Whenever I see this kind of thread, I immediately think of my brethren that I see on the news. But I should really be looking in the mirror.

Sure I'm not there selling drugs, shooting up the neighborhood. And yes I have done my share in helping the cause, on the professional and on the volunteer tip. But when I really start to think about "our" problems on a grand scale I see how limited my efforts are.

The kids that I tutor gain something, but a person of my talent and education (include yourself in this description if you have finished college) can do much more for my community than be a role model or a surrogate parent/father figure. Not that is a small and trivial thing.

It seems most of the strategies that I see suggested, voting, marching, having community meetings, volunteering at community centers, attending school board meetings, following local politics don't really address what I think are the core issues.

The core issue in black America is having to go to white America for everything we need. I'm not talking about scholarships or reparations, I'm talking about jobs.

You think my vietnamese brethren have to explain getting off Lunar New Years day when the boss is also from the same spot? You ever wonder if your Indian counterparts have to take the turban off at work?

There are lots of brilliant black folks all working to fill the coffers of some one else. The book and food stores are nice, but what up with the black manufacturers? I remember sitting in a NSBE meeting listening to Proctor and Gamble talk about job opportunities. It then occurred to me, that if we pooled our intellectual resources we could do something without proctor and gamble. There is plenty of govt money set aside for minority contractors. How come we don't really take a big chunk of that?

There are definitely some personal strategies that the african american community as a whole could benefit from, investing, saving, real estate, avoiding conspicuous consumption, avoiding credit...But shouldn't we be thinking about an Onyx/Obsidian bank card? Shouldn't we be supplying chip designs to Transmeta?

peace
k. orr