Sholom Aleichem has a quote that describes how many people live in America:
“Life is a dream for the wise, a game for the fool, a comedy for the rich, a tragedy for the poor.”
Americans are constantly told by President Donald Trump that African-Americans and Hispanics in the United States are “living in hell” because inner cities are so dangerous1 . Are Black Americans the only Americans living a tragedy?
McDowell County3 , the poorest county in West Virginia, has been emblematic of entrenched American poverty for more than a half-century. John F. Kennedy campaigned here in 1960 and was so appalled that he promised to send help if elected president. His first executive order created the modern food stamp program, whose first recipients were McDowell County residents. When President Lyndon B. Johnson declared “unconditional war on poverty” in 1964, it was the squalor of Appalachia he had in mind.
The 2015 U.S. American Factfinder Census4 states that 2,022 African-Americans lived among 20,802 people in McDowell County. That’s 9.2% of the total population. The table below from the U.S. Census shows the demographics of the county.
| RACE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total population | 20,802 | ***** | 20,802 | (X) |
| One race | 20,636 | +/-66 | 99.2% | +/-0.3 |
| Two or more races | 166 | +/-66 | 0.8% | +/-0.3 |
| One race | 20,636 | +/-66 | 99.2% | +/-0.3 |
| White | 18,588 | +/-50 | 89.4% | +/-0.2 |
| Black or African American | 1,905 | +/-92 | 9.2% | +/-0.4 |
| Some other race | 119 | +/-48 | 0.6% | +/-0.2 |
| Two or more races | 166 | +/-66 | 0.8% | +/-0.3 |
| White and Black or African American | 117 | +/-56 | 0.6% | +/-0.3 |
| White and American Indian and Alaska Native | 5 | +/-6 | 0.0% | +/-0.1 |
| White and Asian | 2 | +/-4 | 0.0% | +/-0.1 |
| Black or African American and American Indian and Alaska Native | 0 | +/-17 | 0.0% | +/-0.1 |
young adult cowboy style man on stable
| Subject | McDowell County, West Virginia | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Households | Families | Married-couple families | Nonfamily households | |||||
| Estimate | Margin of Error | Estimate | Margin of Error | Estimate | Margin of Error | Estimate | Margin of Error | |
| Total | 8,180 | +/-262 | 5,400 | +/-258 | 3,621 | +/-252 | 2,780 | +/-211 |
| Less than $10,000 | 18.8% | +/-2.4 | 13.7% | +/-2.4 | 6.8% | +/-2.0 | 31.8% | +/-5.0 |
| $10,000 to $14,999 | 11.0% | +/-1.7 | 8.5% | +/-1.9 | 6.8% | +/-2.3 | 17.4% | +/-3.5 |
| $15,000 to $24,999 | 20.4% | +/-2.1 | 18.6% | +/-3.0 | 15.7% | +/-3.0 | 23.2% | +/-3.4 |
| $25,000 to $34,999 | 12.4% | +/-2.3 | 12.7% | +/-2.5 | 12.6% | +/-2.6 | 9.8% | +/-3.5 |
| $35,000 to $49,999 | 13.8% | +/-1.9 | 16.5% | +/-2.7 | 17.8% | +/-3.6 | 8.2% | +/-2.6 |
| $50,000 to $74,999 | 11.9% | +/-2.2 | 14.4% | +/-2.8 | 18.9% | +/-4.0 | 6.5% | +/-2.4 |
| $75,000 to $99,999 | 6.4% | +/-1.2 | 8.8% | +/-1.8 | 12.1% | +/-2.4 | 1.8% | +/-1.4 |
| $100,000 to $149,999 | 3.6% | +/-1.0 | 4.4% | +/-1.4 | 5.9% | +/-2.1 | 1.0% | +/-0.9 |
| $150,000 to $199,999 | 0.9% | +/-0.5 | 1.2% | +/-0.7 | 1.8% | +/-1.1 | 0.3% | +/-0.4 |
| $200,000 or more | 0.8% | +/-0.5 | 1.1% | +/-0.8 | 1.7% | +/-1.2 | 0.0% | +/-1.0 |
| Median income (dollars) | 24,921 | +/-1,590 | 31,984 | +/-2,788 | 41,740 | +/-4,531 | 15,357 | +/-1,893 |
| Mean income (dollars) | 36,706 | +/-2,220 | 43,158 | +/-2,912 | N | N | 22,181 | +/-2,163 |
Persons in poverty, percent
Educational Attainment: Percent high school graduate or higher
Persons without health insurance, percent
16.6%
Is this the Pot calling the Kettle Black?
Looking at the census data about McDowell County, you would think that this is the Southside of Chicago or Congressman John Lewis’s district. Maybe a black county in Mississippi or Alabama. You would be wrong, my friend! I wonder if President Trump was aware of this data when he tried to shame Congressman Lewis?
W. E. B. Du Bois said:
“To be a poor man is hard, but to be a poor race in a land of dollars is the very bottom of hardships.”
The data suggests that while Black Americans are struggling economically, there are places in the United States that are also in terrible shape. Jay Harold prays that we move forward and help McDowell County and other places in similar economic condition thrive again.
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Please take this advice of Muhammad Ali and give back to others. “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.” ~ Muhammad Ali
Bibliography
- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-says-african-americans-and-hispanics-are-living-in-hell_us_57e9ddbee4b082aad9b694bf
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDowell_County,_West_Virginia
- https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/21/us/50-years-into-the-war-on-poverty-hardship-hits-back.html
- https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/chart/POP060210/54047 (Double click on McDowell County Link for info)
- https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/15/us/politics/trumps-race-john-lewis.html?_r=0
