Will President Obama support an African American agenda?

Roger Caldwell
Roger Caldwell

Will President Obama support an African American agenda?

By Roger Caldwell

In 2013, there is a Hispanic agenda and there is a gay agenda. There is also a Tea party agenda and a Republican or conservative agenda. Each one of these agendas has a particular ideology, and their talking points are consistent, and they function as an organized body with an agreed leadership. African Americans are the only group in America that is not organized around an ideology and has no unifying plan.

When the Tea party has a rally, the speaker will discuss the benefits of a smaller government, cutting taxes, and choice in education. We can also expect the speaker to support more gun legislature and register more of its members in the NRA. They will tell you that their organization is open to all Americans, but most of the members look like each other, and they all think alike.

The week after the president won his second term, the Hispanic coalition of political organizations was organizing an action plan to present to the Obama administration. The objective of their strategy was to petition and demand from the president more resources as an exchange for their votes. Within two weeks, the president began promising immigration reform and more opportunities in education.

The Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force makes a State of the Movement address every year. At this address he or she lays out an assessment of how the last year went and what the organization plans to focus on over the next year. In 2013, the Executive Director, Rae Carey has organized a 5 point program to fight inequality, and partner with immigration rights organizations, and a Ballot Initiative Strategy.

It is evident that these organizations are organized movements and will be smart when they initiate ballot measures, because they have an agenda. Their representatives will also listen to them, because they have an organized body of supporters with a plan.

On the other hand African Americans have many different organizations that are celebrating 100 years in operation, but they execute their plan from an island, as opposed to an organized body. The churches in the African American communities generate hundreds of millions of dollars each week, but the properties around the churches continue to deteriorate, and the unemployment numbers continue to appreciate. Violence is pervasive in the community, and there is too much criminality on the street.

Africans Americans can make many excuses why there is no Black Agenda, but with no plan, you plan to fail. As long as African Americans are divided, we will continue being ignored, abused, disrespected, and considered second class citizens. Once we operate with an organized Black Agenda, African Americans will take the initiative to clean up our communities, get rid of crime, and improve the quality of education in our schools.

It is time for unity in the community, and we should define our agenda and not be controlled by others who don’t see why we need an agenda. The homicide rates for African Americans have dramatically declined from 51 per 100,000 in 1991, to 24 per 100,000 in 2011, says “The Bureau of Justice Statistics 2011” Most crime is intra-racial, and statistics show that 84% of White victims are killed by Whites and 93% of Black victims are killed by Blacks.

Whites who commit crimes are more likely to be acquitted, and Blacks who commit crimes are more likely to be convicted. The Republicans and conservatives are making it appear that our community and our leaders are not doing anything to combat crime. But with an agenda African Americans will operate from a position of strength, and utilize think tanks that contradict main stream policies designed to stereotype and dehumanize our community.

Finally, African Americans must stop waiting on the president to confirm or support our agenda. It has taken President Obama five years to acknowledge that he is an African American, and we need a Black Agenda now.

 

About Carma Henry 24481 Articles
Carma Lynn Henry Westside Gazette Newspaper 545 N.W. 7th Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33311 Office: (954) 525-1489 Fax: (954) 525-1861

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