A New Deal for a Right to Work: Confronting Racism and Inequality in the U.S.

Whites have always controlled the country’s major economic and political institutions at all levels. Starting with slavery, the enduring and pervasive dogmas of White superiority and Black inferiority, once openly asserted as “keeping Negroes in their place,” were also used to restrict Black men and women to subordinate “negro jobs.” The vast riches of the United States “were available to all who had the enterprise to take them and the good fortune to be White.” This denial of the right to work in freely chosen endeavors continues to have immense consequences for Black men, women, and children in every aspect of their economic, political, and social rights. Here, the discussion intends to provide a new perspective on those violations, suggest remedies, and spark further discussion.