The recession has stripped African-Americans of thirty years of economic gains, according to the president the . Marc Morial was in Austin today to speak to a leadership summit hosted by the
"It has been difficult for white, Latino, Asian, all people. But African-Americans have taken the toughest brunt of this,鈥� Morial said.
Morial says unemployment for African-Americans is running at 16 percent, almost twice the national average. Among African-American youth, it's 41 percent.
He says the Urban League supports , though the group would like to see the plan expanded to benefit more public sector workers.
Jeffrey Richard is the former president of the Austin-area Urban League. He says the jobless rate among blacks in Central Texas is also between 14 and 16 percent, and he says budget cuts could make that higher.
鈥淎frican-Americans have traditionally fared better in public employment and in educational institutions,鈥� Richard told KUT News. 鈥淭hose are the very two institutions that comprise a large part of the economy here and they are up next for reductions.鈥�
Richard says a downturn in public funding would likely have a ripple effect on unemployment, making the situation for African-Americans in Austin a lot worse.