Federal employment has long provided a pathway to the middle class for families of color, especially African American families. The 1960s saw a resurgence of federal employment for people of color. The reversal of former President Woodrow Wilson’s segregationist policies, the equal employment initiatives of the Johnson administration, and other important victories of the civil rights movement made holding a job with the federal government an opportunity to move into the middle class.
These jobs provided people of color with an opportunity to serve the country while receiving competitive pay and some measure of protection against racial discrimination. Today, people of color are almost 37 percent of federal executive branch employees. While they remain underrepresented in senior positions in the federal government, these jobs have helped countless families build wealth and gain access to the American dream. Continue reading “Trump’s Shutdown Threatened the American Dream, Especially for People of Color”