Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) claims to be a champion for minorities and the oppressed – yet the district she represents (Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District) was rated as the worst district for blacks to reside in the entire nation amongst hundreds of others.
In fact, the Democratic Party – which claims to be the party that takes care of people of diversity and underprivileged populations – represents 25 of the worst 30 congressional districts in the United States.
Race relations in these areas are also amongst the worst in the country.
“The same areas are also some of the most segregated in America,” TheBlaze noted.
Instead of being a bastion of inclusion and opportunity, as Omar touted on the campaign trail, her district has become notorious for division and hopelessness.
“The numbers produce a stark picture of the 5th Congressional District [represented by Omar], which encompasses Minneapolis and several surrounding suburbs,” CBS local WCCO announced.
Taking care of their constituents or mere talk?
Results of research conducted by the financial website, 24/7 Wall Street, using U.S. Census Bureau data, revealed disturbing news for minorities and those disposed to vote for the left out of a belief that Democrats in office will fight to bring them more opportunities and financial success.
Allowing Americans to see how representatives are taking care of their own, the study has “created an index to measure socioeconomic disparities between black and white Americans by congressional districts to identify the worst congressional districts for black Americans.”
Numbers don’t lie
During election season, empty promises and assurances of improved conditions may laden speeches of campaigning representatives. But the ability to strengthen and bring communities together within congressional districts between times casting votes at the ballot box are said to be the determining factor in the effectiveness and integrity of elected officials to deliver.
Once the figures were tallied, it was discovered that Omar produced results during her inaugural year in office that placed her district in dead last among the nation’s 435 congressional districts – each containing approximately 747,000 people.
Researchers based their study on several measures: “cost of living-adjusted median household income, poverty, adult high school and bachelor’s degree attainment, homeownership, and unemployment rate,” 24/7 Wall Street informed.
African Americans living in Omar’s district are much worse off than those living in any other of the 435 districts in the country – especially when comparing them to national averages.
“Nationwide, the typical black household earns about $25,000 a year less than the typical white household,” 24/7 Wall Street’s Samuel Stebbens divulged from U.S. Census Bureau statistics. “African-American workers are also more than twice as likely to be unemployed as white workers.”
However, in Omar’s district, the black poverty rate is 37.2 percent, compared to 9.4 percent for whites – nearly for times higher, according the study – and approximately twice as high as the average black poverty rate across the U.S.
The study also shows the black unemployment rate in Omar’s district is 12.3 percent (twice the rate in the rest of the U.S.), next to a 4.0 percent unemployment rate for whites. In other words, blacks in Omar’s district are four times more likely to be unemployed than whites (twice that of the rest of the U.S.).
In addition, the black homeownership rate for blacks in Omar’s district is 19.8 percent vs. 63.1 percent for whites (or three times more for whites), while the average homeownership rate for African Americans in all 435 districts is twice the rate than those living in Omar’s district.
Responsibilities of representatives
Even though representatives don’t have full control to implement all the changes they would like in their districts – and keeping in mind that many factors go into the socioeconomic conditions experienced by residents within a congressional district – these elected officials are obligated to fight for a better way of life for their constituents to the best of their ability using the resources at their fingertips.
“[C]ongressmen and congresswomen are elected to represent the best interests of their constituents at the national level by writing, amending and voting on legislation that can benefit their district,” Stebbens explained.
“As such, congressional representatives are in a unique position of power to address issues of social and economic inequality within their district. Civil rights and racial equality are central to the political platform of several representatives on this list.”
The report on the study said that as America’s first refugee and Somali-American representative, Omar inherited some challenges in her district; but apparently, little had been done to keep her district from being the worst district in the nation for blacks to reside. Failure to see improvements are being addressed, especially with a leader who proclaims to be dedicated to improving conditions for minorities – a reputation she strives to portray when criticizing President Donald Trump as he deals with overcrowding in border detention facilities … and when condemning Israel as it keeps militant Palestinian protesters and terrorists at bay.
“Black area residents [in Omar’s district] are about four times more likely to live below the poverty line than white residents and three times more likely to be unemployed,” Stebbens revealed. “Disparate outcomes along racial lines in the district are largely the legacy of historic racism. Minneapolis is one of several Midwestern cities that enacted restrictive housing covenants and exclusionary zoning policies in the early 20th century. These policies impact residential patterns to this day.”
Ignoring her own while honing in on illegals, Palestinians?
As black Americans in her own district continue to suffer, Omar has consistently criticized conditions that illegal immigrants at the U.S. border experience due to overcrowding from lax immigration policies championed by Democrats. She has also focused her criticism on Israel for conditions Palestinians live under as they continue to carry out terrorist attacks on their peaceful Jewish neighbors.
Regarding Omar’s continual attention given to the U.S.-Mexico border crisis, she has stood by fellow “Squad” member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) in calling detention centers for illegal immigrants breaking into the country “concentration camps,” as she calls for open-borders policies with fellow Muslim congresswoman Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).
Omar has also stood with Palestinian-American Tlaib in attacking Israel through the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, whose ultimate goal is the destruction of Israel. She has accused Israel of making Palestinians live under an “Apartheid state” – despite Jewish leadership’s continual humanitarian aid and attempts of diplomacy with the terrorist-run Palestinian leadership that is not open to negotiations.
In the midst of inserting herself in the midst of these two ongoing controversies, Omar has seldom been seen on the nightly news addressing, fighting or solving the problems people within her own district face on a daily basis – especially as the leader of the nation’s worst district for African Americans.