No matter the president, inner-city reform up to state and local leaders

When President Obama took office in 2008, being the first black president, he was immediately met with the expectation that he would focus much of his time and resources on improving the lives of African-Americans.

This is an expectation that has endured throughout his presidency, and as his time in the Oval Office is coming to a close, many have begun to question the effectiveness of the president’s policies relating to inner-city development and the overall well-being of African-Americans.

To no one’s surprise, President-elect Donald Trump and Republican officials across the nation have continuously condemned the efforts of the Obama administration when it comes to inner-city development and education improvement. While the current state of public schools and other assistance facilities in America’s cities are still nowhere near an ideal standard, it would be arrogant to say that Obama has not taken crucial steps toward improvement.

What many Americans do not realize is that our nation’s inner-city development is largely dependent on state and local officials. There is only so much that the president can do — such allocating federal funds — but if governors and state representatives are incapable of implementing effective policies for their respective jurisdictions, it’s hard for change to occur.

In cities such as Detroit, Obama fought to pass large funding bills which directly benefited public transportation, public housing as well as resources for the fire and police departments. With the president’s Every Student Succeeds Act, not only did he replace George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act — perhaps one of the worst education reforms ever put in place — he also returned a significant amount of power and decision-making abilities back to the states, a move that Republicans have fought for tirelessly over the years.

{mosads}So why is it that so many areas in Detroit remain displaced? The answer is simple: Michigan Republicans and the governor of Michigan have continued to run up the debt while allowing public schools to deteriorate.

The bottom line is that we as a nation must take a closer look at state and local leadership, rather than succumb to the fallacy that the president has the total power over the individual lives of Americans.

Looking forward, it is unclear what Trump will mean for inner-city reform. While his proposal for a massive infrastructure bill is a good sign, only time will tell whether The Donald will make a real effort to work with members of his party on a state and local level.

To his credit, the president-elect recently made some headroom when it comes to taking on his party by objecting to a measure that would put lawmakers in control of the Office of Congressional Ethics, the independent body created in 2008 to investigate the allegations of misconduct by lawmakers.

Regardless of whether or not you believe Obama’s policies impacted the well-being of American-Americans, there is no question historical presence has changed this country forever.

For some, his presidency confirmed that we live in a post-racial society.

For others, he made it clear that America has more work to do to overcome 400 years of compounded institutional racism.

Either way, the livelihoods and well-beings of African-Americans still hang in the balance, and now the GOP won’t have anyone to blame if things don’t improve in the next four years under a President Donald Trump, GOP-controlled Congress and dozens of GOP governors and state legislatures.

Richard A. Fowler is the host of the nationally syndicated radio program “The Richard Fowler Show,” which can also be viewed on YouTube as an affiliate of The Young Turks network. He is also a Fox News contributor and a senior fellow for the New Leaders Council. Follow him on Twitter @RichardAFowler.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill.