The current economic downturn, combined with the recent financial meltdown and the current housing bubble has made life for many Americans difficult if not unbearable.  One of the age old truths that is still holding water during this economic climate is the disproportionate affect that hard times has on African Americans versus the general population.   Last week the latest unemployment figures came out and they were very disappointing.  The jobless rate in America has risen to 9.3 percent and the number of new jobs created was way below expectation.  The numbers signify a stagnation of the economy and continued suffering for middle class Americans.  As bad as these numbers are, for blacks the problem is magnified.

Overall unemployment for African Americans remained at 16.2%, nearly twice that of whites.  Digging into the numbers further we can see that the situation is even worst for black males. As of May 2011 Black men are jobless at a rate of 44%.  Black teenage men are unemployed at a rate of almost 50%!  With no jobs available young black men are seeing less and less value in educating and training themselves. The result: a 50% high school dropout rate for black teenagers in many urban cities.  With 1 out 2 young black men out of work and 1 out of 2 being uneducated our country is at the risk of losing a whole generation of black youth to the streets and subsequent life of crime and poverty.

The current situation is wreaking havoc on the black community and is impacting every aspect of our social fabric.  Many youth are forced into crime for survival and drugs for a mental escape.  With the help of police targeting and profiling, both activities have led to mass incarceration for young black men.  Without a good job to make one feel good about his manhood and self-worth, many young brothers are asserting their masculinity through sexual conquest.  You can hear it in the hip hop music of the day and you can see it manifest itself in the streets as sexual conquest has taken over as reckless sport in the hood.  The result: the highest STD rates among any groups are found in African American women and the number of teen pregnancies in underserved communities has skyrocketed.  Having multiple sex partners and multiple “baby mommas” does not make you a man, but without other outlets to assert one’s manhood black communities are turning into single parent havens of rampant unemployment, welfare, SNAP and government aid all of which are putting additional strain on an already fragile American financial ecosystem.

America must find a way out of this job crisis and the Republicans and Democrats must come together to make it happen.  The lack of jobs hurts the middle class and the poor, which ultimately hurts the rich and the wealthy. The corporate rich who control the politicians must wake up and adjust.  If America becomes so broken that there becomes a nationwide feeling of hopelessness and despair among the middle class and the poor, the rich will find themselves in a country where masses of blacks withdraw from trying to contribute to society.  This is already starting to happen to millions of African Americans who feel that life has nothing to offer, prison or death by 25 is inevitable, and there is no path to upward mobility outside of lawlessness and uprising.  As this rebellion becomes organized (and it will) America runs the risk of blacks, Mexicans, whites and others banding together to start the new revolution.  The Tea Party may think they have started a movement of their own but they have no idea what kind of revolt can occur when you have 30 million impoverished blacks, latinos and poor whites lashing out at a system that has failed to provide for them.

For the rich and greedy who want to horde money, deny loans, ship jobs overseas, avoid paying their fair share in taxes - the revolution is coming.  Do you know what side you’re on?

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