Will Black America Make Major Strides Toward Unity in 2016?

By Roger Caldwell
NNPA News Wire Columnist

This year has started with a bang and Black America is in a position to build political organizations and alliances across generational and economical demographics. “Black Lives Matter” has energized a younger segment of Black America, which older Black political organizations thought were not engaged or strategically involved. With the killing of hundreds of unarmed Blacks in 2015 by law enforcement agencies, the struggle for justice in America has been the major focus in the Black community.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan has mobilized the Black community in 2015, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the historic Million Man March by returning to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. last October. This march is significant, because it proved that there is an infrastructure of committed Black men ready to implement change and unity in their community. In order to bring this initiative to fruition, our community must organize and mobilize around a Black Agenda. There was very limited media coverage on this momentous occasion, and local Black political organizations must sit down together and develop a plan based on the need for more Black political power.

Presently, there is a limited amount of communication in the Black media, in major markets across the country. As a result of our limited resources, the Black media organizations and wire services are not able to tell our story that connects from a Black perspective. In 2016, there is a need for more positive stories from Black reporters and journalist that highlight being Black in America.

In local Black communities, there is a need for more Black programming and Black images on major networks. In 2015, Black sitcoms made major advances in bringing diversity to television, but the system is set up for more Blacks to fail. On television, it appears that mainstream media would prefer to find things that focus on the criminal elements in the Black community. Crime and Black on Black violence is a reality in our community, and the Black community collectively must attack this problem.

Black on Black crime has become a focal point in Black communities throughout America. Elected Black officials must make a commitment to safe communities, and they must be held accountable to their promises and platforms. There is no reason as to why in certain inner city neighborhoods, that drugs and criminals control the streets. Collaborating with police departments and neighborhood watch groups is the beginning of change.

It is time to change these conditions and everyone must be engaged to make a difference. Black communities must become a hub for education, innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology. Partnerships and collaborations must be the goal in the Black community, and we need coalitions to change the reality in the Black community.

This year is a presidential election and the Black vote can help determine the outcome of many elections around the country. Black Women voting bloc was the largest segment of voters in 2012, and in 2015 they have already started to organize for the 2016 election. Black men must also be more engaged and make sure they vote in all the local, state and federal elections.

In order for the Black community to realize their political power, the different Black political organizations must collaborate across generational, ideological, and financial lines. Everyone knows that 85 percent to 90 percent of Blacks in 2016 will vote Democratic, therefore we must challenge the Democratic Party to spend more money with Black media groups and organizations.

All across the country, Blacks must practice group economics and group politics, and present a united Black front in 2016. There are millions of dollars available in the 2016 campaign from candidates and the Democratic Party. Black unity is the key to political power in the New Year, and a Black Agenda will point our community to victory.

Roger Caldwell is the President/CEO of On Point Media Group, a marketing and public relations firm located in Orlando, Florida. He is a graduate of Howard University in political science. As a stroke survivor, author, and community journalist, his passion is national and statewide politics. Follow him at rogerpoliticalblogs.wordpress.com or leave comments at jet38@bellsouth.net.