People Encouraged to Make ‘More Noise’ About Job Crisis
By Jacqueline Frances Taylor
(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Before a packed audience at the Congressional Black Caucus’ National Town Hall Meeting, Black lawmakers expressed their disappointment with the current job outlook for African-Americans and sought answers from the Obama Administration. But members of the audience had ideas of their own.
“It’s critically important that we come up with workable solutions that will make a difference…. I think people have got to get up out of their seats and start making more noise about what is happening,” said Michael Benjamin, M.P.H., CAE, executive director of the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America in Reston,Va. “We do need to support those politicians who support the things we do believe in. I think we need to do more in that area.”
Benjamin, 69, asked employers in the ballroom to consider their own affirmative action methods: “If we are in a position to employ Black folks, we should really do something about that.”
Alexis Herman, the first African-American to be appointed Secretary of Labor, moderated the Sept. 22 discussion during the CBC Foundation Annual Legislative Conference. The theme was “Economic Opportunity-Jobs.”
Herman noted, “The absence of jobs…good paying jobs is a matter of crisis…” She continued, “We are charting new territory to find a new way out.”
Other audience members joined Benjamin in giving poignant comments and anecdotal stories for bringing about change.
Eunice Garbutt, a 39-year-old former Democratic Florida State Senate candidate. said that her brother is unemployed and she has others in her family who are under-employed.
“We need to get a jobs bill passed now rather than later,” Garbutt added. “We are going to holiday season and it’s only going to be harder for families, especially families with small children.”
Jermaine Reed, councilman of the Third District of Kansas City, Mo., said he also has unemployed family members and half of his constituents are unemployed.
“I would say this is a good time for people to become entrepreneurs. Don’t let that red tape stop you. Pursue the larger dream that you have because with that we are able to create the wealth that is needed for the community,” suggested Reed, 27.
Maxine Spence, a 60-year-old retiree from
“Young people have got to think outside of the box,” said Spence. “Young people have got to get their education and be willing to learn. In many cases, they are looking for folks who speak more than one language. Our people have got to step up their game.”
Deidra Wilson, a 38-year-old Human Resources Developer from
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), a member of the CBC who circulated the country holding job fairs this past summer, said the mood of people is growing more tense.
“People are growing angrier and angrier and losing hope.” She continued: “I love the President, but I will ask the President where the money is.”
Echoing her frustration, National Urban League President Marc Morial, on the panel, said he is “haunted by the idea that our young people will have a more difficult time than us….We have to check ourselves and ask hard questions.”
On the other hand, Frank E. Brady, a 24-year-old entrepreneur, has to help support seasoned family members because they are unable to find employment.
“If you are waiting for some one to pull you up and pull you across, it’s going to take so long,” said the
CBC panel members, including CBC Chairman Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-Mo); Dr. Julianne Malveaux, President of Bennett College for Women; and William Lucy, former American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Secretary-Treasurer; all gave their perspective on the crisis.
Experts in the audience also weighed in on the discussion.
Saundra W. Davis, executive director/CEO of Work Source in Los Angeles, specializes in job training and placement for the unemployed and also assists ex-offenders, veterans, and senior citizens.
Although
“The words African-American have been deleted from the media,” said Davis. “They [media] don’t want to talk about the plight of African-Americans.”
Davis said her husband was out of work for nearly three years before taking a job in Indiana and then being informed that he will have to transfer to Tulsa, Okla. She stated, “I only talk about the distance because when people say they can’t drive 30 minutes and I say try a three hour to four hour flight.”
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) praised the CBC for being the “conscious of Congress.” She expressed dissatisfaction that 15 percent of the country lives in poverty.
“It is not enough to create jobs. We have to create ownership. We have to expand the job market. We believe small business is the root of that,” Pelosi said.
A recurring suggestion was the need for greater attention to the African-American jobs crisis, which has reached an unemployment rate of nearly 17 percent.
Robert L. Johnson, founder and chairman of RLJ Companies, said, “We cannot solve our problem by depending on the government. We must have a difference mindset. We need race-specific remedies.”