(ThyBlackMan.com) When we look back through the years and examine the black race’s march toward freedom in the United States, we see a singularity of focus that is missing today. In the past, all black people shared a singularity of focus generally when it came to freedom and civil rights. The reasons are relatively simple why the focus of African Americans was so keen in those early years and right up to the 1960’s and 1970’s. The system of racism as practiced in this country was so oppressive that no one could mistake within the ranks of the black community what the objective of blacks should be.
There was no need for politicians to rouse blacks to the cause of freedom. There was no need for political pressure groups to plea with them to join movements to realize this objective. Slavery was so spiritually and physically debilitating to Africans in this country, that many desired freedom or death as an alternative. For many, escaping to the North and running the risk of getting caught and sometimes killed was much more preferred than working on the plantations and farms of the South. In the end, freedom was not something given to Africans brought to this country in chains. It was demanded! Through prayer,coupled with political and armed agitation, blacks forced the hand of a reluctant nation through various means climaxing in President Lincoln signing into law the Emancipation Proclamation.
Many historians will argue the Civil War in America was not fought to free black slaves, but to prevent the South from seceding from the United States federation. However, there is no denying the reason for succession was the desire by Southern whites to maintain slavery as a viable
economic system.
The act of freeing blacks came about because of the shared vision of enslaved Africans desiring freedom from the deplorable economic system advocated by Southern whites and lawfully supported by the United States federal government up to the beginning of the Civil War. The shared vision of blacks to be free was palpable and could not be denied by the larger majority population. However, physical enslavement gave way to Jim Crow laws, which denied blacks educational, political and economic opportunity. Once again, a singularity of purpose and vision arose within the black community in response to the Jim Crow laws.
Their shared vision was to get rid of the oppressive Jim Crow laws and mores of this country that impeded their right to an unfettered existence and rights of citizenship. Political and sometimes armed agitation over the years peaked in the 1960’s and 1970’s with the Civil Rights Movement. This singularity of purpose and shared vision, again supported by prayer, and political agitation was powerful enough to move the majority population to action. The activities of various civil rights leaders and black citizens led to the passage of tangible legislation, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Supreme Court decision that overturned the “separate but equal” law of the Alabama transit bus system.
Not to be lost among the legislative victories and the court decisions was Brown v the Board of Education of Topeka Kansas litigated by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People NAACP), which led to the end of the practice of separate, but equal when it came to public schools. It was the shared desire of blacks to have their lives unencumbered by racist laws and practices. This shared vision percolated through the black community and into the Civil Rights Movement. History shows when blacks have coalesced around a single vision or cause, they have achieved success!
It is this singularity of focus when it comes to high black unemployment that is missing today. Poverty and joblessness touch so many people in the black community. The latest black unemployment rate according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics increased from 10.7% in June to 11.4% in July. The rate for black women during that same period ratcheted up from 9% to 10.1 %. The national rate increased from 6.1% to 6.2%. Conservatively, it is agreed among experts, the real numbers are higher by as much as 2% for the national and black rates. It’s a scary position in which we find ourselves because this is our sixth year in double- digits when it comes to the unemployment rates.
This cannot be good for our race and community on any level. There is a need for everyone to become passionate in this area. Blacks have an obligation to not allow the national media to talk and write about double-digit black unemployment as if it is “the new normal.” It is unacceptable, especially when there is a solution available to end it! Brothers and sisters,,, let us coalesce and develop a singularity of vision and purpose around this solution. We as a people, first need good jobs and secondly access to “risk capital” as we need to expand our footprint in business. There is a book titled “The Fix This Time! Expanding Social Security Benefits to Create Jobs and Spur Demand” @ http://www.amazon.com/dp/BOOMI3pd2M which advocates a solution to both these problems. Download it now and begin the process of developing a shared vision which will lead to a resolution of our economic problems.
More information about JD and his Deficit Neutral Job Creation Plan can be founded at http://www.Jobcreationnow.com.
This most knowledgeable and talented “brother” latest book about job creation titled: The Fix This Time! can be purchased @ http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MI3PD2M. While there also pick up his book title; Hey…God’s Talking To You The Study Book @ http://www.amazon.com/dp/BOOMI3VQW.