There is a state of emergency for blacks in the United States. Our unemployment numbers show that we are being disproportionately affected by economic downturns in this country. There is an old saying in the black community that when white America catches a cold, black America catches Pneumonia. From my experience this is true.
I live in Texas which is purported to have a great employment growth rate. Today, just now in fact, right before I jumped back on my laptop, I was speaking to a good friend of mine who is currently unemployed. He has been looking for work for over a year in Texas. He has no criminal record of any kind and he has a stable employment history before he was laid off work last year. He has had no luck finding ANYTHING.
His experience mirrors experiences I too have had and I like him have no criminal record of any kind. I have several other friends who are presently unemployed. My friend who I will call "Ivan" has looked for all sorts of jobs, including warehouse work paying minimum wage. Yet he has had no luck. Not even the warehouses in Dallas are doing that much hiring. When I drive through so many black communities in Dallas and even in Fort Worth the numbers of abandoned and boarded up homes and the despair I see in the local residents faces really gets to me. I am simply so sick and tired of black people always being caught off guard and unprepared for the blips in our job market.. As if the racism and discrimination was not enough. We simply have to do something more. We have to find a way to harness our creativity and ingenuity and the resources within our communities to generate an income. America is a capitalistic country. The market is open to ALL. We simply have to find a way to enter the market.
These white folks really don't want us to have anything. It goes against their world view to see too many blacks living a very nice, comfortable life. Especially these Southern rednecks. Now of course that isn't all white people. You will see black people who have managed to make it in very hostile environments. As they say, SOME will always get through that door. But for the vast majority of us.. We will be left out to fend on our own. I like to remind folks that even during slavery, some black folks had found a way to "ENDEAR" themselves to the Master so that they could sometimes have a little "butter" with their biscuit. However, the vast majority of slaves were still being threatened and beaten and whipped and hung on trees.
So one doesn't necessarily negate the other meaning seeing a few black folks or a couple make it in Corporate America doesn't take away from that fact that far too many of us still face an uphill climb achieving economic equality in this country.
During this conversation I had with "Ivan" I told him that the government has to have skewed the numbers of our current unemployment crises. It is worse than what the government has let on. It has to be. Here it is July 9, 2013 and I can't ever remember a time in my life other than the great recession of 2007 where finding employment has been so difficult. His answer when I told him that I believed the Government had lied to us was that "Well, of course they lie because they don't want fearful people to suddenly fill the welfare offices".
Well, I'm not quite sure if that is the only reason. But it may be one of them. The media has also been complicit in this lie.
I've been thinking a long time about starting my own business. Now for the first time I am meeting more disillusioned African Americans who also want to go into business. They are hungry to make their own way. I am encouraged by the people I am meeting. One thing this recession has seemed to encourage is the number of black folks questioning what we've always been taught by our elders which is "Go to school and get a good job" so that you can "WORK FOR OTHERS". This belief is now being ridiculed by some.
We see the Jay Z's and the Oprah Winfrey's and one thing these people have in common was that they charted their OWN WAY. It has become ever so apparent that entrepreneurship is the only way to make a nice living, barring becoming a doctor or a specialist of some sort, in this country. I have played the game of "Tic Tac Toe" with Corporate America since I graduated college. I am tired of the deflated wages and the uncertainty of if I will have a job the next day. I am honestly sick and tired of all the games these white folks are playing.
I'm ready to chart a new course. I've made many new friends who are ready and willing to do the same. For the first time in my life I will be approaching this economy not from the standpoint of a passive employee but from the standpoint of an aggressive entrepreneur. I am encouraged and emboldened by my plans and truly believe I will find success charting my own path, just as so many others have done before. If God so be willing.
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