Now that President Obama has been sworn into office, the question is how can we insure that we achieve our vision of change for the American people?
African American History Month, in February, may be a place to start. Although the holiday is normally a time of celebrating the achievements of individual African Americans, this year conditions necessitate that we discuss solutions to the deteriorating situation of the Black masses.
Today, one of three Black youth is in poverty. The Black unemployment rate rose from 10.7 in January 2008 to 11.9 in December 2008. Black families on average hold one-tenth the wealth of white families. There has been a 40 percent increase in Black teens murdered since 2003. HIV, a disease of poverty, disproportionately affects Blacks. There is a disproportionate number of Blacks in prisons.
This dangerous situation facing the African American poor is not happening in a vacuum. It is part of a process that is pulling millions of all colors and nationalities into poverty, and it is a harbinger of the future for everyone if we do not unite in a fight for our common needs.
Today, every sector of the economy is losing millions of jobs. Nearly 46 million Americans are without healthcare. An estimated 36.2 million people struggled against hunger last year. The demand at food banks is up 15-20%. That’s one in eight Americans. Growing numbers of Americans are going without other basic necessities such as water and heat.
Clearly, it is not possible for the African American working masses to make dramatic advances while the working class (which most African Americans belong to) is sliding backward.
No problem can be solved without examining what lies at its root. Today, millions of jobs have been permanently lost with the advent of computers and robots. Without a job, people cannot buy and the system begins to break down. The Black workers, who have historically been the last hired, and first fired, are the first to feel the effects. Today, the economic crisis is affecting ever wider sections of the population.
Millions of Americans have enormous hope that President Obama will make the dramatic changes that are needed. We cannot rely solely on the president. What an individual wants, and the color of their skin, is not part of the job description of president. The economic laws of the system restrict what any president can do politically since the corporate-run government operates to maximize profit. Today, the system must put an end to the good standard of living that was once possible for a small section of workers. The president is expected to supervise this process.
The real question is how revolutionaries can work to unite the struggle of the millions of dispossessed Americans, regardless of background or color? Fundamental change cannot occur without the unity of those who are forced out of the system and into poverty. The key to bringing about that unity is to show people that they must build a powerful movement that forces the government to provide the food, clothing, healthcare, education, utilities and the other necessities that everyone needs. Such a focus will set the basis for the people to carry on the fight for the strategic goal: a whole new society.
Those
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