The military base closures and corporate downsizings and restructurings that cut stable, well-paying jobs during the 1990s paved the way for attacks on immigrants and affirmative action. Former Governor Pete Wilson led these attacks. He pandered to white racism, worsened by fear and anxiety about economic stability. Such a scheme meets the needs of the few who govern the many. This isn't new, of course.
Racism props up capitalism.
Today the racial lines of our economic and social crisis are there for all who choose to see. Laws and policies crafted by our corporate Democrats and Republicans have harmed black people. Their labor is less and less needed to create wealth for the few. Incarceration has become a growing solution to the crisis of black employment. In the meantime, biracial resistance to white racism takes different forms in different places.