Why Enviromental Issues?

Arthur Long Sr. grew up in the segregated south where on one side of the track he was told he has no value or worth as a black man, but fortunately for me, on the other side of the track their stood his parents, who raised him to know that the measure of a man is his ability to provide and protect his family.

Arthur Long Sr. is my grandfather, my grandfather who took a chance and gambled two weeks wages, he wanted to see where his money could take him, luckily he won, went to the bus station in Seale, Alabama and told the station conductor, “take me as far North as my money can take me.” He ended up, in Lima, OH with a new union job working at the old steel foundry, a job that allowed him to send for his siblings and others to join him in Ohio. This new job gave my grandfather an opportunity, an opportunity to provide for his family.

Arthur Long, Sr. passed away July 2001 of lung cancer; we learned that his illness was most likely the result from pollutants he encountered while working a steel grinder. At the time, I was in the 9th grade, I didn’t know anything about the value of work, and I knew black folks were not into environmental issues.
So, fast forward to 2009, I’m watching my mother engage in her daily CNN addiction. Constantly watching in fear to see whether the company she works for would go bankrupt, receive a bailout, or anything to save her job that she has worked at for 30 years.

At that time I knew there was much to do about a new energy economy and how green investments could be the solution to save our nation’s ailing economy. It was honoring my grandfather’s legacy of hard work and ensuring that the environmental pollutants that he faced would not become a problem of the present, and the fear, the pure fear on my mother’s face that motivated me to join the green movement.

Working for Ohio Apollo Alliance has given me the chance to build a booming political voice of labor, environment, business and community organizations that can be heard in every Ohio corridor to the footsteps of the White House.

The work that I do is about honoring my grandfather's legacy of hard work, and a dedication to his family.

Clean Energy Can Renew our Economy

My mom is one of the millions of Americans affected by the collapse of the American automotive industry. For 25 years, she worked at the General Motors Powertrain plant in Toledo, earning enough to provide a decent home for her family and send her daughters to college. A consummate worker with years of manufacturing experience, she was laid off and suddenly faces an uncertain future.

Now in her fifties and with no college education, her options are limited. Go back to school? Invest in herself and start a business? When you’ve collected a paycheck from others all your life, entrepreneurialism isn’t as easy as it sounds. That leaves retirement. But my Mom and others like her would much rather go back to work in the clean energy industry than collect from social services for an early retirement.

The energy bill passed last week by the U.S. House would allow her to do just that. My family is grateful that Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur prioritized the needs of working families by voting for the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.

If we want to put people back to work, we need a new national energy policy that invests in American manufacturing and will allow employers to hire good American workers like my mother. The House-passed energy bill will create strong demand for clean energy and puts the mechanisms in place for that demand to be met by American workers making the components and systems of the new clean energy economy.

During my mom's career, we’ve seen plant closures throughout Northwest Ohio. We are tired of seeing Wall Street get the federal aid that Main Street so desperately needs. We need support for Toledo. The American Clean Energy and Security Act will provide it.

Excuse me, Mr. Smiley, Young Folks Get It!

The State of the Black Union (SofBu) has been appearing on our TV screens for the past 10 years, and still yet, for 10 years there have been the same issues, the same echoes, from the same scholars. In an ever-changing political environment this is unacceptable. Some may say I am being a pessimist, but it is time someone became critical of our black leaders.

I appreciate all that they do for us, but when Tavis Smiley asked Campus Progress’ Deputy Director, Policy and Advocacy Manger Erica Williams (age 24), “Do the young folk really get it?” I was utterly offended. I felt as though Tavis did not get it. Young folks did not vote for President Barack Obama because we thought he was cool, hip-hop songs about him or because we wanted to rock the newest Obama gear. We voted for him because we understood the issues and how they affected us. For 10 years, SofBU has been offering solutions to a series of problems but they have failed to act. You speak about solving Black folks socio-economic issues and have broad agendas, but coming to Kent State University (KSU) to speak about your agenda is NOT the same as being on the ground. Yes, we need academia to find solutions, but we also need them to translate their agendas in to action.

Speaking of KSU, when Tavis Smiley and Dr. Cornel West came to speak they met a group of students who were members of Black United Students (BUS) who had been organizing and mobilizing since 1968. Not only did we get it, we lived it. These are students who forced a predominately white campus to reinstate students (Protest) and marched for a $10 million dollar renovation of their Oscar Ritchie Hall (Renovation). Hell, these students had to fight for $35,000 to bring Smiley and West to KSU because the Undergraduate Student Senate did not understand the cultural need! So next time you want to ask, “Do the young folk really get it?” check those check stubs and the universities you have visited.

As I continuously listened to Smiley question, “how do we dance with the nation’s first black President?” My reaction is “we dance the same way have always danced, except maybe with a little more funk, add a Cleveland Hustle.” In my mind, it has been proven that black leaders can navigate through America’s complicated, often times troubling legislative system. The best approach we can take is to continue to be active on the ground. This does not include community service at your local homeless shelter, which is a great a service. Being active means to engage the legislative process.

You will never understand why American Governors are using 4^th grade reading scores to determine number of prisons they plan to build or why the level of funding for corrections his risen 30% and higher education’s budget has decreased by 18%? We see our brothers going from Classrooms to Cell Blocks but never question how this legislation has occurred and how we can change it!

Want to know more about Kent State’s Smiley/West event? Read Alexia Harris’ article here and check out her blog at http://progressivehealth.wordpress.com/.

Blogs to Come...

Today’s Relevancy of MLK Jr.’s Poor People’s Campaign

How Energy Efficiency & Environmental Justice Can Revolutionize our ‘Hoods