African American Institutions
The advent of organizations like the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies is widely perceived as necessary for this advancement of African Americans. This is because these organizations are established and run by members of the African American community. This is what makes the organizations pivotal to the advancement of African Americans’ political advancement.
Other than political advancement, these organizations are involved in other African American empowerment activities. These organizations have widened their scope to cover issues of education, technology, and habitat development. One of such organizations is the United Negro College Fund. This organization helps African Americans attain higher education.
General elevation of African Americans translates to an empowered community. Some prominent African Americans in the country today are beneficiaries of this organization. Such accomplishments are therefore pivotal to the advancement of the African American’s political maturity. By improving the welfare of African Americans, the political systems end up benefitting.
There are many African Americans with political talent but lack the necessary exposure. Some of these organizations give this group a platform for selling their ideas. Some African American greats like Malcolm X are products of these African American organizations. A chance to work for one of this organization may act as the birth of a great career.
These organizations may sometimes work against the African American’s quest for political advancement. This is because some of them tend to manipulate racial stereotypes to their advantage. Most of these organizations depend on donations. To earn these donations, they have to make some form of political noise. When there are no issues to address, these organizations make do by blowing petty issues out of proportion. This portrays the African Americans’ politics in a bad light. There have also been reports of deep-rooted corruption in some of these organizations.
In conclusion, organizations such as the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies and the National Black Independent Political Party may work for or against African Americans political advancement. Their productivity depends on how well they are utilized.
Press
Press is necessary for the advancement of any course. Publicity attracts concerned parties’ attention towards a certain issue. Press is necessary towards such an achievement. American history shows that the press has a tendency to bear affiliations depending on who owns it.
Even in democratic America, media still sympathizes with the issues that are dear to its owners and audience. The same is expected from black owned press. It was anticipated that black owned newspapers and broadcasting media would be instrumental to the elevation of African Americans. This is only partly true.
There were black owned publications being made albeit secretly as early the 1700s. In the nineteenth century, black publications were more common. Most of these were used for revolutionary purposes. For example, John Johnson and Marcus Garvey had publications of their own. During those times, the goal of these publications was quite clear and unadulterated. This is mostly because there were limited choices then and people appreciated what they had.
Today most black owned press is only for profit purposes. The Oprah Winfrey organization is a good example of this trend. The organization makes millions of dollars in profits a year. However, its current contribution to African Americans’ welfare is negligible given these proportions. If an issue is not profitable, it is most likely dropped no matter how important it is to the plight of the black community.
Black owned media is more reactionary than it is action driven. For instance, they will only react to racial issues but they no longer dwell on issues of black empowerment and advancement. Before Barrack Obama became president, black owned media never gave him a lot of airspace. It is only after he had made several strides on his own that black owned press gave him the necessary publicity.
To conclude, there are instances when black owned media has worked against African Americans’ struggle. Recently, it has become norm for black owned press to profit from African American Stereotypes. It is important to note that in the second half of the twentieth century, this struggle depended on black press.
The Civil Movement
The civil movement in the early nineteenth century was a vital component of African Americans’ history. Its hallmark is a number of influential African American leaders who rose to prominence at the time. This period also experienced several instances of violence directed at African Americans. Part of this movement, was the union movement.
This movement was meant to take look into issues affecting the working African Americans at the time. The biggest issue then was the exclusion of African Americans from the labor unions of the time. When African Americans finally found their way into the union movement, their active participation was highly expected. This never happened because most African Americans still stayed away from these organizations.
The main reason for this was the leadership of these organizations. Most African Americans were of the opinion that this leadership was a puppet of the white employers. African American rights activists frequently echoed this sentiment.
The other reason is that they felt that the fight on racial inequality needed to be won first. It was widely believed that if the racial war was won, then the labor related issues would eventually fade out. The civil movement was preferred compared to the labor movement. This is why most African Americans working class citizens chose to win the inequality war first.
When the union movement was ending, many members of the African American community were sure the fight was lost. During that time, the economic downturn was the main issue pressing them. This is why even after things cooled off after the civil rights struggle; they were still reluctant to jump into the union bandwagon.
Overall, the union movement was never a priority for African Americans. Their efforts were mostly directed towards winning the inequality battle. This is because they felt as if this battle was dearer to them.
Political Party Affiliations
It was only in 1989 that Americans elected the first African American Governor. Jesse Jackson was the first frontrunner for the Democratic Party presidential ticket in 1984. Recently, America swore in the first African American President. All these are recent strides made by the African American players in the political arena. African Americans have always sympathized with Democratic Party policies as opposed to those of the Republican Party.
Recently, stands taken by the Republican Party on several issues are the main reason why most African Americans tend to shy away from this party. Issues like gay marriage, environmental policies, and evangelical issues. The laid-back nature of Democratic Party policies is the main attraction for African Americans towards this party.
Historically, African Americans were not allowed to vote. When they gained this right, they had the option of forming a third party or supporting either of the existing ones. Finally, they settled on the Republican Party as their party of choice. This was mostly because of the party’s affiliation to Lincoln. He was a darling of the community due to his stand on slavery. This continued until the big shift came.
Previously, there was virtually no participation of African Americans in the affairs of the Republican Party. This has however changed. This is mostly because the Republican Party has changed its stance on various issues that did not sit well with this community. The ongoing Republic nominations actively involve African American politicians.
In conclusion, African Americans party affiliation has remained consistent for a very long time. While other factors have changed, political affiliation has remained the same. Even later changes to Republican Party policies, has not been enough to sway the African Americans political affiliation.