Black Voters Ambivalent on Midterms

The recession has been hard on black Americans: in Kansas City’s black community, for instance, unemployment is around 15 percent, almost three times the rate for whites. Still, despite the nation’s slow economic recovery, blacks continue to rally around President Obama. “I like what he’s doing,” said one Kansas City resident. “But I can't feel it.” His views remain the standard among blacks. In fact, polls show that 90 percent of African Americans think Obama’s policies are on the right track—this despite Obama’s overall 46 percent approval rating. What black voters don’t seem to care about, though, are midterm elections. And the Democratic National Committee seems well aware of the problem. It has launched a $50 million nationwide effort to get blacks to the polls this November.