4 ms·

It's amusing how much "Civil Rights and Race Relations" ballooned after Obama took office.

danso 10y ago
Make sense. For starters, the economy was in such a crisis that economic concerns took priority over everything else when Obama entered office. Second, his office made dealing with civil rights a priority, which meant that the costs of prioritizing civil rights suddenly drew more attention than when it was a backburner issue.
- rdtsc 10y ago
  > his office made dealing with civil rights a priority, which meant that the costs of prioritizing civil rights suddenly drew more attention than when it was a backburner issue. I've been wondering about that. What did he do specifically for the Black community who pretty much voted as a block for him. Are they able to get access to jobs, housing, education because of him. Do kids feels safer walking home from school? I don't really now, I am not asking because I know it is not, just curious if anyone has a better idea.
  - danso 10y ago
    Administrations may not necessarily make new laws/regulations, but they are able to make priorities. For example, the Bush Administration had a bigger focus on stopping illegal immigration and enforcing the Patriot Act: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/01/politics/gonzales-lays-out-his-priorities-at-justice-dept.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/01/politics/gonzales-lays-out... In contrast, the Obama administration was seen to have "rebuilt" the civil rights arm of the Justice dept into its "crown jewel": http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-justice-department-trump-20161117-story.html http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-justice-department-tru... One of the more well-known initiatives of the Justice Dept. under Obama's administration is the police data initiative, something that was sparked after officer-involved shootings (Ferguson, etc.) revealed that the FBI was doing a shoddy job of tracking these incidents nationwide: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/04/22/fact-sheet-white-house-police-data-initiative-highlights-new-commitments https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/0... A non-justice example: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's work in looking at fairness in lending and housing: - https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/consumer-financial-protection-bureau-and-department-justice-action-requires-bancorpsouth-pay-106-million-address-discriminatory-mortgage-lending-practices/ https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/consumer-f... Incidentally, this initiative has led to one of the best government datasets: 9.2 GB of mortgage data: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/hmda/ https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/hmda/

danso 10y ago

Make sense. For starters, the economy was in such a crisis that economic concerns took priority over everything else when Obama entered office. Second, his office made dealing with civil rights a priority, which meant that the costs of prioritizing civil rights suddenly drew more attention than when it was a backburner issue.

rdtsc 10y ago
> his office made dealing with civil rights a priority, which meant that the costs of prioritizing civil rights suddenly drew more attention than when it was a backburner issue. I've been wondering about that. What did he do specifically for the Black community who pretty much voted as a block for him. Are they able to get access to jobs, housing, education because of him. Do kids feels safer walking home from school? I don't really now, I am not asking because I know it is not, just curious if anyone has a better idea.
- danso 10y ago
  Administrations may not necessarily make new laws/regulations, but they are able to make priorities. For example, the Bush Administration had a bigger focus on stopping illegal immigration and enforcing the Patriot Act: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/01/politics/gonzales-lays-out-his-priorities-at-justice-dept.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/01/politics/gonzales-lays-out... In contrast, the Obama administration was seen to have "rebuilt" the civil rights arm of the Justice dept into its "crown jewel": http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-justice-department-trump-20161117-story.html http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-justice-department-tru... One of the more well-known initiatives of the Justice Dept. under Obama's administration is the police data initiative, something that was sparked after officer-involved shootings (Ferguson, etc.) revealed that the FBI was doing a shoddy job of tracking these incidents nationwide: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/04/22/fact-sheet-white-house-police-data-initiative-highlights-new-commitments https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/0... A non-justice example: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's work in looking at fairness in lending and housing: - https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/consumer-financial-protection-bureau-and-department-justice-action-requires-bancorpsouth-pay-106-million-address-discriminatory-mortgage-lending-practices/ https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/consumer-f... Incidentally, this initiative has led to one of the best government datasets: 9.2 GB of mortgage data: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/hmda/ https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/hmda/