Blackonomics

Power Talk Three June 17-19
By James Clingman                 

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Veteran radio talk show host, Carl Nelson, will present his third Power Talk event on June 17-19, 2016 at Union Temple Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.  The event has featured the likes of Tony Browder, Ashra Kwesi, the late Dr. Frances Cress-Welsing, Pastor Willie Wilson, Dr. Claud Anderson, and Dr. Patricia Newton, among many others.  The speakers are called “Power Talkers,” and rightly so because they are most knowledgeable in their particular fields of endeavor.  They are unapologetically Black, and they impart their wisdom to a Black audience in an effort to create what I will call, “Power Doers.”

But, no matter who is doing the talking, if there is no subsequent follow through, quite frankly, what’s the point?  Do we talk merely so that Black people can have more information, or is it merely to repeat the information we already have?   Or is information just a “booster shot,” a reinforcement of sorts to keep us from being so discouraged that we give up on ourselves?  If we do not respond appropriately to what we hear, specifically by executing strategies to eliminate some of the problems we discuss at these kinds of events, then we have relegated ourselves to mere cheerleaders for those who share their information with us.  We do that so well (“Ase!” “Amen!” “That’s right!” “Teach!” “Tell it!”), but then we leave our haven of knowledge, go back into the real world, and do absolutely nothing except wait for Power Talk Four.

Our events should have legacies that we can celebrate and share when we meet again.  We should have victories as a result of thousands of us coming together at an event, especially at a Power Talk event that showcases some of our top brothers and sisters.  They are not the run-of-the-mill, milquetoast, talking-head Blacks who earn a great living discussing mundane issues and offering meaningless solutions to Black problems.   Not only should we hear their words; we should act upon them.

At this year’s Power talk Three, there should be something that has taken place over the past year as a result of the information and instructions discussed at last year’s event. Doesn’t that make sense?  I was one of the Power Talkers last year and have been invited to come back this year; as many of you know, I am also a “doer” even more so than a talker.  So, during my speech last year I noted 16 things Black folks can do in response to my words.

I posited that some of our people are waiting for the world to end; some are waiting to be put into FEMA camps; some are waiting for racism to end; some are waiting for reparations; some are waiting for political fairness; some are waiting for equality; some are waiting to be rescued by who knows whom; and some of us are just waiting to be exterminated by the powers-that-be.  My question was:  “What are we doing while we wait?”  As Red said in the movie, Shawshank Redemption, we had better “Get busy livin’ or get busy dyin’”, thus, I offered the following things to do while we wait:

♦Work to raise our consciousness to a level of “unconscious competency;”

♦Leverage our collective dollars against injustice and inequity by withdrawing them;

♦Use our collective consumer dollars to create conscious Black millionaires;

♦Leverage our collective votes against “politricksters”;

♦Establish more viable, professional, well-managed businesses, and support them;

♦Establish Black owned and controlled trusts, equity funds, revolving loan programs, legal “offense” funds, and endowments;

♦Form strategic alliances and partnerships that can take on larger projects;

♦Scale up our businesses to the point of being able to hire our own people—our own youth;

♦Teach our youth the history of Black business—even before we were brought here;

♦Teach entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial thinking to our young people;

♦Make our demands on politicians from a position of economic strength;

♦Vote as a bloc for those who publicly state and commit in writing their support for our interests;

♦Withhold our votes from anyone and any party that does not support our interests;

♦Hold ourselves accountable for our own freedom;

♦Organize ourselves around practical economic and political solutions that benefit us; and

♦Commit some of our time, talent, and treasure to the uplift of our people,

WHILE WE WAIT!

I will add one more: Join the One Million Conscious Black Voters and Contributors at www.iamoneofthemillion.com

To the attendees of Power Talk Three, commit to being “Power Doers” when you leave.  That way, when it returns next year, we will have much to celebrate.  And to the Power Talkers, as my colleague, Amefika Geuka has proposed, commit to joining the Harvest Institute Think Tank, and use your collective talents to help us actually solve our problems.

May 8, 2016

Don't send Flint Down Drain. Fix It.
By Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.

What Happens After All the Hateful Rhetoric?
By Julianne Malveaux

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Malia Obama deserves congratulations.  Admitted to Harvard University, she has decided to take a gap year, a mature choice that many students make when they want a break between intense and competitive studies and college.  This is a great time for her to take a gap year.  After these eight years in the White House as a “First Daughter”, she now has a chance to enjoy life and pursue some of her non-academic interests.  She speaks fluent Spanish, so perhaps she’ll take some time to travel to Mexico, Cuba, or Spain.  She is interested in television and film, so perhaps she’ll work as a production assistant (or even a commentator) on a television program.  She may be interested enough in politics to volunteer for some down-ticket candidate.  Imagine the boost she could give to California Attorney General Kamala Harris in her Senate race this fall!  It is going to be interesting to see how this young woman’s life unfolds.

In reaction to Malia’s good news, the racists are out in full force.  According to the website, Addicting Information, the Fox crew was so vitriolic that Fox had to close down a page due to the volume and negative comments regarding her announcement.  The content of the messages hardly deserves reprint, but it is no surprise that the beautiful young lady was called a “monkey”, not to mention the “n” word and worse.  She was admitted because of affirmative action, several wrote.  Every stereotype one can imagine was heaped on this young woman.

Come on people!  Malia Obama won’t be 18 July 4.  She’s a kid.  Dislike President Obama and his wife, Michelle, if you want to.  Call them names – I am sure that by now, ugly name-calling affects them as much as water rolling off a duck’s back.  But it is especially vile for racist haters to direct such ire to a young woman, who is really just a girl.  Perhaps some feel she has no right to innocence because she lives in the White House.  But it’s heart breaking to bear witness to the venom this young lady has attracted.

 While it is heart breaking it is hardly surprising.   Hatred seems to be the winning ticket in our nation. That Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee for President is frightening.  He won by dominating a large and crowded field, winning primaries and delegates when some thought he had little chance and even less organization.  He’s thrown more than $30 million of his own money into this race, so far, and is likely to spend millions more even as he begins to stump for contributions.  His winning platform has been to insult any and everyone, from Mexicans (“rapists”), Muslims (moratorium on entering the country), his opponents (Lying’ Ted, Little Marco, and more), Hillary Clinton (Crooked Hillary, “screeching” Hilary, playing the “woman card”), to all the women he has insulted (taking swipes on everything from their looks to their bodily functions).   The “Stop Trump” movement was too little, too late.  Apparently, the plurality (not majority) of primary voters want a blustering, bullying, braggart to lead our nation. And judging from the abhorrent comments Malia Obama’s success has garnered, there are many who would emulate Mr. Trump with his vile meanness.

 How has meanness and racial resentment become the order of the day?  Whatever happened to civility?  What happened to the adage that if you have nothing kind to say, say nothing?  What happened with being glad for a young person who has been admitted to college?  What happened to disagreeing about issues, but not about personalize.  Why does the size of one’s genatalia become a debate point in a presidential election?  People are now talking about ways the Republican Party might heal.  How does our nation heal?

Republicans don’t own a monopoly on meanness.  I was appalled that Secretary Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders went after each other like mortal enemies, shouting over each other, bandying hostile accusation, and generally behaving as if they were auditioning to lead the Republican party in style, if not content, when they last debated.  They’ve both calmed down, perhaps realizing that they have much more in common than not.  Indeed, Hillary Clinton owes Bernie Sanders a “thank you”.   His candidacy has appropriately pushed her to the left, especially on issues of economic justice, and made her a much better candidate.

I don’t ever, ever, ever want to hear the word “post-racial” again.  Comments directed toward Malia Obama suggest that our nation is pre-civilized, not post anything.  The hate directed at a young woman, and the hateful rhetoric that has characterized the Trump campaign are two sides of the same coin.  Where do we go from here?

Julianne Malveaux is an author and economist based in Washington D.C. Her latest book, “Are We Better Off? Race, Obama and Public Policy” is available at Amazon.com and www.juliannemalveaux.com

May 8, 2016

To Be Equal

State of Black America 2016 - 'Locked Out: Education, Jobs. and Justice
By Marc H. Morial

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - “Eschewing political banalities, sloganeering and appeals to fears and suspicions, the candidates should seize the opportunity to challenge the nation to regain her sense of purpose by facing her imperfections, not apologetically, but with the firm resolve that this nation can and should do better.” — National Urban League Executive Director Vernon Jordan, the State of Black America, 1976.

As we observe the 40th anniversary of the State of Black America® the similarities of the United States of 1976 and the United States of 2016 are profoundly striking.  The nation was recovering from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. According to the report, “Blacks suffered disproportionately because of their low position on the economic ladder as unemployment climbed to depression levels in many of their communities ...” These words could just as easily apply to today.

The 2016 edition of the State of Black America® “Locked Out: Education, Jobs and Justice,” will be released on Tuesday, May 17, during a live broadcast from the Newseum.  I encourage you to watch on NBCBLK, News One or IAmEmpowered.com.

The report National Urban League’s annual analysis of Black and Latino equality in America, and, for the second year it will be available in an all-digital format available at www.stateofblackamerica.org.  Visitors will find the e-book, Web Series, select data, videos, articles and other frequently updated features.  This year’s report again includes the Equality Index™, in its 11th year for the Black-White Index and its sixth year for the Hispanic-White Index – measuring how well Blacks and Latinos are doing in comparison to their White peers in five categories: economics, education, health, social justice and civic engagement.

The report will include a retrospective detailing America’s 40-year progress in economic and social equality and opportunity.  As this year’s report focuses on “Education, Jobs and Justice” it’s valuable to looking back to the state of black education, jobs and justice in 1976.  On education, Jordan wrote, “Not only were black children not being educated by the schools, a fact attested to by declining test scores, but they were also being thrown out of the institutions in disproportionate numbers for alleged infractions.”  On jobs: “Despite claims that the recession has bottomed out and the worst is behind us, unemployment is still rampant in the nation and even the most optimistic forecast projects a continuing official unemployment rate of over 7 percent. For blacks, this  automatically means an official unemployment rate of 14 percent.”  Jordan added, “To assume that the nation can live with so many people unable to find jobs and forming a permanent cadre of the helpless and hapless, is dangerous.  And on justice: “While blacks are over-represented as crime victims, they are underrepresented in the criminal justice system.  The city of Chicago is an example with a population that is 32.7 percent black, it has a police force that is only 16 percent black. A survey by the Race Relations Information Center revealed that in 42 states out of a total of 41,984 state police personnel, only 616 or 1.5 percent are black.”

At the launch of the State of Black America® 2016, “Locked Out: Education, Jobs and Justice,” we look forward to hearing from Vernon Jordan himself.  Some of the nation’s leading thought-leaders, analysts and activists are featured in our Web Series such as David Johns, Jonathan Capehart, Mo Ivory and Sam White.  The report itself includes essays from notables such as Journalist and author Joy-Ann Reid, Congresswoman Robin L. Kelly, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Sundial Brands Founder and CEO Richelieu Dennis.

Please join us online for the launch of State of Black America on May 17, and stay in touch on www.stateofblackamerca.org for our ongoing conversation.