
union went on strike to demand
more controllers and better work­
ing conditions, Reagan demanded
that they return to work or be
fired. When they refused, true to
Dr. Ron Daniels is a d istin ­
his word, he fired more than 11,000 guished lecturer at York College
affiliated controllers and replaced City University o f New York.
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