ABSTRACT
Behind the signs of incredible black success since 1992, epitomized by media magnates such as Oprah Winfrey and the double election of an African American to the White House, there are worrying indications of regression. The vision of a post-racial or color-blind future for the US has been undermined by the continued issue of urban segregation, racial profiling, and the way the so-called “pipeline” between ghetto and prison determines a disproportionate percentage of African American men’s lives. If a certain but small part of the black community have benefitted from neoliberal opportunities since 1992, the underpinning “trickle-down” or “rising tide lifts all boats economic theory” (the legacy of economic ideas espoused most influentially by F.A. Hayek and Milton Friedman) has not delivered its promise of benefitting the poorer sections of the nation—especially African Americans. 1
