Focus on the Black Family
Any agenda that sincerely seeks to promote the best interests of the African American community must strive to restore the Black family unit of man, woman and child/children. Whether in the nuclear family or the extended family version that has also been prominent throughout history, the father-mother-child paradigm has always been the hub of any strong people, society and civilization. Indeed, that is why those opposed to African American advancement have long focused on destroying the black family, largely through the disempowerment of the black male. To highlight and grumble about fatherlessness while handicapping black males with presumed criminalization, inferior educational and career opportunities, and mass incarceration is at best counterproductive and at worst hypocritical and duplicitous. As policies are implemented to improve the economic, educational and judicial realities of African Americans, the intentional restoration of black boys and men is imperative. A Brookings Institute article published in 2017 stated: “One thing is clear - educational and economic outcomes for black men have profound implications for the prosperity of black families and the prospects of black children, and for racial equity more broadly."
Watch Dog
This user-friendly interface will provide the socially-conscious consumer free access to company and business ratings that are data driven, transparent, and accurate. We will provide a Heat map that displays ratings for mid and large cap companies at a glance based on reported data highlighting hiring practices, board representation, black business spending, and other relevant diversity and inclusion metrics.
America's Job Pact (AJP)
Jobs and Education: America's Job Pact (AJP), An Example of What can Be Accomplished Under The Contract with Black America
It is possible to have a Jobs and Education plan that serves the needs of ALL poor people, government, and Corporate America. As the infrastructure of our inner cities crumbles so too does hope in the hearts and minds of the chronically poor who feel permanently disenfranchised from their own place of birth. The American dream and promises of the free market system simply are not working where cycles of poverty and often racism have left large swaths of otherwise potentially productive citizens behind. Dating from the time of the Great Migration, former slaves moved out of the south and populated many of our industrial cities (Detroit, Cleveland, Philadelphia, DC, Baltimore). Since that time minorities have been systematically excluded from building the security of long term equity in their communities and suffered the pressures of economic discrimination entrenched first through the redlining practices of the early 20th century and now through the gentrification pressures of globalized capital flows which continue a legacy of systemic discrimination. Their education systems do not exhibit a clear path from educational success to meaningful employment. While a myriad of existing programs attempts solutions, they are not working, and people are often unaware of how to take advantage of them. When people have no hope, they have nothing to lose. This can and has led to tragic results including increases in crime, an exploding jail population and escalated gun violence. Disenfranchised people are angry as they see others getting ahead even as their own community’s human resources remain untapped. At the same time numerous US companies cannot find enough skilled employees to meet their needs, dampening US productivity and resulting in anemic growth. Companies would be willing to invest in people if their needs could be fulfilled. And all of this is unraveling against the backdrop of an America that is in desperate need of new infrastructure.
- We must acknowledge that there is a mismatch between the companies’ needs and the skills available in the inner city – this continues a vicious cycle of gentrification and disenfranchisement. Under-invested neighborhoods in the inner city become settlement areas for an influx of workers trained to address the skills gap, and those already living in those communities are unable to get those jobs and earn the wages needed to remain in their homes. And so, even as growth occurs in the very communities which need it the most, the people that need it the most are not receiving the benefits afforded by growth.
- AJP will help American companies avail themselves of vast resources of untapped potential in people. AJP will give people willing to work hard to get access to education, trades and skills that will lead directly to real jobs. Through a groundbreaking public/private partnership, companies will gain access to a workforce that can fulfill its needs while at the same time allowing people to gain the skills required for such jobs. Different people have different skill potentials and desire different job opportunities; AJP addresses diversity of potentialities and maximizes the benefits to both the communities and the individuals motivated to enter the program and do the work required. The results are dramatic benefits to the country at large.
The America’s Job Pact (AJP) Along with The Contract with Black America Is an Example of How Systematic Change and Rethinking of American Institutions Can Help Everyone Benefit. The AJP is a vision for a national scale program to provide solutions to problems with jobs and education through the creation of Cream of the Crop Training Centers (“CCTC”).
- Help American companies including those in technology and infrastructure avail themselves of vast resources of untapped potential in the inner-city human capital.
- Teach students a new trade or help them to acquire marketable skills along with life, communication, and organizational skills for other job opportunities outside the AJP family.
- Force students to learn discipline of attendance or risk losing participation in the program.
- Create pathways to employment for those people willing to work hard; and
- Link these pathways through access to education, trade-schools and affordable skills- building that will lead directly to real jobs, since companies will help sponsor these programs as they have on a more localized level.
- Participants will get first shot at open jobs and they will have a duty if offered jobs from participating companies at competitive rates to work a certain number of years in exchange for the education and stipends they received. Both parties’ benefit.
Companies will gain access to a workforce that can fulfill its needs while at the same time allowing people to gain the skills required for such jobs. In each city, we will recruit the “cream of the crop" from troubled neighborhoods and cities through a variety of entry points including the Mayor’s office (and those of local elected officials), local economic development entities and civic action groups. Local leaders can be enlisted to recruit people who will be admitted to the program based on performance in schools or testing to determine suitability for the program. Invitations to attend the area CCTC would be given to students and adults who show exceptional discipline, focus, passion, and talent. CCTC education and training centers would be located in or near at risk neighborhoods for graduates from middle and high schools, community colleges, universities and even non-graduate adults to attend and get top- level education and training and get preferred access for a job that will work for both the students and these companies or agencies.
Cost sharing can be attained by looking at beneficiaries in society, and equally borne by both the country at large as well as the nation’s corporations, both of whom would benefit immensely from successful implementation. Companies will lower their cost of acquiring and training employees (while reducing turnover, one of the largest costs faced in expansion), and if necessary, any financing gap could be closed via government assistance with the start-up and management of the program. As seen in individual programs, immense goodwill is sure to accrue to these companies as we make a reconnection between capital, people, and place.
Cream of the Crop Training Centers (CCTC) will be set up in low income areas and inner cities where citizens who are serious about their future can make their dreams come true. These CCTCs are not unlike the Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) in NYC, although we plan for them to be more effective through the participation of local leaders. We empower the local community to be directly involved from cradle to job, through the trials of each stage, with multiple layers of support and direct connections with companies and their needs for employment. The CCTC will:
- Unite community leaders, businesses, local agencies, and skilled professionals to process applicants and coordinate individual plans to meet their individual needs.
- Train and educate the most qualified to acquire the skills they need to join the work force.
- Provide a “21st Century Life” program that teaches the basics of how to pay taxes, balance a bank account or budget, invest, participate in government, or know how to deal with adversity of all types that we all face at one time or another while becoming better American citizens overall.
- Refer applicants to partner trade schools, certificates, or tracks within colleges of higher learning, or CCTC facilities in other regions with the specialty training needed for the individual.
- Provide training and education as long as entrants agree to abide by standards of performance that will include maintaining grades (as applicable), strict attendance levels, workplace level conduct and volunteer service to the communities in which they reside.
- Build trust with local communities who in many places are intimidated or don’t trust existing government programs; the building of a CCTC in their neighborhood provides an access point to getting help and learning about the AJP (as well as getting information on existing programs existing outside the AJP if they are better suited to help the individual).
Companies will gain access to a workforce that can fulfill its needs while at the same time allowing people to gain the skills required for such jobs. In each city, we will recruit the “cream of the crop" from troubled neighborhoods and cities through a variety of entry points including the Mayor’s office (and those of local elected officials), local economic development entities and civic action groups. Local leaders can be enlisted to recruit people who will be admitted to the program based on performance in schools or testing to determine suitability for the program. Invitations to attend the area CCTC would be given to students and adults who show exceptional discipline, focus, passion, and talent. CCTC education and training centers would be located in or near at risk neighborhoods for graduates from middle and high schools, community colleges, universities and even non-graduate adults to attend and get top- level education and training and get preferred access for a job that will work for both the students and these companies or agencies.Cost sharing can be attained by looking at beneficiaries in society, and equally borne by both the country at large as well as the nation’s corporations, both of whom would benefit immensely from successful implementation. Companies will lower their cost of acquiring and training employees (while reducing turnover, one of the largest costs faced in expansion), and if necessary, any financing gap could be closed via government assistance with the start-up and management of the program. As seen in individual programs, immense goodwill is sure to accrue to these companies as we make a reconnection between capital, people, and place.Cream of the Crop Training Centers (CCTC) will be set up in low income areas and inner cities where citizens who are serious about their future can make their dreams come true. These CCTCs are not unlike the Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) in NYC, although we plan for them to be more effective through the participation of local leaders. We empower the local community to be directly involved from cradle to job, through the trials of each stage, with multiple layers of support and direct connections with companies and their needs for employment. The CCTC will:The AJP will work in coordination with local middle and high schools and community colleges to ensure the best students see a path to success. In addition, adults of all ages could qualify for an invitation by taking a test. We envision an opportunity for the formerly incarcerated who have exhibited the hallmarks of actual reform (such as by the completion of prison programs) to elect to become productive citizens and enter the AJP by applying to the local CCTC. Providing a path for former prisoners and juvenile offenders to exit the revolving “system” of imprisonment through hard work would also reduce prison populations and turn criminals destined for a lifetime of criminal activities into productive citizens instead of being a strain on our lagging economy.
Four critical components of the AJP/CCTC program that bring this beyond a pure education play are: mandatory community volunteering, workplace discipline training, 360-degree support, and a living stipend.
- Mandatory Community Volunteering. All enrollees MUST participate in approved community volunteering in their neighborhoods. It teaches the importance of giving back as well as providing a local “face” to the AJP. Volunteer efforts will primarily focus on activities with broad community impact such as: beautifying and improving the physical environment, supporting the expansion of local kids programs such as local sports leagues and patrolling playgrounds to ensure safety. Just like when communities rally around an athlete because they know he or she has a chance to make it out, local citizens will encourage students to succeed as there will be a direct connection between success of the AJP and improvement in their lives.
- Teaching Workforce Discipline. Strict standards of discipline must be maintained to attend the AJP and CCTC centers; this is no free ride as participants must work hard and maintain strict attendance and performance levels. (I.e., if it's not allowed in the workplace, it's not allowed at the AJP).
- 360 Degree Support. Many local examples throughout the country prove that a 360- degree view of each student is essential to success. The AJP will also provide counselors, social workers, urban mentors and life coaches to help students deal with the varied social and mental issues that many struggle with in these at risk communities. As an example, PTSD is an undiagnosed problem in many of these communities and we need to invest in the well-being of these students so they can achieve at high levels and fulfill their potential.
- Living Stipend. Lastly, beyond providing education and training, students who fulfill ALL requirements will be entitled to a “living stipend.” For many young adults in the inner cities providing education is not enough because many come from broken homes that rely on them to support the family. In the same manner that companies often send their employees to get additional degrees or skills while on the payroll that they then bring back to the benefit of the company, our students who show need will be able to pay their bills and will not be precluded from taking advantage of the AJP. By doing this we are addressing a cycle of inter-generational poverty—years of neglect caused by racism, classism and socio-economic disadvantages and will break the cycles of poverty and lack of opportunity. We enable maximum participation and not only change the lives of the individual enrollees but change the destinies of whole families. The value systems of communities are altered, and we bring these people and their communities into the free market economy that rewards them for hard work and investing in themselves. Ultimately, they are taught the skills to participate on an equal playing field in the economy.
The AJP in Conclusion:
Infrastructure includes our citizenry. The AJP will be a pillar of hope for otherwise hopeless communities. Citizens will have choices to do the hard work that will put them on a clear path to becoming working citizens and local companies will have a homegrown, motivated, and qualified workforce to fill jobs that are needed for them to grow. Each community will benefit from the volunteer work being done by every CCTC student in and around the area. Decaying cities will begin to thrive, and people will be once again invested in and proud of their communities. Inner cities benefit enormously, and people feel better about themselves and about their government as their hard work is rewarded and they are prepared to meet the challenges of their world. We believe it is time to connect good students with good jobs without reference to racial and economic identity instead of the continued frustration created by a systemic lack of opportunity afforded inner city residents. AJP will provide hope to current and future generations and provide tangible, foreseeable reasons to stay in school and perform at higher levels.
