In September a New York Times/CBS News poll found that fewer than one in 10 Americans had heard about the Obama administration's hallmark tax cuts. Though the cuts had decreased income taxes up to $400 a year for individuals and $800 for married couples, virtually nobody knew about them, least of all members of the burgeoning Tea Party movement, which bases most of its rhetoric on the argument that President Obama is taxing everyone into poverty.
If most everyone is ignorant about what the president has done for literally all taxpaying Americans, it follows that even more people won’t have heard about what Obama has done for minority communities. His successes in that area are rarely touted in the mainstream media. Senator Obama was heckled on the campaign trail for a supposed indifference to the rights of the black community, and some African Americans have called President Obama a disappointment. While much of the criticism is valid, some of it seems to ignore the policy realities of the past 20 months.
WIth that in mind, The Root gives you The Agenda: What Obama Has Done for You.
Over the next few days, and using interviews with key White House executives, we'll give you a glance at what this administration has accomplished — and hopes to accomplish — to better lives in communities of color. Our hope is that it will help keep you informed come Election Day.
Part 1: What Health Care Reform Means for African Americans
Part 2: How Obama's Green Policies Benefit Blacks
Part 3: How Obama's Economic Policies Affect Blacks
Part 4: How Obama's Educational Policies Benefit Blacks
Part 5: How Obama's Civil Rights Policies Are Benefiting Blacks