United States | Racial Influence

Politics : A Challenge For The Youth

BEDFORD, NH - JANUARY 25: Former Minnesota Go...

A major part of the population in this world, do not prefer to play a role in active politics. The main reason for this type of response from the young generation is the number of problems that each one faces in their life when he enters into politics. In this world whenever there is a debate on politics, most of the youngsters often have a very bad opinion about this field whereas it’s the opposite.

Just like in any other business venture in this world even while entering into politics care should be taken so that we are prepared for all types of situations which life is going to offer to us. The onus of playing healthy politics entirely depends on the younger generation and that’s because it’s up to you that the whole community looks up to for making the changes which are good for the community.

Though we see many people talking negatively about politics and the ill effect it might have. But truly speaking, it is those people who don’t understand the very purpose of using politics and are often found to be in wrong place for taking the wrong decisions. Politics is a very cheap but a delicate game where you can end up being a winner or a looser. The important thing here isn’t the result but it is the effort which has been put and the effect it has among the people around which makes the difference.

Filed Under: General, Organizations Tagged With: Canada, Politics, United States

Charitable Organizations Dedicated to Advancing Black People

Black family at Construction Site The legacy of African-Americans through the efforts of people like Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King has brought improvement in the lives of black Americans. To keep the legacy going, many charitable organizations have made educating and empowering black people their focus. Here are some charity organizations dedicated to advancing black people.

Institute for Black Charities (IBC)

Also known as Black Charities for Children, Families and Communities, this non-profit organization founded in 1997 provides a broad range of services to African-Americans living in poor and underdeveloped communities. Services provided include emergency relief, funding to support community programs, educational workshops and public awareness campaigns. IBC currently has six affiliate chapters in Maryland, Washington DC, Virgina, Missouri, North Carolina and Texas.

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National Black United Federation of Charities (NBUFC)

For over 17 years the focus of the NBUFC has been to generate funds for education assistance, health, economic and social development of African American communities and African countries overseas. The NBUFC is comprised of 28 non-profit organizations some of which are, the Black Women in Sisterhood for Action based in Washington D.C. and Georgia Black United Fund based in Atlanta.

United African-American Relief Foundation (UAARF)

The UAARF was founded in 2005 by Marshall T. Hall who comes from a family of wealthy black entrepreneurs from the early 1900′s. Marshall’s grandfather Robert Houston Isabell was a Pullman Porter during the 1800′s who went on to become a successful business and land owner. This legacy of black entrepreneurship is embodied in the philosophy of the UAARF through its committment to raise funding for education and promoting high school and college completion.

Filed Under: Organizations, Racism Today Tagged With: African American, Rosa Parks, United States

Our Schools are Becoming Charities in Society Today

It’s becoming common place in most states today, for schools to do fundraisers right and left to increase funding. These collected funds aren’t being used to fluff up the faculty lounge. They are being used to get basic necessities like paper, copier cartridges, and pencils. With the recent terrible recession, state funding and federal funding are down. States are scrambling to fund state education programs. As the end of a traditional school year approaches, many schools start finding their accounts are getting low. This means scrambling to find money in other accounts if possible or asking for funding from outside sources. Schools aren’t asking for money to buy ice cream cones for students every day. They need money to keep the lights on and the water running.

One of the greatest gifts America can give every generation is the opportunity for a basic education in grades K-12. Many people will say this education is free; however, this isn’t the case. Every taxpaying citizen in some form contributes to the public educational systems in our nation. In some states, the entire state tax goes to fund public education. So, the education that we provide our children isn’t free; however, it’s a wonderful blessing.

Our schools shouldn’t become charities in our society. The reality is that schools are going to continue to need money, because tax revenues are down and rainy day funds never existed or are depleted. The answers are difficult. Schools can get creative in finding ways to access outside funding. They can also be careful with the resources they have. However, there comes a point, where schools just need more money.

Filed Under: General, Racism Today Tagged With: Education, State school, United States

Discrimination can Start Young and be Stopped Young

Discrimination is generally described in the American dictionary as prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their race. This can also include membership in a specific social category that is undesirable. There are many simpler definitions of discrimination. If we take it back to the preschool and kindergarten level, it can be not playing with someone because they are different. It can also be making fun of someone and using words as the form of discrimination. This early form of discrimination can also include verbalization that someone cannot do things that others can. So, the child doing the discrimination thinks they are better than the other child. It comes down to basic themes like I am better than they are, they look different, or they can’t do what I can do. It’s so easy for us to find what’s different even when we’re young.

Parents need to start talking about discrimination before their children can even speak. They also need to set the best example possible. If parents don’t want their children to discriminate, they need to not discriminate. They also need to talk about discrimination and what it is, what its causes are, and how to combat it.

It’s also easy to stop these early forms of discrimination if parents and teachers recognize and address them quickly. Schools try to do a good job at recognizing discrimination in all its ugly forms and addressing it quickly. Parents can do the same by having an open dialogue with their child about daily events. This includes not just asking what you learned today but asking about who children played with, what they play, what happened during lunch, and asking about friends. These simple conversations can lead to understanding situations that may arise where children need guidance. It gives parents the opportunity to talk about discrimination if they feel it appropriate in different situations.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Discrimination, Parent, United States

Education Coming up to Speed With Black History Month

Many American’s missed ever hearing about famous African Americans in history while growing up in my generation. It was a topic introduced into many of America’s public school curriculums only about fifteen to twenty years ago. We never knew much about Martin Luther King, Jr. just that he was assassinated before we were born or before we knew about life. We didn’t know that a staple in the American diet, the peanut, that is used in literally hundreds of different and products was really unknown to the United States consumer, until a young boy, born a slave, George Washington Carver became a scientist and agriculturalist and unlocked the peanut’s secrets. These weren’t people who we were introduced to us as making a huge difference to the nation or our world, but they really did.

Schools aren’t perfect at educating their students about the contributions made to our nation by African Americans but they are trying. In fact, many schools do a great job at using the month of February, Black History Month as a way to teach some important themes to students. Teachers are actually trying to teach students about some of the famous African Americans that have done so much for our nation. I’ve been impressed by teachers who build their entire curriculum around famous African Americans during the month of February. Now, when you walk down a school’s halls there are art projects and poems dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr. There are books about African American history and culture.

We are doing a better job at educating our children about the history of African Americans in our nation. But we still have a long way to go before we’re in the right place. We shouldn’t just be focusing on this topic during Black History Month. It needs to be something that we teach all year long and not just at school.

Filed Under: History Tagged With: African American, Black History Month, United States

Teaching Charity to the Entitled

We live in an age of entitlement. It appears that we will get everything we want right now with little or no effort on our part. This view of entitlement is especially easy to see in the children and youth of the United States today. This is a gross aggrandizement, but many people are calling today’s generation of young people, ‘entitlement babies’. Many children have everything given to them before they are even old enough to express the desire to have material items. Parents, family, and friends are ready to hand out whatever a child needs and fulfill their every wish. So, how does this type of young person react when they come into contact with someone who is different? Someone who does not have all the materialistic abundance that they are so used to?

It’s great to remember that young people are very intelligent and quick to learn. Also, parents and families are not going out of their to raise entitled young people. We want to give our children the very best. However, sometimes in giving our children everything they want, we take away some of their greatest learning opportunities. We take away their opportunities to struggle and work for what they want. We take away their opportunities to understand what it’s like to not always get what you want right away. We take away their opportunities to learn that life is not always about getting things.

The anecdote to entitlement is charity. Take the opportunity to entitle less and teach your children the abundance of giving. Charities in a society are kept alive by the members of that society. If our societies cease to give, charities will cease to exist.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Child, United States, Youth

The Importance of Black Heritage and Racial History

Black heritage in America is a long and storied history, one that has much sadness behind it. On the bright side, black Americans have come a long way in a few short generations to hold offices varying from alderman all the way to the President. The tenacity of a few have benefited many. No more Jim Crow laws, no more separate but equal, no more overt discrimination.

All it took was one tired and obstinate woman, Rosa Parks, to fire the shot that was heard around the world. Overnight the US took a good look at itself and did not like what it saw. Things began to change. Whites marched with blacks in the South, an unprecedented event. No longer did the black man or woman have to go to the back of the house to enter. They could now walk in the front door, proud. No longer did disenfranchisement hold sway, preventing blacks from being able to vote as they pleased.

There were those who tried civil discourse in the first half of the 20th Century. They should not be forgotten, even though their efforts are by and large unknown today. Early Civil Rights pioneers led the way to the civil discourse that brought about the large changes leading to equality.

Black Americans cannot afford to forget the lessons of the past. For they will be doomed to repeat it if they do. These rights were hard won in recent memory. To dismiss what Martin Luther King did for equality is to deny the entire Civil Rights movement. Draw upon the past to find strength for the future, and to solidify the hold for the next generation. Each generation finds it easier and easier to survive in America as racism fades, but they should never forget.

Filed Under: Racism Today Tagged With: Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, United States

Looking Back On The 2008 Presidential Election

: Image via Wikipedia

As Barack Obama begins his quest for re-election it’s important to look back on his journey. The truth is that the country isn’t sure about the effectiveness of his presidency and so, like any incumbent in this economy would be, his job security is in jeopardy. However, if he is a one and done president it might be easy to look forward and forget what he did to get where he was at, but if you do that you are missing out on a great moment for a man and the nation that believed in him.

When he started out he started out with a flurry of "will he, won’t he." He responded with the typical "i will, i might not." But once he got going he did something that very few politician know how to do effectively in this day and age. He was able to connect with the people. It’s a tremendous gift to be able to speak and no matter what anyone flung at him about his inexperience or his lack of stance on some issues, the truth was that no one could take away the fact that he was a brilliant orator.

Barack had captivated the attention of a nation. But he had to do something that no candidate had been able to do before him. He was able to mobilize a nation. They ran a campaign as organized as possible and geared toward the younger vote. A vote that is often incredibly difficult to get. But still they were able to get voters to come out in massive numbers. It was the biggest election for young voters in the history of the country. It won’t matter if Obama has another run at office because what he did to get an entire nation involved is already a permanent part of his legacy.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Barack Obama, Democratic, Republican, United States

A Cure for Youth Influence

Being influential in any culture doesn’t mean that you have to have a big name behind you. As a matter of fact, you don’t even need to be in the spotlight. Being an inspiration should start at home.

It’s no secret that crime with our youth, especially in the African American community, is on the rise. This possibly could come from many homes not having the foundation to nurture our youth, by having a role model. One thing that is voiced by broken teens especially is that they never had a father figure to love them. Now by know means is this to say that women don’t play a major role in the home, but when African American men step up and take charge, there is a bigger impression that is place in the child.

African American men play an important part to teach, lead and to bring correction when needed. It is so imported that black men fill the gap because of all the hidden dangers that plague our youth. Drugs, crime, and school dropouts, being at the top of the list, children need that voice to put them on the correct path. It gives children a sense of pride and feeling as though they are protected. Most important children are lead by example as well! You have to look at youth as being a blank canvas; the picture that is painted inside of them is what they will display.

Not being a father doesn’t rule black men out of being a leader. There are other ways to lead the youth, such as volunteering at clubs, mentorship programs, or organizing events to bring youth together to empower them. If our children don’t get influenced by men in their own race, then how can they know about their identity? It was once said that if you don’t know where you have been, then how will you know where you are going?

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Black people, United States, Youth

Why Is Knowledge Of Racial Heritage Important? Read Ahead To Find Out

: Image by ThinkVegan via Flickr

Many persons feel that learning more about black heritage and racial history will not help tackle racism. Well, there can be different opinions on this issue. However, there is no denying that racism has its roots in myths and unreasonable fears in the minds of those who practice it.

Many persons considered colored individuals as inferior. This is merely an expression of fear that perhaps colored individuals might be more powerful and more influential. Over the years, racism has adopted different methods and techniques to stay alive.

In some cases, politicians have made use of racism to stay in office. In other cases, a society that did not have the courage to face social issues sought to hide things under the carpet of racism. There is no doubt that history repeats itself, especially in case of social evils like racism.

That is the reason why knowledge of racial history and black heritage will be very useful. In fact, one should not stop at merely learning more about black heritage. It is important to give equal emphasis to all races. As on date, colored individuals have suffered more from racism. Hence, efforts to know more about black heritage may make more sense today. However, if racism is to die, society will have to reach that stage where all races are considered equal and all individuals study all races in detail.

The biggest advantage of adopting this approach is that even you can become an expert in tackling racism. Mere black heritage knowledge and racial history may not suffice. However, there is no denying that it is a start. You have to start somewhere and it is best to begin with gaining more knowledge.

If you want to do your bit to tackle the negative racial influence present in our society, you can start by learning more about others. As you learn more and as you pass on more, the fight against racism will automatically become easier.

Filed Under: History, Racism Today Tagged With: African American, Racism, United States