Op-Ed
Blacks Need to Join Discussion on the Economy
By Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.
NNPA Columnist
One’s worldview or social perspective is mainly informed by a matrix of different socioeconomic and political circumstances. A polling of Black America about the current “recovery” of the economy of the United States would produce a dramatically different set of responses from the polling results of White America That is because the vast economic inequality between Blacks and Whites in the U.S. today appears to be escalating.
According the latest reports from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the steady overall pace of the recovery of the economy continues grow and expand. Yet while there was a .7 percent decline in the economy for the first quarter of 2015, the forecast for the remainder of 2015 looks very favorable and profitable, especially for those who are already wealthy.
I have always believed that Black Americans should become much more aware of the economic trends that are affecting the U.S. economy as a whole. Too often we get left out of the national discussion concerning the economy because we do not consistently articulate the overall daily national economic interests of 45 million Black Americans.
While it is important to continue to cite the fact that the current annual Black American spending in the U.S. economy totals more than $1.2 trillion, how do we really leverage that fact to help empower Black American families and communities to get out of poverty? Economic productivity is not just about how much a person or a group spends. Economic productivity is also about how much a person or a group produces, invests, and leverages to achieve sustainable financial development and empowerment.
The wealth gap between Black and White Americans continues grow wider. The U.S. Census Bureau reported in 2011 that the median White household had $111,146 in wealth holdings, compared to only $7,113 for the median Black household. Four years later, that gap has widened to the point that it is now being called the “racial wealth gap.”
The state of Black America’s economy has to be a priority issue that is addressed in every municipality and in every state where Black Americans are concentrated. This also needs to be addressed as well at the federal level not once a year but every day of every month in each of the four quarters that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is determined and debated. The GDP, as defined by the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis, is the value of the aggregate production of goods and services in the United States and that is adjusted for price changes.
Black American economists and professionals in the financial services arena should formally issue on a quarterly basis a report on the Black American GDP. Do not misunderstand what I am calling for and the reason for doing such a report routinely each quarter. This is not just about statistics. This is about the need to make the national economic debate more inclusive of the economic interests of the Black American community.
We are grateful to the National Urban League for its annual report on the State of Black America that is published each year. Its 2015 report, State of Black America® – “Save Our Cities: Education, Jobs + Justice,” that documented the facts that economic inequality between Black and White Americans was rapidly increasing across the nation. Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, emphasized, “Black America is in crisis – a jobs crisis, an education crisis and a justice crisis.” I agree with Morial and I would add that Black America’s crisis today is also an economic crisis.
We should remain vigilant and not let the disparities or the increasing economic inequalities break our spirit. We have been through hard time before today and we will face hard socioeconomic times in the future. Our ancestors did not let racism, injustice and inequity break their collective and individual determination to make progress even in the face of brutal and institutionalized oppression. Our struggle and labor for economic equality will continue in America and throughout the world. Let’s keep pushing forward to advance the social and economic progress of Black America.
Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. is the president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and can be reached for national advertisement sales and partnership proposals at: dr.bchavis@nnpa.org; and for lectures and other professional consultations at: http://drbenjaminfchavisjr.wix.com/drbfc
Activism
Oakland Post Endorses Barbara Lee
Barbara Lee will be able to unify the city around Oakland’s critical budget and financial issues, since she will walk into the mayor’s office with the support of a super majority of seven city council members — enabling her to achieve much-needed consensus on moving Oakland into a successful future.
As we end the celebration of Women’s History Month in Oakland, we endorse Barbara Lee, a woman of demonstrated historical significance. In our opinion, she has the best chance of uniting the city and achieving our needs for affordable housing, public safety, and fiscal accountability.
As a former small business owner, Barbara Lee understands how to apply tools needed to revitalize Oakland’s downtown, uptown, and neighborhood businesses.
Barbara Lee will be able to unify the city around Oakland’s critical budget and financial issues, since she will walk into the mayor’s office with the support of a super majority of seven city council members — enabling her to achieve much-needed consensus on moving Oakland into a successful future.
It is notable that many of those who fought politically on both sides of the recent recall election battles have now laid down their weapons and become brothers and sisters in support of Barbara Lee. The Oakland Post is pleased to join them.
Activism
Actor, Philanthropist Blair Underwood Visits Bay Area, Kicks Off Literacy Program in ‘New Oakland’ Initiative
These community activations were coordinated with the San Francisco-based non-profit program “Room to Read.” Ray said he is also donating his time to read and take pictures with students to encourage their engagement and to inspire them to read more. The inspirational book “Clifford Ray Saves the Day” highlights Clifford Ray’s true story of saving a dolphin.
By Paul Cobb
New Oakland Series
Opinion Part 3
The Post mentioned three weeks ago that a number of our local luminaries were coming together to support the “New Oakland” movement. As this current national administration continues to eliminate our “legacy” institutional policies and programs left and right, most communities find themselves beyond “frozen” in fear.
Well, esteemed actor, long-time Bay Area supporter, and philanthropist Blair Underwood returned to Oakland this week to speak with city leaders, community trust agents, students, the Oakland Post, and local celebrities alike to continue his “New Oakland” initiative.
This week, he kicked off his “Guess Who’s Coming to Read” literacy program in some of Oakland’s middle schools. Clifford Ray, who played the center position of the 1975 World Champion Golden State Warriors, donated close to 1,000 books. Ray’s fellow teammate Charles “The Hopper” Dudley also gave Converse sneakers to students.
These community activations were coordinated with the San Francisco-based non-profit program “Room to Read.” Ray said he is also donating his time to read and take pictures with students to encourage their engagement and to inspire them to read more. The inspirational book “Clifford Ray Saves the Day” highlights Clifford Ray’s true story of saving a dolphin.
Underwood also spent quality time with the Oakland Ballers ownership group and visited the amazing Raimondi Park West Oakland community revitalization site. In the 1996 TV film Soul of the Game, Underwood played the role of the legendary first Black Major League Baseball player Jackie Robinson and commended the Ballers owners.
“This group of sports enthusiasts/ philanthropists needs to be applauded for their human capital investment and their financial capital investment,” Underwood said. “Truly putting their money and passion to work,” Underwood said.
Underwood was also inspired by mayoral candidate Barbara Lee’s open-minded invitation to bring public-private partnership opportunities to Oakland.
Underwood said he wants to “reinforce the importance of ‘collaborative activism’ among those most marginalized by non-empathic leadership. We must ‘act out’ our discomfort with passionate intentions to create healthy change.”
Activism
Councilmembers Ramachandran, Kaplan, Unger Identify Funds to Save Oakland Fire Stations
Our budget crisis – one of the worst in Oakland’s history – is compounded by the fact that people do not feel safe coming to Oakland due to our public safety crisis. By investing in our fundamental public safety resources today, we can send a signal to the world that Oakland is open for business. We have such a rich and vibrant culture, arts, and food scene that is worth celebrating – but we can only showcase this if we are able to keep our neighborhoods safe. Having fully functioning fire stations are absolutely essential to these efforts.
By Janani Ramachandran
There is no greater concern to the people of Oakland today than public safety. Fire stations are the bread and butter of essential city services – and every day that we have stations shuttered, we imperil the lives of our community members. In response to widespread outcry over the current and planned closure of stations, myself, along with Councilmembers Kaplan and Unger, have painstakingly worked to identify millions of dollars of new funding to save our stations. The legislation we introduced on Thursday, February 13th, will amend our budget to prevent the closure of four fire stations that are currently on the chopping block due to our budget crisis and will re-open two closed stations that have already been closed – Station 25 and 28 – in the near future. The resolution that will provide the funding to keep our stations open will go before the full City Council for a vote at our meeting on Tuesday, March 4th at 3:30 PM – and we invite you to join us at City Hall to share your perspective on the topic.
Our budget crisis – one of the worst in Oakland’s history – is compounded by the fact that people do not feel safe coming to Oakland due to our public safety crisis. By investing in our fundamental public safety resources today, we can send a signal to the world that Oakland is open for business. We have such a rich and vibrant culture, arts, and food scene that is worth celebrating – but we can only showcase this if we are able to keep our neighborhoods safe. Having fully functioning fire stations are absolutely essential to these efforts.
With the devastating Los Angeles fire at the top of people’s minds, terrible memories of Oakland’s own wildfires are re-surfacing from the 1991 Oakland Hills Firestorm to the Keller fire just a few months ago – and how essential fire stations are to mitigating these catastrophes. But in Oakland, our fire stations don’t just fight wildfires – they also provide emergency medical services to our most vulnerable constituents, put out structural fires and encampment fires, and much more.
We recognize that there are a number of competing interests and important initiatives fighting for sparse City resources. But from my perspective, core safety services are the most pivotal functions that a City must spend its resources on – especially given the outcry we have heard around fire stations.
The fight to save our stations is not over. The resolution we introduced is a critical first step, and there are hurdles to overcome. If you support keeping our fire stations open, we invite you to be a part of the solution by making your voice heard at the March 4th City Council meeting at 3:30 pm.
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