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<blockquote data-quote="Babagounj" data-source="post: 906675" data-attributes="member: 12952"><a href="http://weaselzippers.us/2011/11/27/occupy-wall-street-only-1-6-of-protesters-are-black/" target="_blank">Occupy Wall Street: Only 1.6% of Protesters Are Black…</a><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-blacks-arent-embracing-occupy-wall-street/2011/11/16/gIQAwc3FwN_story.html" target="_blank">(WaPo)</a>&nbsp; — Occupy Wall Street might seem like a movement that would resonate&nbsp; with black Americans. After all, unemployment among African Americans is&nbsp; at 15 percent, vs. almost 8 percent for whites. And between 2005 and&nbsp; 2009, black households lost just over half of their median net worth&nbsp; compared with white families, who lost 16 percent, according to the Pew&nbsp; Research Center.However, these numbers have not translated into action. A few prominent&nbsp; African Americans, such as Cornel West, Russell Simmons, Kanye West and&nbsp; Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), have made appearances at Occupy protests.&nbsp; “Occupy the Hood,” a recent offshoot, has tried to get more people of&nbsp; color involved.But the main movement remains overwhelmingly white: A&nbsp; Fast Company survey last month found that African Americans, who are&nbsp; 12.6 percent of the U.S. population, make up only 1.6 percent of Occupy&nbsp; Wall Street.“Occupy Wall Street was started by whites and is about their concern&nbsp; with their plight,” Nathalie Thandiwe, a radio host and producer for&nbsp; WBAI in New York, said in an interview.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Babagounj, post: 906675, member: 12952"] [URL='http://weaselzippers.us/2011/11/27/occupy-wall-street-only-1-6-of-protesters-are-black/']Occupy Wall Street: Only 1.6% of Protesters Are Black…[/URL] [URL='http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-blacks-arent-embracing-occupy-wall-street/2011/11/16/gIQAwc3FwN_story.html'](WaPo)[/URL] — Occupy Wall Street might seem like a movement that would resonate with black Americans. After all, unemployment among African Americans is at 15 percent, vs. almost 8 percent for whites. And between 2005 and 2009, black households lost just over half of their median net worth compared with white families, who lost 16 percent, according to the Pew Research Center. However, these numbers have not translated into action. A few prominent African Americans, such as Cornel West, Russell Simmons, Kanye West and Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), have made appearances at Occupy protests. “Occupy the Hood,” a recent offshoot, has tried to get more people of color involved. But the main movement remains overwhelmingly white: A Fast Company survey last month found that African Americans, who are 12.6 percent of the U.S. population, make up only 1.6 percent of Occupy Wall Street. “Occupy Wall Street was started by whites and is about their concern with their plight,” Nathalie Thandiwe, a radio host and producer for WBAI in New York, said in an interview. [/QUOTE]

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