Inner City Black Male Unemployment At 50 Percent

President Obama has been extremely focused on getting his healthcare overhaul through Congress. When the media is not reporting on healthcare, they are busy reporting on the length of Michelle Obama’s shorts. There appears to be numerous distractions to keep the media busy, and no one in the administration or media is focused on jobs.

At the present time, there are 30 million Americans looking for work and the statisticians tell us that the nations unemployment rate is around 9.4 percent. Everyone knows that the numbers are not accurate and fabricated, because in the African American community in the inner cities the unemployment rate is around 30 %. In Milwaukee, a report was done in 2007 that indicated that in four counties surrounding Milwaukee the Black Male unemployment rate was 51.1%.

This report was done before the experts acknowledged that there was a recession. In 2007, the experts were debating if our economy had a cold and if there were enough successive bad quarters to qualify for a recession. Nevertheless, in Milwaukee it was documented in the African American community, there was an economic crisis and disaster in 2007.

Lately in New York City, the experts have acknowledged that there is a 50% unemployment rate for Black Males in 2009. That means 1 out of every 2 Black Men in the city are unemployed. Based on this information, we can estimate in every major inner city across the country the Black Male unemployment rate is around 40%. These numbers are appalling and it would appear that the leaders in these communities would be putting pressure on the politicians for help.

With at least 50 Black and Hispanics in Congress, there should be an initiative in Congress for a nationwide review and campaign for jobs in the inner cities. Instead of our legislators mobilizing their communities for jobs, they remain silent. It appears that they are caught up in distractions and no one knows what they are doing.

Occasionally, we find one of our leaders making a personal appearance at a stimulus construction site, but how many are in the community exposing the crucial conditions of surviving in the inner city with no jobs. As the situation continues to deteriorate, an internal rage continues to grow. There are millions of Black Men standing around on corners in the inner cities with no skills and no opportunity for a job.

Many of these men are high school dropouts and they have a police record. Drugs, drug arrest, and low self-esteem make these men unemployable in mainstream society. Many have refused to look for a job, therefore they are not included in the unemployment numbers.

Different nationalities from other countries are filling the lower level jobs, and the recession is making jobs scarce. Training programs and non-profit organizations are disappearing because their budgets have been slashed or decreased.

It is very seldom that we hear our president speaking about the plight of the poor and lower class. We always hear the president talking about the middle class, and the upper class, but where is the discussion on the problems of the lower class? At least half of the people in the nation live in the cities and two-thirds of these people are poor.

During the depression, 25% of the nation was unemployed. In most of our inner cities, the Black Male unemployment rate has surpassed the national depression unemployment rate already. There is a job crisis with Black Males in the inner cities and it has reached monumental and crisis proportions. All the politicians seem to do a good job of putting their head in the sand, but it still exists.

It is obvious that our economy will need a third stimulus. The 787 billion-stimulus package will only begin to scratch the surface in many industries, and they will need more money. It is my hope that the third stimulus package will target the inner cities and vulnerable communities.

Many thought that the town hall meetings were disorderly and the citizens were angry. There is no telling what will happen when the poor and the disenfranchised citizens cannot receive the basic fundamentals to live.

During the depression, there were soup lines and food was passed out to keep people from starving. With 50% of Black men without jobs in some major cities, there is something fundamentally wrong with our society. We can play the blame game but there is a problem and it needs to be fixed.

The experts can tell us that things are getting better but where are the jobs? If Black Men cannot find jobs, eventually their anger will explode and the streets will become a battleground.

The Obama administration has a responsibility to create jobs for its poor and forgotten citizens. The inner cities need empowerment zones and training centers for Black Men hanging on the corners in every major city across the country. Our leaders can develop a plan and positively impact the community, or be forced through an incendiary display of violence.