Author Archives: James Clingman NNPA Columnist

Black folks have the ability to create our own conscious millionaires. We have certainly done it for others for a long time now. Conscious Black millionaires, by definition, would most assuredly use some of their money to assist the Black collective; conscious Black millionaires would not hesitate to use their resources to help empower our people; conscious Black millionaires would not be afraid to espouse the principles of economic empowerment and then use their money to support it.

The experiment that featured a Black man in the White house is on the downside now. Folks in the Obama administration are busy looking for their next job and jumping ship faster than rats. But you can’t blame them; that’s the way it is in politics. You ride your horse as long as you can and then you find a new horse. That’s just what folks in presidential administrations do. The question is: What horse will Black folks ride now?

The Black vote is said to be the determining factor in whether the democrats hold the U.S. Senate. President Obama is on Black radio shows, and of course “Little” Al’s TV show, giving us the rundown on how important our turnout is to next month’s election. The democrats and republicans are outwardly admitting that the Black vote is the x-factor in this election. Isn’t it great to be wanted and needed, even if it is just for one day? All across the nation, Black is popular once again, all because it’s voting time.

Remember the Jena Six? Some 15,000 to 20,000 protesters went to Jena, La., in 2006 to demonstrate against injustice. After all the speeches, threats, marches, and church rallies, the people went home and nothing really changed. The prosecutors did their thing and the system rolled right over Mychal Bell and the other five defendants. It was business as usual. Did we learn anything from Jena that we can apply in Ferguson?