Page 2 The Skanner July 12, 2017
Challenging People to Shape
a Better Future Now
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Opinion
Throw the Doors of Opportunity Wide Open for Our Youth
“Today’s American Dream Act” Offers Path to Good Jobs, Education and Homeownership
T
hese are dark times
in Washington. It’s no
secret that President
Trump and his team are
working overtime to turn
back the clock on our rights
and divest from our commu-
nities.
If you want to know where
the President stands on the
welfare of the African Amer-
ican community, look no fur-
ther than his immoral budget.
It eliminates programs that
feed hungry kids, support
veterans and help families
buy their own home.
Republicans are slamming
the doors of opportunity for
our youth. For people of col-
or, those doors appear to be
barricaded, chained and pad-
locked.
We must resist. We must re-
verse their damage and pre-
vent them from doing it again.
President Barack Obama led
our recovery from the worst
economic recession since the
Great Depression. Together,
we saved our economy and
created more than 14 million
jobs, more than ten times the
number created under the
previous President George
W. Bush.
But today, we are seeing that
jobs are being lost; wages ar-
en’t keeping up and bills are
piling up. Tragically, my Re-
publican colleagues’ solution
Robin
Kelly
NNPA
Columnist
is more tax credits for the su-
per-rich.
My solution is different. It’s
called the “Today’s American
Dream Act” and will empow-
er families with the security
of a good job, a good educa-
tion, home ownership and ac-
cess to healthcare.
“
in apprenticeships, training
and re-training programs and
expanded student aid for ca-
reer and technical education.
Additionally, my “Commu-
nity College to Career Fund
Act” would partner busi-
nesses with community col-
leges to develop curriculums
that turn students into ca-
reer-ready graduates.
If we used these programs
to fill just 10 percent of Chi-
cago’s open manufacturing
jobs, we’d add $105 million to
our communities each year.
We also need to create more
jobs by investing in small
For people of color, those doors
appear to be barricaded, chained
and padlocked
Business leaders, especial-
ly in the technology and ad-
vanced manufacturing sec-
tors, regularly tell me that
they have thousands of open
jobs, but don’t have the quali-
fied candidates.
For example, Manufactur-
ing Renaissance Chicago re-
ports that there are 15,000
unfilled advanced manufac-
turing jobs in Chicagoland;
these jobs pay an average an-
nual salary of $70,000.
My bill would help people
get the training they need for
good-paying jobs by investing
businesses, funding local in-
cubators and rewarding com-
panies for expanding into
new markets.
I can tell you that our young
people are ready and eager to
get to work. In April, I hosted
my fourth annual Youth Jobs
Fair. More than 300 young
people came, resume in hand,
looking for a job. Let’s create
jobs for them so they build the
American Dream for them-
selves and their families.
We also need to invest in
tomorrow, by investing in
the science-technology-engi-
neering-mathematic (STEM)
fields.
Right now, STEM jobs are
driving our economy and
continue to grow. According
to the Level Playing Field In-
stitute, there will be 1.4 mil-
lion new tech jobs by 2020 but
70 percent will be unfilled.
Despite the massive need
for qualified computer sci-
ence professionals, just a
quarter of all high schools of-
fer Advanced Placement (AP)
computer science classes.
Many of these schools aren’t
in African American commu-
nities. In fact, just 13 percent
of students who took the AP
computer science test were
African American or Latino.
It’s time to invest in STEM
teachers so our young peo-
ple—Black, White, Latino,
Asian American or Native
American—can innovate the
future! The “Today’s Amer-
ican Dream Act” would pro-
vide aid to STEM teachers
who are dedicated to educat-
ing the next generation of
Mark Zuckerbergs.
Taken together, the “Today’s
American Dream Act” will
train our young people for the
opportunities of today and
prepare them for the possibil-
ities of tomorrow. It’s time to
pass the “Today’s American
Dream Act” and throw wide
the doors of opportunity.
Trump’s Proposed Budget Cuts Threaten Civil Rights
D
ecades of vigilant strug-
gles, sacrifices and civil
rights legislation en-
acted in the 1960s won
federal promises to ensure
that discrimination is illegal
and would not be tolerated.
Unfettered access to hous-
ing, voting rights, fair credit,
public accommodations and
more were celebrated as hard-
fought victories for Black
Americans and people of col-
or. In later years, additional
protections were added as
amendments to safeguard the
rights of the elderly, disabled,
and the LGBT community.
Now in 2017, a growing
number of interests are open-
ly questioning whether the
Trump Administration in-
tends to uphold these laws.
More specifically, a series of
federal agencies with offices
dedicated to civil rights are at
risk. Through budget cuts and
staff reductions, these agen-
cies will either outright deny
or severely limit the ability to
challenge discrimination that
continues today.
Case in point: the Depart-
ment of Education’s scaling
back of civil rights enforce-
ment. Proposed Trump Ad-
ministration departmental
budget cuts will result in the
loss of the equivalent of 46,
full-time positions. For re-
maining staff, caseload levels
Charlene
Crowell
NNPA
Columnist
will rise.
Commenting on the sever-
ity of cuts, Laura Dunn, the
executive director of Surv-
Justice, a DC-based nonprofit
that supports legal justice re-
“
handle investigations, were
advised to clear case backlogs
and resolve complaints in a
“reasonable time frame.”
Education’s OCR is charged
to prevent, identify, end
and remedy discrimination
against students. OCR inves-
tigates education complaints
involving admissions, re-
cruitment, financial aid, ac-
ademic programs, student
treatment and services, vo-
cational education, housing,
employment and more. Com-
Proposed budget cuts could hin-
der civil rights enforcement at the
Education Department
cently told Inside Higher Ed,
“They know that they can’t
complete these investigations
with such a lean budget and
inadequate staffing.”
On June 8, Candice Jackson,
the Acting Assistant Secre-
tary for the Office of Civil
Rights (OCR) issued an inter-
nal memo directing all 12 re-
gional Office of Civil Rights
(OCR) staff of immediately
begin new practices. Per Jack-
son, the Education Depart-
ment goal is to swiftly address
compliance issues, reach
reasonable resolution agree-
ments and encourage volun-
tary settlements wherever
possible. Staff members, who
plaints may be filed by an af-
fected consumer or on behalf
of another person or group.
Under the Obama Admin-
istration, additional OCR
staffing in the Education
Department was added to
better meet the goal of clos-
ing cases within 180 days. In
some instances, clearing case
backlogs took years, instead
of days, to thoroughly inves-
tigate and resolve complaints.
On June 16, the nonpar-
tisan U.S. Commission on
Civil Rights weighed in on
proposed cuts and issued a
lengthy statement detailing
a new two-year, comprehen-
sive assessment of federal
civil rights enforcement. In
part the statement read, “The
review will examine the de-
gree to which current bud-
gets and staffing levels allow
civil rights offices to perform
their statutory and regulato-
ry functions.”
“The Commission has grave
concerns about continuing
signals from the current Ad-
ministration, including the
President’s proposed budget
and statements of Cabinet
and senior Administration
officials, that the protection
and fulfillment of civil rights
of all persons will not be ap-
propriately prioritized,” con-
tinued the Commission state-
ment. “These proposed cuts
are particularly troubling in
light of Education Secretary
Betsy DeVos’ repeated refusal
in Congressional testimony
and other public statements
to commit that the Depart-
ment would enforce federal
civil rights laws.”
Other agencies that will also
be reviewed by the Commis-
sion include: Environmen-
tal Protection Agency (EPA),
Health and Human Services
(HHS), Housing and Urban
Development (HUD), Justice,
Labor, and the Legal Services
Corporation.
Read the rest of this commentary at
TheSkanner.com
