Before President Obama's speech to the joint session of Congress, every Black
leader in the country said that the President's plan must "be bold, imaginative and include direct job creation."
The Washington Post reports:
"President Obama offered an ambitious plan to create jobs and issued a direct challenge to Congress as he sought to seize the initiative in a political battle that will rage until the next election."
With Black unemployment higher than any segment of our economy, the success of Obama's proposals will have a direct impact on Black job seekers -- for better or worse. What it comes down to is that if he succeeds in getting most of his plan enacted, there will be a positive impact -- not as much as many want, but positive. If he fails, our fortunes will continue sink and get worse.
This bill, and the 2012 election will have the greatest impact on African Americans than anything since the Great Society Programs of the Johnson administration. If Democrats fail to re-elect the president, AND regain a majority in the House of Representatives, the Republican opposition will role back the clock 50 years.
This is a call to action. The President has stood up to fight. We must join him at the grassroots level to do our part to provide the support necessary to improve our future (a renewed Democratic majority in the House, and 7 nmore seats in the Senate to create a filibuster proof majority there).
Take a look at the information below to learn how we can help now. It is not likely that all of these measures will pass, so the final battle will be fought in November 2012. The war starts now.
The American Jobs Act: Get the Facts
Last
night, President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress
and presented the American Jobs Act, a comprehensive plan to put America back to
work. It was created from a set of ideas supported by both Democrats and
Republicans, and it acknowledges that if we are going to restore America's
middle class, we need to rebuild the economy the American way, based on balance,
fairness and the same set of rules for everyone from Wall Street to Main
Street.
Our future is tied to the success of President Obama, whether we like it or not. We must begin now to let our voices be heard, and to forge the alliances necessary to protect the fragile gains we have made. Don't underestimate the importance of this moment in history.
Roger Madison, CEO
iZania, LLC
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The point I am making is that President Obama has become iconic with all that the Republican and conservative movement is opposed to. During the 10 years of the Bush administration the collective condition of Black people relative to others in this country deteriorated significantly on many measures -- education, employment, wealth, healthcare to name a few. To the extent that Presidential elections matter in establishing an environment where we can improve or decline, then the success of President Obama will be a relative improvement.
I am not suggesting that we are mere serfs who exist at the whim of government. I am old enough to remember pre-civil rights era, and post civil rights era. Those who governed during the abolition of the separate but equal doctrine, and ushered in more equal opportunity in education, voting rights, employment and commerce helped to make a difference that we could not have on our own.
Finally, I am also not suggesting in any way that this president or any president has the solutions to all the problems facing the Black family. But just saying "Our destiny is in our hands" doesn't make it so. Each of us has the greatest responsibility for our destiny, but we live in an interdependent world. Others can contribute positively or negatively to our destiny.
Thanks for your feedback.
