by Dr. Boyce Watkins The first Friday of every month is the time when we learn what is happening with the prior month’s employment.  Many are excited that in a two month period the unemployment ratedropped from 9.8 percent in November to 9.0 percent in January.  Good news?  Not really.  Only 36,000 new jobs were created.  The unemployment rate drop is mostly a function of people ...

By: Chico C. Norwood I was reading Dr. Boyce Watkins’ article entitled “Russell Simmons Defends Gwyneth’s Use of the N-Word….Don’t Do it Man” and two paragraphs in the article really jumped out at me: “The difficult reality that Russell and other proud “n*ggas” in commercialized hip-hop must face is the fact that their music does little to elevate the masses, ...

By Chico C. Norwood According to the latest report released by the United States Department of Labor, the overall unemployment in America was 8.2 percent for the month of May. For the African American community the news is even bleaker. The report revealed that unemployment in the African American community sits at 13.6 percent, substantially higher than any other ethnic ...

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released its most recent unemployment data. We knew that Black folks (especially men) would be at the bottom, we just didn’t know how bad

The recent release of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that Black unemployment declined during the month of July. It had reached 16.2 percent and dropped over the course of the month to 15.9 percent.  While the number is an improvement, it is still nearly double that of white Americans. Black women were the greatest beneficiaries of the decline, dropping from 13.8 percent to 13.4 percent.