A Few BIG IDEAS: How President Obama Can Promote Social and Racial Justice

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My fraternity brother, friend, and colleague, Dr. Lester Kenyatta Spence, put together this excellent list of BIG IDEAS for President-elect Obama and anyone else interested in promoting an agenda aimed at social and racial justice.

40 Big Ideas for Obama (and everyone else)

October 17, 2008 By: The Good Doctor Category: afrofuturism

A while back I noted the powerful black party discipline that attended Obama. Rather than take the opportunity to talk about ideas, about what we would actually want from an Obama presidency, we talked more about getting him over that electoral hump. To the point of cutting off dissent in some limited cases.

What I’d like to do is begin a conversation about what comes next. And as a first step I’m going to do something I’ve never done before. Folks talk about the first 30 days of a presidency? I’m going to up the ante. My motto next year is “40 is the new 40.” So in that spirit I’m going to present 40 ideas for Obama. Some of these ideas are ones Obama is already promoting. Some of these ideas are technically not within the federal government’s purview. Some of them are unworkable.

So what.

We’ve got to stop believing that the one thing government does well is punish black and poor men and women.

In no particular order:

1. Free college tuition.

2. Low interest loans to businesses/homes for energy improvements.

3. Promote micro-loans.

4. Universal preschool.

5. Green public transit.

6. Fund vertical gardens.

7. Fund the Algebra Project.

8. Promote wellness.

9. Create green-collar jobs.

10. Explore Free Government.

11. Release non-violent offenders.

12. Rebuild New Orleans.

13. Rebuild New Orleans.

14. Support the Millenium Project.

15. Make Election Day a Federal Holiday.

16. Change how the census counts prisoners.

17. Restore their right to vote while you’re at it.

18. Bring back the Bicycle.

19. Build a bridge to somewhere.

20. Support parental leave.

21. End the War on Drugs.

22. End private financing of political campaigns. (pdf)

23. Increase funding for the arts.

24. Restore the Civil Rights division of the Justice Department.

25. Reduce government secrecy.

26. Put Greenhouses in every classroom.

27. Give working class families individual development accounts.

28. Expand Horizons.

29. Put first things first.

30. End the Media Monopoly.

31. Fix our bridges and roads.

32. Bring scientists back into government.

33. Promote a living wage.

34. Expand Americorps.

35. Stop trying youth as adults. (pdf)

36. Give 47 million Americans the ability to get sick.

37. Rebuild New Orleans.

38. Promote zero-pollution cars.

39. End corporate welfare.

40. Rebuild New Orleans.

What did I miss?

Comments

Anonymous said…
It's a great list. The impossibility of some of the items should not be a deterrent. These are impossible times.
November 16, 2008 at 8:42 AM
CW said…
First of all... nothing is impossible for GOD.

At a time such as this, we need to have visual: hope, dreams, and a savior. Thanks to the Lord and our votes President Barack Obama is the man to look up to.

Your list of 40 with the repeat of New Orleans (smile)is a wonderful list to keep hope alive. 40 years ago Martin Luther King spoke it, President Robert F. Kennedy reiterated it, and now 40 years later President Barack Hussien Obama is here with a list of 40 plus accomplishments to achieve.

Nothing is impossible, KEEP THE FAITH and CONTINUE TO DREAM!
April 30, 2009 at 3:58 PM
CW said…
correction to the comment: To First of all... nothing is impossible for GOD.

Dr. Martin Luther King

Thank you.
CW
April 30, 2009 at 4:08 PM
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