The National Tour

I have been reading and hearing about the efforts of the National Black Caucus to remedy the economic situation in many African-American neighborhoods throughout the country. I visited their website, www.thecongressionalblackcaucus.com, this morning to receive some additional information on the organization and its agenda as it relates to employment. I can imagine that back in 1971 when the organization was created that things were much different then they are now, just 5 years ago things were different so I know with the passing of 40 years there have been drastic changes. The CBC’s top 3 priority issues are the economy, education, and healthcare.

Over the years I have definitely heard of the Congressional Black Caucus but never did any real research about the history of the organization or the many things this organization has accomplished solely or in partnership with others. The one great thing I noticed is that in 1971 there was one woman, Rep. Shirley Chisholm treading a path for women to follow, one woman standing her ground along side 12 men. Many of the founding members are now deceased, seven to be exact. Currently there are 43 members and we need them now more than ever before.

I don’t know anyone personally who attended any of the job fairs/town hall meetings that the CBC has sponsored but it appears they are making an effort and this is more than I can say for many other political organizations. My hope is that these job fairs are not like some of the ones I have attended in the past where there are numberous employers there but all of them are “accepting applications/resumes”. That’s simply a waste of time for the attendees, if an employer is not coming to a job fair to hire on site then simply skip the job fair. Individuals can submit their resumes online or via fax without having to put on business attire and stand in a long line. However, If one person walked away as an “employee” than these job fairs are a success.

We as minorities, blacks, Hispanics, women, we need to keep our eyes open and remain vigilant about the political arena we are in. So many people say they don’t vote because their vote doesn’t make a difference but the CBC is proof that it does. 40 years ago, we had 13 members of the CBC and today the number is 43, believe me they did not get elected solely by the majority, it took others to do that. Another fact that should not be ignored is that while the Voting Rights Act was signed into law in 1965, Section 5(more info on this section below) of this law remains in effect until 2031 and when it was voted on in 2006 there were 33 members who did not vote for the passing of the this extension!! Some may think that 33 is not a number we have to worry about it but I would have to think that many in the majority didn’t think the number of minorities in Congress would have grown so much over the past 40 years. What I am saying is that in the blink of an eye we minorities can be living in an environment equal to those our ancestors lived in pre-1960 before the Civil Rights Act was passed. We should not get so complacent to think that everything is “okay”, we must remain steadfast and dedicated to pursuing the dream of equality, not just for us currently, but for many generations to come.

With all that said be sure to remain active in the political arena and VOTE!!!

Remember to Keep Your Head Up and Love One Another!!!!!

Coverage Under the Special Provisions of the Voting Rights Act

Section 5 freezes election practices or procedures in certain states until the new procedures have been subjected to review, either after an administrative review by the United States Attorney General, or after a lawsuit before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. This means that voting changes in covered jurisdictions may not be used until that review has been obtained. – Info Retrieved from the Dept of Justice website at http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/vot/sec_5/about.php