Black Political Engagement – The MWBE Imperative: Fair Share for People of Color
Peter Grear, co-publisher GreaterDiversity.com
My objective in writing about voter apathy and suppression is to help with a community dialogue that will lead to greater engagement in communities of color and, thereby, more significant economic opportunity. A parallel objective is to promote voter participation to support efforts to increase economic opportunity.
In addressing economic opportunity for people of color, I’ll address “fair share,” a former NAACP campaign and concept that I believe has much value for us today. The NAACP’s Fair Share campaign was initiated in the early 1980s under former NAACP Executive Director, the late Benjamin Hooks. The campaign was designed to get corporate America to employ, promote and do business with more people of color. (See link at end of article)
One of the most significant involvements I’ve had over the last 40 years has been in North Carolina politics. My philosophy has been that Black political engagement should always have a robust economic opportunity component.
Unfortunately, that union is not where it ought to be today, but the winds of change are blowing. I hope that they will blow up an economic storm.
To that end, I’m continuously looking for signs and developments of ideas and relationships that speak to a political and economic union. I’ll tell you what I see and think about these signs and consequences today and in the future.
One encouraging sign I see is the disparity study done under the leadership of the North Carolina Caucus of Black School Board Members (NCCBSBM). Their effort should be embraced and complimented with other ideas and steps to help Black communities achieve their “fair share.”
Last week I wrote about a developing initiative designed to get elected officials and candidates to support hiring or agreeing to hire a M/WBE (Minority & Women Business Enterprise) consultant by their entity to review the spending policies of their public body or the one that they aspire to, to determine if there is racial equity in their hiring and spending policies. That is, to determine if people of color are receiving their “fair share.”
Also, I’m in ongoing discussions with minority business owners looking for opportunities to grow their businesses and believe that equitable spending by public entities would boost their bottom line.
Historically, outreach has been made to get Black entrepreneurs more involved in politics. However, their level of involvement could be significantly increased to the benefit of Black communities if they were invited to help develop strategies that would lead to more significant business opportunities.
There is a longstanding, critical need for economic opportunity and development in communities of color. None of the various ideas or initiatives I’m aware of are sufficient to address our needs alone. However, making economic opportunity for people of color a political priority and adding it to party and campaign platforms could only help with the intractable problems of poverty and lack of opportunity in communities of color. Candidates and party leaders depending upon increased Black voter participation to win in November, would be well advised to embrace economic opportunity as a step in that direction. People of color deserve their fair share of public opportunities.
Everyone who believes that economic opportunity should be an objective of voter participation should be on the lookout for ideas and initiatives to help make this a reality. We need our “fair share.”
Greater Diversity covers news that is vital to social justice, unrepresented and underserved communities. We need your financial support to help us remain viable. Visit https://greaterdiversity.com/support-greater-diversity-news.
Peter Grear, Esq. writes for Greater Diversity News with a primary focus on political, social and economic justice. To support our efforts, to unite our politics and economics, please “Like” and follow us atwww.facebook.com/greaterdiversitynews, “Share” our articles and post your ideas and comments on Facebook or at our websites www.GreaterDiversity.com. Finally, please ask all of your Facebook “Friends” to like and follow our page.
Link: http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1986-05-03/news/0220090086_1_fair-share-program-bird-naacp. •
Share This Article
Do the sharing thingy
Homepage
Black Political Engagement – The MWBE Imperative: Fair Share for People of Color
Peter Grear, co-publisher GreaterDiversity.com
My objective in writing about voter apathy and suppression is to help with a community dialogue that will lead to greater engagement in communities of color and, thereby, more significant economic opportunity. A parallel objective is to promote voter participation to support efforts to increase economic opportunity.
In addressing economic opportunity for people of color, I’ll address “fair share,” a former NAACP campaign and concept that I believe has much value for us today. The NAACP’s Fair Share campaign was initiated in the early 1980s under former NAACP Executive Director, the late Benjamin Hooks. The campaign was designed to get corporate America to employ, promote and do business with more people of color. (See link at end of article)
One of the most significant involvements I’ve had over the last 40 years has been in North Carolina politics. My philosophy has been that Black political engagement should always have a robust economic opportunity component.
Unfortunately, that union is not where it ought to be today, but the winds of change are blowing. I hope that they will blow up an economic storm.
To that end, I’m continuously looking for signs and developments of ideas and relationships that speak to a political and economic union. I’ll tell you what I see and think about these signs and consequences today and in the future.
One encouraging sign I see is the disparity study done under the leadership of the North Carolina Caucus of Black School Board Members (NCCBSBM). Their effort should be embraced and complimented with other ideas and steps to help Black communities achieve their “fair share.”
Last week I wrote about a developing initiative designed to get elected officials and candidates to support hiring or agreeing to hire a M/WBE (Minority & Women Business Enterprise) consultant by their entity to review the spending policies of their public body or the one that they aspire to, to determine if there is racial equity in their hiring and spending policies. That is, to determine if people of color are receiving their “fair share.”
Also, I’m in ongoing discussions with minority business owners looking for opportunities to grow their businesses and believe that equitable spending by public entities would boost their bottom line.
Historically, outreach has been made to get Black entrepreneurs more involved in politics. However, their level of involvement could be significantly increased to the benefit of Black communities if they were invited to help develop strategies that would lead to more significant business opportunities.
There is a longstanding, critical need for economic opportunity and development in communities of color. None of the various ideas or initiatives I’m aware of are sufficient to address our needs alone. However, making economic opportunity for people of color a political priority and adding it to party and campaign platforms could only help with the intractable problems of poverty and lack of opportunity in communities of color. Candidates and party leaders depending upon increased Black voter participation to win in November, would be well advised to embrace economic opportunity as a step in that direction. People of color deserve their fair share of public opportunities.
Everyone who believes that economic opportunity should be an objective of voter participation should be on the lookout for ideas and initiatives to help make this a reality. We need our “fair share.”
Greater Diversity covers news that is vital to social justice, unrepresented and underserved communities. We need your financial support to help us remain viable. Visit https://greaterdiversity.com/support-greater-diversity-news.
Peter Grear, Esq. writes for Greater Diversity News with a primary focus on political, social and economic justice. To support our efforts, to unite our politics and economics, please “Like” and follow us atwww.facebook.com/greaterdiversitynews, “Share” our articles and post your ideas and comments on Facebook or at our websites www.GreaterDiversity.com. Finally, please ask all of your Facebook “Friends” to like and follow our page.
Link: http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1986-05-03/news/0220090086_1_fair-share-program-bird-naacp. •