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Unemployment has fallen more heavily on blacks in New York City, with 80,000 more unemployed blacks than whites, even though there are about 1.5 million more whites than blacks in New York City. This is from areport by the City Comptroller's office, and is as of the end of March. THe gap between black and white unemployment has widened substantially in the past few months and this may be because of the large numbers of black people in retailing and other hard hit service industries.

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How Africans see the Obama trip to Ghana, in places like Kenya and Uganda, and other African countries. Says Olara Otunnu, aformer Ugandan foreign minister, the single line that resonated throughout Africa was the one from the inaugural: "to those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history." The way Africans see Obama is that he is next of kin, a son of a Kenyan goat herder. Otunnu says people were saying, "our son is there, in the White House, God bless us." Says Rep Donald Payne, who heads the House subcommittee on Africa, the Obama adminstration would "concentrate on things that prevent terror, like higher education." The old lens of foreigh policy that veered from near neocolonial to cold warish, to benevolent, now shifts to a genuineness of concern for a continent that has gone through so much and still struggles. Here more than anyplace on earth the words of the Pope that Obama heard in Rome, echo through space, it is time to see other people in other lands not just as neighbors but brothers. ...

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Obama vists Acrra, Ghana, July 11, 2009. It is an emotional moment for Obama, and for Ghana and the African continent as a whole. It seems the whole nation was out on the streets,on crowded rooftops, packing balconies, leaning out of windows, to get a glimpse of Obama. Particularly emotional is the moment when he stood at the Door of No Return at Cape Coast Castle, a notorious slave port perched on the ocean. He spoke about the existence of "evil" that he had seen at Buchenwald, and here again. He spoke up against the poverty of Africa that is compounded by the greed, corruption and the lack of responsibility of the elites in African countries. Obama said "Africa doesn't need strong men, it needs strong institutions." He talked about his personal experience: "I have the blood of Africa within me, and my family's story encompasses both the tragedies and triumphs of the larger African story. Some of you know my grandfather was a cook for the British in Kenya, and though he was a respected elder in his village, his employers called him boy for much of his life." See the related story on Nigeria, which was avoided by the President on his visit. And where because of the corruption and lack of responsible government, influential Nigerian voices themselves feel this was the right thing to do. This is one area in which Obama picks up from a strong effort by President Bush. Bush tried to frame policy by rewarding good government and building institutions through programs like the Millenium CHallenge Corporation, an antipoverty effort that gave Ghana $547 million in 2006. Both Bush and Clinton visited here....