I have been criticized as being an “angry” Black man. Perhaps this label is correct. When I see the injustices done to people of color, the poor and disenfranchised in our society, I do get upset. It was refreshing to see the youth and their families “March for Lives” this past weekend. Millions of people from all over the United States participated to say enough is enough as it pertains to gun violence in our schools. These white kids come from middle to upper class communities and want to see gun laws changed. They advised the time for…
Author: Thomas Sheffield
The three stages of voting are registration, education and participation. Throughout this nation’s history, people have fought and died in order to vote. During the country’s beginning, only white men who were land owners could vote. The 15th Amendment to the US Constitution gave all men the right to vote. Not until the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920 did women have the right to vote. Just because you have the right, does not mean you are able to vote. There are actions taken by local and state governments to take that right away from the undervalued, underestimated and marginalized. …
Wakanda is a fictional place seen in the motion picture “Black Panther”. The idea of an African utopia is not new. It is a fantasy land where respect is paid to the environment and the people there are the richest and smartest in the world. We can develop Wakanda-like communities now. In order to get there, we have to focus on the many aspects of our own communities. The decisions we need to make and the habits we must break may be considered painful. But we can get there if we change the way we think. Where do you spend…
The United States economy is the most powerful in the world and the biggest economy in history. This means consumers and workers run the economy. The money we earn and spend are very powerful tools. We decide who gets the money we have earned. Last week, the Trump administration ordered a tax on imported steel. Many see this as a start to a new trade war. Anytime there is war or threat of war, there is a likelihood of scarcity which will drive up prices. This also means we have a responsibility to use our money in a way that…
I have always been skeptical of life insurance. When I think about the amount of money our grandparents would pay to the insurance man weekly, it would make me angry. I would think about how the insurance companies would take advantage of the old and poorly educated. It would make me angry to think about how our grandparents would scrape up their nickels and dimes to pay for 30 or more years on a death benefit of anywhere between 1 and 5 thousand dollars. I would get angry thinking of how they would pay for these policies as if they…
What was your first job? Think back about it to when you were a teenager. Did you work at a grocery store, at a mall, for a relative in a small local business? What was it like to get your first pay check and what did you do with it? When I started working, I had no idea what to do with my check. I did not have a checking or savings account. I did not have any bills or purchases I wanted so the check just sat in my top drawer. A couple of weeks later, I asked my…
As a kid, my friends and I would play a game called “Would You Rather?” We would give the other person false choices to see which false choice they would make given the worst case scenario. It was all in fun. However, now it seems we are always forced to make horrible false choices. Minorities, the poor and disenfranchised people have to make them more on a daily basis than any other group. False choices include: fast unhealthy food or medicine, electric bill or home repairs, drink unclean water or sugar filled drinks, let your kids outside to breathe unclean…
Many people in America wish for us to quit looking at things as an African American. I or we should not look at it as black or white. We should not emphasize we are black teachers, black drivers, black nurses, black doctors, black judges, black writers or that we have black businesses or black papers and black web sites. Yes, we are American. The people in the African American community are just as or even more so American than anyone in this country. The sacrifices we have made just to get a fair shot show our dedication to this country.…
Many people have a negative attitude toward what happened in 2017. Yes, there have been a lot of setbacks suffered over this past year. I have to remind myself to stay in my lane and talk about sustainability and how we can use this to live happy, healthy and productive lives. My intent is to do just that. But then I see the affects public policy has on our community and it is my obligation to inform you in order to bring value to your lives. I want you to have the power and ability to choose how you want…
What could you have done by now? Do you feel as if you have been wasting time? Have you been spinning your wheels trying to figure out how you could better your situation? What can we do for a sustainable future? Well there is no time like the present. Nothing can stop us from being where we need to be. It is time for people in our community to look at trends for the future that will bring a stable and sustainable future for our families. We must reach our potential because we owe this to our children. Here are…