By Akindele Akinyemi
http://onedetroitnetwork.blogspot.com/ Asserts the conservative in Michigan, who argues that neither the Republican Party nor U.S. President Barack Obama is at fault on this issue.. He wonders: why is Black America not effectively using its almost $1 trillion combined GDP: "Recently, it was reported that in August the Black unemployment rate in the United States is 16.7%, its highest level since 1984, while the unemployment rate for Whites fell slightly to 8%. The Congressional Black Caucus has rolled out a jobs fair to urban areas that has been hit hard by the economy in hopes of putting people back to work."
He continues his commentary: "However, as usual, Black people in America are on the wrong side of this issue. Unemployment is high in our community not because of the lack of jobs. It's high because we do not take the time to invest in OURSELVES as a community. In other words, Blacks do not hire Blacks in our community. If you look at other communities Jewish people hire Jewish people first, Italians hire Italians first, Arabs hire Arabs first, etc. Ask these communities if they have a high unemployment rate compared to the Black community. The answer would be no. Same concept of the dollar turning over in these other communities 10-20 times before it leaves their community. In the Black community it does not turn over one time before it leaves our community. So we shoot ourselves in the foot."
More commentary from Mr. Akinyemi: "Other communities train their children to become visionaries and entrepreneurs to invest in their own community to build legacies for their future children. The Black community in America teaches and train their children to get a job. In fact, we train our children not to only get a job but to make sure they get a 401(k) while other groups train their children how to read stocks and mutual funds. Careerbuilding exists in other communities with low unemployment rates. Job seeking exists in our community. And because Black people in this country are still dependent on Black elected officials to create jobs for them we fall short of understanding how real entrepreneurship works. These elected officials are going around promoting a job fair when we should be promoting a career fair. We have to change the way we think and the way we view our careers if we want to survive."
He ain't done yet: "I'm sorry to say but sometimes I feel we are our own worst enemy when it comes to reducing our own unemployment rate. Let's hold our faith-based and non-profit communities accountable for careerbuilding and entrepreneurship. Young people can tap into organizations like Kiva to obtain microfinancing for social business and social entrepreneurship companies that can become sustainable. Non-profits play a huge role in economic development. If the nonprofit sector were a country, it would have the seventh largest economy in the world. Think about it. Churches make more money on Sunday than General Motors, Chrysler and Ford Motor Company combined. Yet, we have a high unemployment rate? We blame wealthy conservatives for our downfall? We need to promote a culture of production and accountability not a culture of excuses. If Africans can come over to the United States and become successful what is the excuse of Black Americans not being able to make it? Black in this country generate over $1 trillion in buying power. We have the resources to pull ourselves out of poverty and to reduce the unemployment rate. We simply choose to play the victim and not play the victors in this crisis. We must become wealth builders if we want to survive the 21st century."
Akindele Akinyemi is a member of the national advisory council of the black leadership network Project 21. He is the co-founder and chief executive officer of the Detroit-based One Network, a nonpartisan organization seeking to unite small businesses to create economic and political "urban regional networks." He is a former member of the radical Nubian Islamic Hebrew Mission, but later converted to Christianity. He is the host of the "One Network" blog.
Posted By: Siebra Muhammad
Monday, September 12th 2011 at 12:36PM
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