by Jason Youngblood

I believe we need an effective African-American Lobby made up of and supported by candidates who will vote for issues that benefit and advance the black community.

What can we do?

Three of the most urgent epidemics in the black community must be immediately addressed through effective legislation.

  1. Targeted young black men for murder (Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, Sean Bell, Danroy Henry ) and the violent crime epidemic, such as in Chicago.
  2. National unemployment rate of 14.3% for African-Americans (only 7.9% for the rest of the country)
  3. The fabricated war on drugs that disproportionately targets Blacks and Latinos for incarceration.

We can learn from three movements that have made some significant progress in years past and in recent times.

OPTIONS

The Civil Rights Movement approach:

  1. Financially boycott businesses that do not benefit the community as a whole and instead organize those dollars to meet the needs in our neighborhoods.
  2. Protest state capitols when bills are being signed that hurt the black community such as Senate Bill 5 / SB5, which was designed to break up collective bargaining, affecting many workers in our community or to end corrupt laws like Stand Your Ground in Florida.
  3. Draft petitions that specifically assure our equal education and employment to be signed and sent to representatives in Congress

The Black Panther Party approach:

  1. Legally acquire fire arms to protect our own neighborhoods and combat police brutality.
  2. Independently serve the people in our communities by providing our own free lunch programs, grocery giveaways, medical and wellness clinics, self-defense and first aid training, drug and alcohol rehabilitation services, HIV and sickle cell testing, schools, supplies, and curriculum, medical check-ups, and clothing…all completely free of charge?

The Tea Party approach:

The Tea Party is an unconventional option because they are primarily wealthy, uneducated, middle-aged, and white (a group who I believe the core of, is racist and only protests policies on the agenda of an African-American president who is not an appeasing token). However, they have effectively gotten their agenda to Washington D.C. with measures that we, as a community, can learn from to express an agenda beneficial to us as a whole.

The Tea Party movement advocated 3 specific things:

  1. Strict adherence to the United States Constitution
  2. Reducing U.S. government spending and taxes
  3. Reduction of the U.S. national debt and federal budget deficit

They then calculated the following objectives to bring about these goals:

  • ContractFromAmerica.com encouraged people to offer possible policy platforms.  The top ten platforms for the contract were decided by online voting at the website.
  • Several candidates in the 2010 elections signed the Contract from America.
  • Rick Santelli’s “rant” suggesting holding a tea party became a viral video after being featured on the Drudge Report
  • Websites such as ChicagoTeaParty.com were used to coordinate scheduled protests.
  • A Facebook page was developed calling for Tea Party protests across over 40 different cities for a specific date (February 27, 2009), thus establishing the first national modern Tea Party protest.
  • The movement has been supported nationally by at least 12 prominent individuals and their associated organizations.
  • Fox News promoted the Tea Party on air and sent speakers to protests. This was to include then popular host Glenn Beck.
  • In 2010, Tea Party-endorsed candidates upset established Republicans in several primaries, giving a new momentum to the conservative cause in the 2010 elections
  • Many nominees were seen by many in America and the media as either amateurs or too far-out there to be electable as their positions on certain aspects were viewed as extreme.

Here are some similar steps we can take:

  • Draft a contract with 10 platforms for candidates to sign
  • Regularly post a video address that states and promotes our principles and suggests steps to take.
  • Design and use websites such as goblackcentral.com that communicate platforms and allow supporters to suggest platforms and issues to be addressed.
  • Use Facebook and Twitter to coordinate protests in several cities where issues are prevalent.
  • Seek several prominent individuals and organizations to support nationally and in Washington D.C.
  • Write pundits on MSNBC, Current TV and other media outlets that will promote gatherings and principles.
  • Research voting records, recruit, and raise financial support for candidates that have demonstrated or supported efforts that benefit the black community.  Then support their run to unseat traditional candidates that have voted against our agenda and for policy’s that hurt the black community.
  • Nominate candidates that will represent our platform effectively but will not be seen as too amateur and extreme in views.  We should seek a medium of non-career politicians who don’t follow party lines but will also be electable.

Some possible candidates I have admired are:

  • Jeff Johnson (journalist, motivational speaker)
  • Kevin Powell (nationally recognized activist)
  • Che Smith (A.K.A. rapper Rhymefest)
  • Patrick Duval (Massachusetts governor)
  • Barbara Lee (California congresswoman)
  • Cory Booker (Newark, NJ mayor)

Please research candidates and issues relative to the black community and leave a comment with your suggestions with possible platforms and candidates.

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