Obama's Back! Time for African-Americans to get it together.

How African-Americans Shaped the Re-election of Barack Obama and What Happens Next
by
Freeway Rick Ross and Antonio Moore

A review by The Web Prospector

 Ross and Moore point out that if it wasn't for the overwhelming support of African-American voters the coalition that reelected President Obama would not likely have been so successful. They believe that this term the president should invest more time and resources toward addressing the concerns of this bloc of voters.

 I'm inclined to agree with them but I felt the article was lacking in the sense that it didn't stress enough the importance for the African-American community to remain active and take advantage of the inertia created by the election, in order to further organize and build on and maintain the political infrastructure that enabled them to motivate such an extensive black voter turnout. If we are to be truly effective, we will have to develope a means of identifying our discrepancies, formulating our own solutions, and taking the first steps in getting control of the most urgent situations in our community. We also have to develope and maintain relationship with the other coalition voters so that we can continue to apply pressure on the the government to address  the concerns of all those who supported this government.

 We can also define areas where we have needs in common with other coalition members and coordinate our actions accordingly. We should not just let the Democratic party get away with using our votes then forgetting us until the next time they need our vote.


Ross and Moore closed with the following list of issues that need attention, again I agree . However, I feel like if we start to take action immediately, to the best of our ability, on our own initiative, then we will be in a much better position to dictate the kind of help that we need, rather than leaving it to be decided by someone from outside the community.

• Building economic development centers in inner-city areas that have high minority populations


• More attention & visits by President Barack Obama to African American groups such as the NAACP, Urban League and others during his second term


• Focused government efforts on unemployment of black youth, particularly in high crime urban centers


• College loan and grant assistance for those in college, in addition loan forgiveness or aid for those that complete college


• A highly focused look at the War on Drugs, and the unfair application of crack cocaine sentencing disparities

There are already several instances and models, of organizations which are already and have been for quite some time hard at work, developing solutions and creating an infrastructure to further implement those solutions. I know that President Obama is aware of some of these as well.  It is here that we can apply pressure on the government to reenforce the already existing and time proven organizations that have come into existence through the initiative of members of the African American community.

(Click here to read the Ross-Moore article)