I had a chance to catch up on some housework the other day to tackle one of my most dreaded chores - the never ending, constantly multiplying baskets of laundry constantly invading my home - so I decided to multi-task and catch up on some of my shows that I record on my DVR.
A particular ad caught my eye during a break, one that has been airing in the Atlanta, Georgia market for a couple of weeks now. In one of the spots, it shows Dr. Frank Morris, former Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, an organization created to educated future Black leaders and to broaden and elevate the influence of African Americans in the political, legislative, and public policy arenas, commenting about immigration and the effect it is having amongst employment of Black men in America, all done against superimposed images of the American border (let's be perfectly frank here for a moment, they've got to be referring to Mexico, obviously, we're not complaining about those darned Canadians and building a wall along their border, are we?) and black and white images of depressed Black men in various states of financial stress and/or difficulty. As the ad played, I was disturbed by the fact that the ad seemed to be pitting one racial group against another by inferring that the decline of employment in the Black community is solely based on Latin immigration issues and wondering who was behind this subversive message, filled with subliminally racial overtones.
Hmmm, I thought to myself, I have GOT to check this out; this is the insidious type of political advertising, misrepresentation and distortion of the facts that is a prime example of what's wrong with our political election process system and why it's time for a change on all sides, I find the practice not necessarily attributed to any political party, but a disturbing policy that's been employed by all on occasion, from time to time. I scrambled to find the remote, fervently praying it wasn't connected to any Democratic political organization or operative. Well, it seems that it was paid for by the Coalition for the Future American Worker (CFAW), an organization who according to their website is "an umbrella organization of professional trade groups, population/environment organizations, and immigration reform groups."
Little information about the organizational tree could be found about the CFAW on their website, but one of its sponsors/contributors is NumbersUSA; which happens to be an entity founded by John Tanton, a Republican activist from Michigan, and regarded as one of the leaders in the anti-immigration and "official English" movements. Mr. Tanton has either founded or co-founded three groups designated as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center and is the author of an infamous memo to WITAN IV attendees written in 1986 which showcases some of his questionable, controversial and racially inflammatory thoughts on the issue of immigration. Amongst Mr. Tanton's other "achievements", he is also the founder and publisher of Social Contract Press, whose books play on the fears of white, English-speaking Americans by inferring that immigrants will take over the United States as well as co-founder, Former Chairman and board member of the Federation of American Immigration Reform (FAIR) . Typically, his publications released on Social Contract Press will highlight research that portrays the negative aspects of immigration issues while ignoring conflicting or positive information, playing on the racist fears and attitudes surrounding this issue.
According to an article published at the Southern Poverty Law Center website, Dr. Harris, along with Mr. Tanton, was part of an anti-immigration contingent determined to take over the board of the Sierra Club, an environmental organization which has nothing to do with immigration issues, in order to "seize the reins of a respected and well-financed liberal group to express immigration restriction arguments that might otherwise draw accusations of racism". Although unsuccessful in taking control of the Sierra Club, it seems as if they have not abandoned their tactics of using non-profit organization to spread their message.
Those who actually are affected, even Dr. Harris himself, knows the problem facing the Black community is a little more complex than that and involves an amalgamation of complex issues rooted in racism, incarceration, and lack of education -- not just immigration, as he pointed out in his statements to a subcommittee before the Judiciary House of Representatives in 2004.
In the particular spot mentioned, Dr. Morris states, and I'm not going to respond with statistics and figures in each instance:
"If you're a Black American, you've noticed that many of us are out of work. You've probably also noticed a huge increase in immigration. Those two facts are related."
Well, I'm Black and what I've noticed is that while, yes, there seems to be more Hispanics working the day labor pools, increasing competition for Blacks for available employment, Blacks have, in most cases, refused to become competitive with the changing market by refusing to work at all for lower wages or increasing productivity, opting to have no income instead an honorable, lower-paying one, or even entertain the thought of working two jobs. Many decided to acquiesce such jobs to Hispanics, therefore allowing them to dominate the market. It's all about supply and demand, baby; they saw the opening and filled it.
It's not that Blacks are incapable of working the jobs previously done at lower wages, many refuse to and the simple fact of the matter is that contractors or others in need of their services don't care about the color of the labor; they just need someone who's going to do the job at the lowest cost, period. Have they perhaps driven down the cost of labor? That may be true to an extent, however, Blacks don't have the right to be angry, in most cases, some were so busy complaining, reveling in their mental apathy and stagnation, trying to find someone to blame instead of looking for the remedies instead of simply just getting up, getting out and getting something. A real man, regardless of color, will do what he has to do to provide for his family, at least that's what my father always told me.
Have I noticed an increase in immigration? Yes, and I don't doubt the veracity of the data supporting that statement, there is an effect, but I don't place the blame on the people themselves, I blame NAFTA, for one. Ross Perot was right, what you're hearing right now is that large, sucking sound he mentioned. That combined with lax enforcement of existing immigration laws, this set up a perfect storm that's being felt along all racial demographics. According to Dr. Morris in the Seattle Times, "This issue is not new; this preference for immigrant workers over native African-American workers is historical." He also goes on to say, "The only time when the black workforce is desired is when there's low immigration." The wave of immigrants into our country has given American employers a choice, and they seem to be choosing immigrant workers over Black Americans and as Dr. Morris states, the historical precedent seems to be for employers to choose immigrants of varied racial demographics over Blacks. There may not be conclusive data available in this matter, but for those who hire and those who seek work in these sectors, I'm sure they would hesitate to disagree.
If employers don't hire illegal immigrants, you very simply and effectively remove the incentive of coming to America make a living. If you combine this with employer sanctions, add new, tougher controls and effectively enforce them; and by revoking the policies which make it more financially attractive for American companies to utilize foreign workers and strengthening trade agreements that make it economically viable for countries to compete in the global market, immigrant workers will have an incentive to stay in their native countries. Employers will then be forced to hire Americans, but American workers have to become competitive in the global work force market and stop driving up the cost of doing business to the point where it will no longer be beneficial to companies' bottom line to move jobs overseas, which goes back to rescinding the policies enacted by NAFTA. I'm not saying to eliminate unions, as they are needed to ensure worker's rights and fair pay, however, they have come to the point where they antagonize and polarize the corporate sector.
The solutions are not easy ones, granted and require compromise on all parties; otherwise, we'll continue to see declines across the board. It's critical that we address these matters with a clear, concise, unbiased frame of mind, as our economic future depends on it.
"Studies show immigration accounts for 40% of the decline of employment for Black men."
"Mass immigration is also a cause for the decline of Black wages."
Again, assuming the data is not flawed, then yes, one can conclude that immigration does has an negative effect, but what's not being discussed and taken into account is the detrimental effect the vicious cycle of incarceration, unfair sentencing and lack of educational and vocational training has on Black wages. Our years of failing schools have produced a generation who may have graduated, but are ill-equipped to enter the workforce in skilled labor, forcing them in record numbers to the unskilled job market, which has previously been filled by immigrant workers. Because of economic pressures, that may lead some to find other illegal means of employment, putting them into the cycle of the penal system, further exacerbating matters. That combined with the loss of manufacturing jobs (again, thank NAFTA), in my opinion, is a larger threat to not only the Black community, but all American workers as a whole. With the recent report that states that one in every fifteen of the Black population is in the penal system and the difficulties of those who were incarcerated in re-entering society and the job market, I would see this and the decline of our education system as the largest threat to employment of Black Americans, not the immigration issue.
"It's time to stand up for Black Americans jobs."
That is correct, someone should, but Black Americans aren't the only ones affected. The Black community has long suffered from inequities in the employment market, even in the most robust of economic times. It's not a new phenomenon for us, but I'd rather for someone to stand up for ALL the issues, not the just the ones that advance a particular, nefarious cause.
By presenting this issue by having a Black spokesman to bring some type of racial credibility to the ad and by not fully presenting the facts, and the inference that a particular group is responsible for the ills of Blacks and employment, further fan the flames of racism and seems like an attempt of bringing an element of divisiveness to the upcoming Presidential election.
The real question is: Where was this organization's and its supporter's stance then and where will they are AFTER the election? Will there be that same amount of concern for the other influences affecting the Black community and employment or will this fall to the back burner should their initiative fail? That's what Black America is looking for, someone who'll care about not only us, but all Americans, issues before and after the election.
I know where my Black leaders were trying to go in the past, but not until we have recently been finally recognized as a legitimate, political entity and a force on the political landscape, not much attention has been paid to them, or the issues they represented. The attention is a refreshing change; however, let's not taint it by bringing the divisive element of racism into the issue, especially by directing the ills of one people upon another. Unless George W. Bush has been successful in totally eradicating the American Constitution, I believe it still starts out by saying, "We, the people..." No racial denotation needed.
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Comments: 19
Okay, now I read. . .
do not possess,
or CAN NOT POSSESS THE. . .
[AHEM]......
E-X-P-E-R-I-E-N-C-E
or didn't you know?
Where HAVE you been?
in this country.
Thank you, very much
Bill and . . .uh
Hillary Clinton for that . . .uh
bit o'shared
EXPERIENCE
which this country could have done without,
but that deed has been done,
and the fruits thereof are very much being harvested. . .
-- your article attests to it.
indigenous African friends tell me
that even THEY were better qualified
than we (African Americans)
for jobs.
They were more intelligent
harder working, and so forth.
This was what employers had told THEM.
It appears African Americans are
lazy, no account, uneducated , thieves
-- my doomed destiny :=[
Thank you for the article.
I -- at least -- hope no one is surprised.
The devil never comes in his own name.
Sierra Club; imagine that. I was a member of the Sierra Club too. Well, forget that!
If I cannot trust it, forget it. NEXT time Tanton may very well SUCCEED!
Stacey, there is an alarming trend where Hispanics are taking over jobs, but for the sake of this article, I won't go there. Another discussion for another day.
Gad you're feeling better, got your message, was outside talking to my neighbor, so don't read into anything there...
Since you partially went there, let's go there...
Yes, there are a large part of service and low-skilled jobs going to Hispanics, but a lot of that lies with general apathy, the lure of the drug trade, lack of education and the fact that 1 in 15 of the Black population is incarcerated. The pool of available Black workers, is shrinking and the Hispanic population is simply filling in the gap.
How many times have I heard, "I can't take that job, they don't pay enough money!", spoken by natural citizens and then you see the position filled by an immigrant who, most of the time, will work as many jobs as necessary, to make ends meet? Then the complaint is that "they're taking all of the jobs", when the actual fact is they're taking the jobs thatsome of us feel are beneath us or not paying the wage we'd like. Doesn't matter what you do as long as it's a honest job with honest pay.
Why are we concentrating on filling low-skilled work instead of improving education opportunities so that people can move into skilled work, high-tech or corporate sector? Or even promoting entrepreneur opportunities? Why keep looking down?
unscrupulous employers who hire them). Another reason to NOT vote for McCain who is
unlikely to enforce the 1986 IRCA law banning employment of illegal aliens.
Note : the democratic candidates aren't so clean either. Clinton and Obama both voted for the Senate amnesty bills as well as the Peru free trade (outsourcing) bill. Apparently,
the public needs to speak out more especially to our Senators.
Are prices going up, of course. Are our incomes going up - nope, and it won't as long as Illegal immigrants are here. There are only a certain amount of jobs in America, who thinks the jobs are unlimited?
Since the blacks are losing jobs to the illegals why are many blacks voting for Obama?
As for Robert F. and Tom M., I don't have a problem with granting those illegal immigrants who have clean criminal records, can prove that they are gainfully employed and have demonstrated a willingness to positively contribute to the American society, amnesty to allow them a specified amount of time to become legal citizens. To remove every identifiable illegal alien from our society and ship them back to whence they came, would cause havoc on our already fragile economic system. Tell me, who will you place in these jobs? Will you be willing to do field work, day labor, service jobs -- even if it meant you had to take three of four of those type jobs -- to make ends meet? Chances are, the answer would be no, and if you did, you'd complain about your wages or the working conditions. For example, here's a quote from King County (WA) Councilmember Larry Gossett:
There's no proof that African Americans are rushing after many of the kinds of jobs that Latinos take — on the fruit orchards and in restaurants.
"In some urban areas, blacks and Latinos are going in for the same day-labor jobs. But most African Americans are not interested in being dishwashers in the 50 largest restaurants in Seattle," he said.
Gossett said that when black people from the South first came to cities like Seattle during the 1940s, they were willing to take many of the menial jobs that Latinos now dominate. "Now I hear brothers say, 'I'm not taking those slave jobs,' "
Mr. Gossett, just happens to be a Black man.
We need free-trade agreements to help stimulate foriegn economies, it also gives us opportunity to export goods and services, increasing American manufacturing and creating jobs; while giving immigrants the incentive to stay in their native lands. The problem comes in when lobbyists and corporations put undue influence on legislators to make the bills economically favorable to them without holding the companies to some sort of economic patriotism. American companies, particularly Big Business, has been slowly and quietly selling us out for years, does MCI WorldCom and Enron ring a bell? They raped pension funds, outsourced jobs for cheaper labor, and brought companies (and employees' livelihoods) to an astounding and devestating end, but you choose to be angry at the segment of society that has the least control over our economy.
Think about it, I may not be totally right, but there's got to be something here you can take from the table to think about. You're not going to find anyone running for office, never mind in the entire world, who's going to have the clairvoyance powers to see it all and get it right, nor do I expect anyone to come in with a magic wand or possess mystical powers to make all of our ills -- which took years to come to fruition -- to be erased overnight. We're ALL going to have to do better than that. We have to start looking a bit deeper into the soundbites, dig through the bull, and look to the bigger picture and how it all relates in the end. We've failed to do that for years and now we're seeing the consequences, unfortunately.
"Since the blacks are losing jobs to the illegals why are many blacks voting for Obama?"
I dunno, Tom, perhaps it's because most of us don't equate the employment problem with immigration, we know there are deeper elements at play. We've seen these tactics before and simply aren't falling for it.
Has immigrants driven down the wages in some sectors? Probably, but it's not like anyone forced them to work here, after all, someone hired them. It seems as if we're angry for immigrants making the American dream work for them. They're doing nothing more than using the same mechanisms that are available to all and making it work. We might need to stop complaining and take notice, perhaps it can work for us as well.
I don't believe that most black men will not take menial jobs. I think you could, at best say "some". You must remember that there is racism involved here. Why hire a 'lazy' black person when there is an eager immigrant--legal or illegal--ready to work for less and under poor conditions? Where is the immediate incentive for the employers to do the right and/or fair thing to either regarding either?
We have a large population of Hispanics, Latinos, etc. in Detroit. I have worked closely with many. I even supervised a few. I am here to tell you that some are not doing all of this hard work in order to become American citizens forevermore. Many are working and living in a stark manner because they are sending money home and buying houses and land which is generally cheaper at "home". This is no different than what some Africans do. They come here to get the education and jobs so that they may help their families. Most who make it to the US come from wealthy families who want to develop positive relations within the US. The people who come from poorer situations quickly adjust to living in what we would consider less than ideal circumstances. Having running water and a bath tub are luxuries! When I was in Africa, I had to keep explaining to the mostly poor children-- who lived in the dorms my group was stationed in (think Peace Corps)-- that I was not rich just because I had a car!
I have witnessed, and therefore, know of these things. Then there's the appearance that foreign born folk are able to get credit and loans more easily than American born blacks. I've seen this happen too.
America is also holding out that lamp to the energetic and wealthy.
I appreciate your carefully, well thought out article, but I must disagree with you on the points I mentioned.
First, let me say that I'm not against immigrants coming into the country at all and I think you may have missed what I was trying to get across. What my problem is, is that this issue is being masked as subterfuge in an effort to turn one racial group against another. Very Willie Lynch, don't you think?
Although you are correct in making the statement that what I've said doesn't apply to all (I don't think I said that, but stand corrected if I did, I believe I said "some"), but it is applicable to most in the neighborhoods in which I deal with -- which is what I have witnessed and therefore, know. We have different experiences which causes us to view things in a decidely different light, but both points of view are valid and have their own merit.
When I speak of the men, it is men who are in the low-skilled market competing with the Latino market for jobs. In the inner-ciities, most of the men are out of work and cannot find employment due to other factors, such as lack of education or marketable skill-sets, incarceration records, drug addiction or other societal factors. The point I'm trying to make is that immigration is not the biggest problem for the Black community, but for some, they themselves are the problem and need to be accountable and not place the blame elsewhere. I've had to help my father hire workers and you don't know how many times we've been screwed, after making an conscious effort to hire Blacks, who complain that they can't get jobs, but then don't fulfill contract obligations; complain about the rate of pay and want more after agreeing; or just plain don't show up. Some are good men who have gotten bad breaks and went down the wrong path, and I'm not going to lie, we've found some gems, but the majority of men in this particular group, don't rise to the challenge. I'm just callin' it as I see it. On the flip, the Hispanics that we've hired, usually arrive on time and work for a full day without holding us hostage and delaying schedules.
I hear what you're saying in regards to the immigrants that come here for educational reasons and the desire to make better wages, that's what we all want in the end. As long as you arrive in this country through legal channels and follow the laws of our country, have at it, I say. But the one thing I can agree on is that the Black community needs to wake up and not only smell the coffee, but drink the entire pot.
If immigrants can use the exact same mechanisms available to us all and make it work for them, then we need to stop pointing our fingers and call foul. We haven't stepped up and for some, it's their downfall and to their own personal detriment. Anyone can have the American dream, no matter what the obsticles, it's all according to how hard are you willing to work to achieve it...
I, too, live in a community with a large Hispanic population and yes, most of them do come to make money to send home and have no intention of becoming citizens, that's their right to do so. But we also make it easy for them to do so as well, look at the Western Union and MoneyGram ads, they often tote the convienience of "sending money back home". Job opportunities shouldn't be limited to your geographical location. If I was offered a job in London, Riyadh, Paris, whatever, I shouldn't be disqualified from it because I don't live there, that's not the segment I'm addressing here.
I agree employers should hire American workers, but American workers need to adapt to the changing conditons that globalization has wrought. It's not the people, it's the policies.
I'll be back, to comment further. I have to read this, and as many of the links as I can. Thanks for publishing this, or I doubt I would have heard about it. I'll be around.