African Americans have staged a rally in Washington to protest against socioeconomic disparities in the US and failures to provide jobs to the black communities.
Members of the New Black Panther Party and the Black is Back coalition converged in a neighborhood in DC's Southeast quadrant for a National Day of Action, demanding attention to inequalities in education, housing and healthcare, a Press TV correspondent reported on Monday.
Protesters were particularly outraged by US President Barack Obama's failure to address the black communities' problems as figures show black unemployment hovers at staggering 16 percent nationwide.
"I'm very angry and disappointed because we supported him because he promised us change but he's just the same," an angry protester told Press TV.
According to the latest US Labor Department figures, overall jobless rates across the country fell to a better-than-expected 8.8 percent in March, but the unemployment rate also for black teenagers stood at 50 percent -- more than double the national average.
Blacks were among the first to lose jobs when the US recession began and now they are the populations having the hardest time bouncing back despite the 216,000 jobs added nationwide last month.
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