EthnicMajority

(Examiner.com) Acknowledging the hard-hit African American community and budding criticisms in its ranks, President Barack Obama said in a speech to the Congressional Black Caucus that he wouldn't give up and urged members of the African American community to join him to jump-start the still sluggish economy.

He continues to say; "I expect all of you to march with me, and press on. Stop complaining, stop grumbling, and stop crying. We are going to press on. We've got work to do."

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate amongst African-Americans continues to be 16.7%, almost doubled that of the national average.  Also, approximately 40% of African-Americans children live in poverty. These facts have made fiscal reforms a priority for members of the Black Caucus, some of whom are mostly Democrats and have criticized the President for not doing enough.

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(People's World) Demands to address the country's jobs crisis are accelerating with the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) joining a growing number of groups calling for federal action. The CBC will be hosting a "For the People Jobs Initiative" in several urban areas stricken by high unemployment.

The first stop will be Chicago and will be hosted by Congressman Danny Davis. The date has not yet been announced.

According to The Root, the tour will take the form of a jobs fair along with town hall meetings to focus attention on the challenges faced by job seekers. 

The Congressional Progressive Caucus along with labor groups is also sponsoring public hearings this summer in an effort to help shape the public debate.

Republicans in Congress turned a deaf ear to jobs legislation even before winning a majority in last fall's election. The tea party majority faction instead is fixated on cutting government spending and preventing corporate tax increases.

With African American unemployment twice the national average, the Black Caucus thinks that immediate steps must be taken. The jobs fair component of their For the People Jobs Initiative is aimed at addressing this concern.

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(Washington Post) As President Obama prepared to sign his $858 billion tax deal Friday, White House aides moved quickly to soothe the anger among liberal constituency groups that bitterly opposed the measure.

An e-mail distributed to black leaders declared the package a “major victory for African-Americans,” arguing that a series of middle-class tax cuts will give “targeted” aid to minorities.

The White House also invited one of its key African American surrogates, the Rev. Al Sharpton, to Friday afternoon’s bill signing and scheduled a private meeting with top labor union leaders who had railed against extending the George W. Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy.

Such efforts underscore the delicate political dance being performed by Obama and his aides as they look toward his 2012 reelection campaign. The tax deal could help rebuild his support among crucial independents and white working-class voters, but any move to the middle risks further alienating an already restive left.

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(Black Voice News) As recently reported in the Wall Street Journal, While centrist Democrats bore the brunt of the mid-term election losses, members of the Black and Hispanic caucuses won 56 of 60 re-election bids. The more than 40 returning African American members of Congress and at least five new ones are coming to Washington fired up and determined to beat back the coming attacks on the progressive agenda the country voted for in 2008.

As a result of the elections, seven new African Americans will be sworn-in as new House members on January 5th.

These include two Tea Party endorsed Black Republicans — Tim Scott, of South Carolina, and Allen West, of Florida, — and the first Black woman ever to represent the state of Alabama , Terri Sewell.

A native of Selma , Terri Sewell, DAL, comes from a politically active family that placed a strong emphasis on education.

Her mother was the first African American woman elected to the Selma City Council. Sewell is a graduate of both Princeton and Harvard Law School and currently works as a public interest lawyer in Birmingham. High on her legislative priorities list is job creation, health care, and help for Black farmers.

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(Christian Science Monitor) As if the Democrats didn’t have enough headwind going into the November elections, now two of the most prominent and longest-serving black Democrats in the country – Rep. Charlie Rangel of New York and Rep. Maxine Waters of California – are now reportedly both set to fight ethics charges at open House trials before Election Day.

Congressman Rangel faces 13 ethics charges, including allegations of improper fundraising and tax evasion, which were released this week.

Congresswoman Waters, a House ethics subcommittee is reportedly about to allege, broke ethics rules by lobbying Treasury officials for a $25 million bailout of OneUnited Bank in Boston, in which her husband, former NFL player Sidney Williams, has a financial stake.

Both House members have reportedly turned down plea offers for relatively light reprimands in order to fight the charges. Both ordeals promise to be showcase trials in the critical days before an election that Republicans are painting as a referendum on the agenda of the Democrat-controlled Congress and White House.

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