Essay on Black Inequality And The Black Of High Places

In chapter three, “Black Faces in High Places”, Taylor discusses the rise of Black political power and its consequences for the Black poor and working class. Johnson’s War on Poverty and Great Society programs, between 1965 and 1972, created many job opportunities for Black workers. African Americans became wealthy enough to “live in spacious homes, buy luxury goods, travel abroad on vacation, spoil their children- to live, in other words, just like well-to-do white folks” (81). The emergence of the black middle class, allowed many Black elected officials to represent Black communities. The experiences of this small African American group became success stories of “how hard work could enable Blacks to overcome institutional challenges” (82). Black political, social, and economic power was integrated in American societies to help relive the tensions, coming from police brutality, within the cities. The government and politicians believed that “more Black control and ownership within the cities might help to calm the rebellious Black population” (83). In other words, the government and politicians believed that by electing Black mayors the tensions between the Black population within the cities will be resolved. Taylor argues that the “utility of Black elected officials lies in their ability, as members of the community, to scold ordinary Black people in ways that white politicians could never get away with” (79). The government used Black electoral power as a strategy to…