Strengthen not eliminate Social Security

Social Security, created in 1935 as a safety net for Americans in their golden years, has been a target of Republicans for generations. During the Reagan administration, Congress was pressured to raise the age requirement for collecting full benefits and reduce the amount paid to recipients. Moreover, President George W. Bush advocated privatizing Social Security, and Mitt Romney famously called it a Ponzi scheme. Despite Republican opposition, the plan has survived intact for the future.

If the GOP dismantles Social Security or trusts it to the states or private sector, it will be destined to fail, and the death knell of the party as Americans rebel. 

Unlike the past, significantly fewer companies offer employee pension plans, forcing Americans to rely heavily on Social Security or savings when they retire. Today, most pensions are provided in the public sector for those lucky Americans.  Now that the Trump Administration and Republican-controlled legislatures are fighting to eliminate retirement packages for federal and state employees and replace them with a 401 (k), the future looks bleaker. 

 The 401 (k) retirement system was introduced in the 1980s as a safety net for Americans, alongside Social Security.  The employee contributes a percentage of his earnings, which the employer matches. The downside is that it is not mandatory and, in most instances, is based on the Stock Market. Additionally, many companies fail to offer them, and for those that do, employees are allowed to borrow from their 401 (k) and replenish it, which could spell trouble for the future. 

While facing financial uncertainty about their future, Americans will not go down without a fight if Social Security is drastically modified or eliminated. Because of inflation, high rent, and unrealistic mortgages, citizens are guaranteed to pack town hall meetings, picket Congress, and engage in violence if Republicans make good on a promise since the Sixties to do away with this government entitlement. They will also show up at the polls in large numbers to reject the GOP.

Instead, Social Security should be strengthened, along with a mandatory national savings program, like that proposed by President Obama.  It would soften the landing pad of retirement and give Americans something to look forward to when they leave the workforce.

Trends in Georgia Higher Education: Update from February 1 2, 2017

 African American students in Georgia have always looked forward to attending a historically black college or university in the University System of Georgia.  Many have enrolled as first-generation college students or followed a path set by their parents.  However, due to a recent phenomenon in higher education in the State, this may no longer be the case.

Historically black State institutions of higher learning in Georgia may be forced to combine with predominantly white public colleges and universities to streamline services if the Board of Regents has its way. It could spell the end of one endangered HBCU's motto of "education on a personal level."

Only Albany State University, one of three State-supported HBCUs in Georgia, has seen its mission altered thus far. It recently merged with Darton State College in 2015, a predominantly white institution located on the city's Westside, with ASU serving as its flagship campus. With expanded course offerings in nursing,  biology, and education, it is a force to be reckoned with in Southwest Georgia.  The two campuses recently combined their athletic teams to serve a student body of nearly 8,000 men and women.  It should translate into jobs in an economically strapped area.

Savannah State University,  the second of Georgia's three State-funded HBCUs, is being considered for a merger with Armstrong State, a public, predominantly white university also in Savannah.  With the consolidation of similar institutions already finalized by the  Board of Regents, these schools may not escape their fate despite being located on Georgia's booming coast. However, unlike Albany and other places where downsizing has become the new normal on the college level,  Savannah boasts old money capable of fighting such a move all the way to the State capital.  If not, it could lead to an educational powerhouse in the State's oldest city, with better opportunities for those in the area. 

Lastly, historically black Fort Valley State University, the state's only other public HBCU, may be spared for obvious reasons. There is no compatible institution within proximity that hasn't already lost its independence, such as Macon State College or Middle Georgia State College in nearby Cochran.  In addition,  African Americans in Georgia will insist that at least one state-sponsored HBCU remain intact to welcome students from challenging backgrounds.

The reaction around the state has been mostly positive, which could bolster post-secondary education in the state.

Update:  Armstrong State University in Savannah recently merged with Georgia Southern University, fifty miles away, leaving Savannah State University intact. The Board of Regents has also decided to merge nearby East Georgia State College in Swainsboro with Georgia Southern University in Statesboro for economic reasons.

A Crucial Decision

 America is electing a new president, and two major contenders are vying for the office. One has distinguished herself as a leader for women's rights. Many characterize the other as a charlatan with his best interests at heart. The country will have the opportunity to turn the page or get mired in the past. 

By choosing the latter, the nation risks repeating ideas that failed or being further divided by a man who evidently chose style over substance. Trump, the man seeking a non-consecutive second term in office, has vowed to destroy the country from within by rebuking his opponents and setting the stage for a culture war with various institutions at his disposal. To that end, he will rely heavily on the Supreme Court, which he packed with conservative ideologues and those in his inner circle unwilling to tell him no.

Trump will employ the federal judiciary to halt criminal actions against him. For instance, Trump will nominate judges who can manipulate the system, or he will bank on the recent Supreme Court ruling, which granted him immunity from prosecution in matters involving official White House business or Constitutional duties. If interpreted correctly, nothing the former president is accused of should meet the guidelines. Conservatives have often petitioned the courts to overturn longstanding precedents, such as with Roe v. Wade. Trump will pick up the mantle if granted four more years in office. 

There is also worry that if granted a second term, Trump will govern recklessly with no guardrails. Even though there is a system of checks and balances, Trump, with a possible Republican-controlled Congress and a Conservative-leaning Supreme Court in his pocket, could introduce legislation detrimental to the country, such as overturning Brown v. Board of Education, the Voting and Civil Rights Acts, Miranda v. Arizona, and Loving v. Virginia. A total abortion ban may also be on the docket, as well as police immunity in cases involving brutality or officer wrongdoing.  Lastly, Trump may take extreme measures on immigration, even for those entering the country legally, such as travel bans.

The past should be a guide to Trump's leadership style. The forty-fifth president is betting the country has amnesia or is blindsided by the inflation he laid the foundation for. He gave tax breaks to those who didn't deserve them and flatlined the economy with his mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the supply chain is gradually rebuilt amid corporate greed and mistakes of the previous administration. Trump inherited stellar economic conditions but squandered them.

When Americans go to the polls, they should reflect on how millions lost their lives to COVID-19, how corporations were given the green light to overcharge consumers, and how controversy rocked the Whitehouse four short years ago, which created the situation we find ourselves in today.

They Should Rethink Their Choice

 I have listened to African Americans who have turned their back on the Democrats. I am not a Democrat or a Republican, and I have voted for both parties. On this issue, however, I side with the Democrats. Often, when Biden advanced legislation that would have benefited African Americans, such as the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, it was voted down by Sen. John Manchin, Democrat of West Virginia, who held the party hostage, and Kyrsten Sinema, Democrat of Arizona, after receiving money from donors who supported her. Their votes were crucial to the slim Democratic majority in the Senate. Republicans and the conservative-leaning Supreme Court also played a significant role in dismantling the president's agenda, such as the student loan forgiveness program.

Biden bashers also claim Trump poured money into historically black colleges and universities. If so, it was done to curtail black enrollment at predominantly white colleges. It is the oldest trick in the White Supremacy playbook. For example, when the Supreme Court outlawed segregation in public education in 1954, Southern States rushed to upgrade segregated schools or abide by Plessy v. Ferguson 1896. In other words, they sought to stalemate or hinder the court's decision. 

President Biden and the Democrats have enacted legislation beneficial to the African American community despite what critics may claim. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Rescue Plan of 2021 issued stimulus checks to struggling Americans. It also provided parents $300.00 a month for each child under six and $200.00 for those between the ages of six and eighteen. It lifted millions of kids from poverty before its demise and could be resurrected with Republican support. Moreover, the historic bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has allocated billions for roads, bridges, and other projects in so-called red and blue States, translating into construction opportunities for young black men. And to stimulate the supply chain after the COVID-19 shutdown, Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which capped the cost of Insulin at $35.00 and added jobs. Lastly, the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act finally saw the light of day nearly seventy years after the young boy was brutally murdered, something his mother and others fought so hard for.

Aside from passing historic pieces of legislation, Democrats claim to be keeping White Supremacists or MAGA Republicans at bay, who long for the past. It is believed by many that they desire to overturn the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution and undo the 1954 ruling on segregation in public education if Trump is re-elected and Republicans take control of Congress. Such actions would dismantle the hard work of the Civil Rights Movement.

Critics also worry that if Trump and far-right Conservatives take control in 2025, other laws this country takes for granted will be at risk. They include Virginia v. Loving (1967), Miranda v. Arizona (1966), and the Supreme Court ruling affirming gay marriage (2015), for instance. There is also concern that abortion rights will be totally banned, the Affordable Care Act abolished, and both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 invalidated. Finally, Trump has pledged to give police federal immunity in office brutality cases. 

Since Biden is no longer on the ballot, it is up to Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee, to convey to the American people that the country may not survive another Trump presidency unscathed. The nation must rally around her for the best possible outcome, regardless of one's views on the issues. 

The Redlining Factor

De facto segregation existed in most American cities during the dark days of Jim Crow, with the effects felt today.

It involved the separation of black and white Americans, based on customs, choice, or institutional racism rather than law. It was upheld by those in power with harsh penalties for anyone who dared defy the system.

Redlining played a major role by denying African Americans the right to buy a home wherever they chose. It kept blacks confined to a particular area as lending institutions refused to approve mortgages for them in affluent or white neighborhoods. Black homeowners were also prevented from getting home improvement loans, and the value of their property was often deflated when they tried to sell or move up the social ladder. It was common practice in the North as a covert form of discrimination with federal backing. Southern whites, however, relied on overt measures to keep blacks out of their communities, such as lynching, physical assaults, intimidation, and death. 

In many instances, redlining resulted in ghettos or poor inner-city neighborhoods. The value of homes often plummeted as homeowners found it difficult to borrow money for upkeep, sometimes falling prey to shady loan deals or rent-to-own schemes. Also, African Americans who were lucky relocated to the suburbs, leaving behind the less fortunate. As a result, black students attended segregated schools or were bused to areas less welcoming. In later years, food deserts developed as once proud bodegas and corner markets closed their doors, and chain stores and strip malls avoided the areas. It was common practice across the country in so-called blighted communities.

Lastly, de facto segregation, strengthened by redlining, impacted rural areas particularly hard. In the 1970s, an African American businessman and future mayor of a predominantly black community in Southwest Georgia went on the local radio station to voice concerns about how the black neighborhoods were less developed than the white ones.  Many needed tree-lined streets and paved roads, which made driving difficult, and were built without sidewalks, parks, or streetlights for safety. To add insult to injury, older homes lacked indoor plumbing, with outhouses in the back.  

As a result, a law was passed that mandated homes within the city limits be equipped with an indoor toilet, sink, and bathtub. Landlords often attached small rooms to the back of older homes. They could be entered from inside or the back porch. The dirt roads disappeared during the Funk and Disco era, but the sidewalks never materialized. 

 

It Would be Difficult to Replace Biden, Who Deserves the Nomination

In the past, political bosses picked their party's nominees for president even after the advent of the primary system. This was to ensure the best possible man, as it were at the time, would get the job if there was no agreed-upon candidate or the convention deadlocked. It could mean as many as thirty or more ballots were cast before a leader was deemed suitable to those involved in the time-consuming process. Sometimes, it bore fruit, and at others, it didn't. 

In the 1960 Democratic presidential primaries, John F. Kennedy aspired to win as many primaries as possible to prevent a brokered convention. He enlisted his brother, Bobby, to keep his delegates in line or loyal to him and poached other delegates from rival candidates. After winning his party nomination, Kennedy narrowly defeated Vice President Richard Nixon in the general election.

Eight years later, in 1968, following the assassination of Bobby Kennedy, Vice President Hubert Humphrey was awarded the Democratic nomination. Humphrey had not competed in the primaries, and Senator Gene McCarthy held the delegate lead, likely after picking up Kennedy defectors. Humphrey lost a nail-biter to former Vice President Richard Nixon on election night in November.

Finally, in 1976, President Ford nearly lost the Republican nomination to Governor Ronald Reagan of California, even though he accumulated more delegates while campaigning in the states that held primaries and caucuses. Ford suffered a narrow defeat to Jimmy Carter, an unknown governor from Georgia. 

It would be difficult to pull this off today or replace Biden since the rules are stricter, and he has met the delegate threshold.  If I am not mistaken, the Democratic delegates are bound to the presumptive nominee, or what is a closed convention. 

Male Bonding

 Men need male companionship no matter how hard they try to avoid it.  A woman is his wife, sister, mother, aunt, or partner.  She is not intended to be his buddy, homeboy, or someone he can discuss women's issues with or hang out with. 

Boys form pivotal relationships, some lasting a lifetime or in spirit. It is a rite of passage for young men on their path to manhood.

The black barbershop has survived for this reason. It is a sacred place where black men fellowship or air their differences. They get a fresh cut and feel they belong. Some come without needing the barber's service and depart better than when they entered.  

The church, lodges, fraternities, nightclubs, colleges, and other hangouts provided similar services, strengthening the Civil Rights Movement.

Men need friends or the proper male companion, whether someone in the community, a son, or a long-lost buddy. I learned this growing up or being around guys my age at work or in the community. Having friends, and someone to talk to or ask a favor makes life easier and a joy to be alive.