President Obama has taken to talking about “middle class economics,” but the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus isn’t sure that’s good for black Americans.

“We cannot forget that so many of our families are not middle class,” Representative G.K. Butterfield (D., N.C.) told Roll Call.

“[B]lack America is in a state of emergency right no,” he also said.

Obama appropriated the “middle class economics” mantra from the Center for American Progress for the 2015 State of the Union address.

“Expanding opportunity works,” he said. “Today, thanks to a growing economy, the recovery is touching more and more lives. Wages are finally starting to rise again. We know that more small business owners plan to raise their employees’ pay than at any time since 2007.”

The message has created some uncomfortable moments for the incumbent administration, given that the Obama has been in office since 2009.

“The middle class has been slammed,” Vice President Joe Biden said last week. “They are in worse shape than they have been at any time since the 20s.”