Reaction 10

What evidence does LBJ offer as proof of the widening economic gap between black and white Americans? How does he explain this gap? How are the sentiments he expressed represented in this cartoon?

LBJ realized when he became President that he had a large gap to bridge between black and white Americans. Beginning with his election in 1964, Lyndon Johnson knew there was alot to get done as far as making America economically stable, as well as equally fair. LBJ set forth many acts and policies to aid African Americans and other minorities in correcting this economic gap. LBJ explained this widening gap as instability in the African American family due to centuries of discrimination and economic oppression at the hands of white Americans. He also thought white people were the ones to blame for the years of discrimination and oppression.

The first act set in place signed by LBJ was the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It prohibited the literacy test in voting, and was a response to activism and violence. His idea in this was to give African Americans the opportunity to get more involved in politics, and therefore, involved in economics. Johnson viewed the election as a mandate for his "War on Poverty," and set out to form "The Great Society." He was influenced by Michael Harrington's The Other America, which focuses on the invisible poor in America.  Johnson's idea of the Great Society included abundance and liberty to everyone, the chance for every child to get an education, the battle for full equality as well as against poverty, and to serve the needs of the people within the community.  This Great Society would have enduring peace between the races, and offer each the same opportunities. He also extended Medicare and Medicaid to the elderly and poor, which would be considered the  African Americans in this case.  In addition, LBJ tried to offer adequate shelter for everyone in the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Food Stamp Act of 1964 also offered economic aid to those who were in need financially, especially the unemployed among African Americans. To offer the chance at cleaner and more comfortable conditions on behalf of all those in the inner-cities, usually minorities, Johnson added the Water Quality Act. Job Corps also gave young men the chance to learn skills to have a higher chance at being hired for jobs.  The last bit of Johnson's platform in the Great Society was based more on eduation, like the Elementary and Secondary Eduaction Act, as well as the Higher Education Act, which offered pell grants and student loans to those in need.

In the first frames of the illustration, the weights represent the oppression African Americans received from whites because of slavery brought upon them the few hundreds years before that.  The chains are symbolic of the complete oppression African Americans received before the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were passed after the Civil War. After the chains are removed, one may observe it is symbolic of Africans being freed from slavery. However, the black man is still suffering as the white man progresses, yet leaves the black man behind to progress by himself. The point being made here is that even thought the black man was freed from slavery, he still had no true rights as an American. In the fifth picture, the black man stands up to fight for his rights, symbolic of the Civil Rights movements that took place in the 1950s. Toward the end of the sketch, the white man apologizes to the black man for putting him through such hard times and difficulty, but however, the white man is still unwilling to offer any help to the black man. The ledge represents the complete American Dream, and prosperity. The reason the white man offers no help in the black man achieving the American Dream was because whites thought they had no reason to aid African Americans because they considered it reverse racism. This idea popped up from the Civil Rights movements of the 1950s through 1970s. White people thought helping African Americans could be considered reverse racism because the idea of Civl Rights was to offer each man the same chances and opportunities, and offering African Americans a hand up on the situation wouldn't make it fair for white people.