I happened to meet a young 21-year-old Black man, who just did 18 months incarcerated and who is desperately seeking employment. He now has a record, no driver’s license, no mode of transportation, has a child and is sincerely striving to be a positive productive citizen. This deplorable circumstance can be multiplied by the thousands, and too many have adopted the attitude that it is not my son or daughter, because my children are good children. I have seen a number of good persons make that mistake. It can happen to almost anyone. There are those who say to me “there is no way possible we can hire all of those persons that you are concerned about.” It goes without saying that every person who is seeking a job can’t become employed, but those of you with the power have failed to make a serious attempt to address the problem.
To those of us, who are experiencing this employment problem we must not become so disillusioned that we give up, because that is what our oppressors want us to do. It is my conviction that the local government can make a gigantic effort in eradicating this staggering unemployment problem, and I am not referring to a job. There will be a column in March 2014 where I will highlight how local government can make a very positive contribution, and how we can push them to do it.
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(Louis “Hop” Kendrick is a weekly contributor to the Forum Page.)