Has our government gone astray?

The original 99 percent

By Shannon Mouton

The 99% are frustrated, fed-up and downright angry.

They are angry for several reasons,

We are the 99 percent. We are getting kicked out of our homes. We are forced to choose between groceries and rent. We are denied quality medical care. We are suffering from environmental pollution. We are working long hours for little pay and no rights, if we're working at all. We are getting nothing while the other 1 percent is getting everything. We are the 99 percent. [from We Are The 99 Percent]

And while they are entitled to their feelings, many people of color, especially Blacks and Latinos, have had these feelings for decades or longer. People of color are the original 99 percent. For the majority of the 20th century, we were locked out, kicked out, held down, beat down, pushed aside, put asunder and so on, while a majority of the American majority prospered under the guise of the American Dream.

It isn't that people of color don't agree with the movement or support its principles, we're wondering what took you so long to join the fight? So when people wonder and speculate why the #OccupyWallStreet movement isn't more the diverse, for many of us the answer is simple..."It's your turn, I'm taking a break."

To The Left (Social Justice): Know History... Know Labor!

Know History... Know Labor!

On this Labor Day, as some people assault the American worker’s right to organize, protest and collectively bargain, it is appropriate to take a few minutes to remember -- and learn -- on whose shoulders we toil.

Workers fighting for their rights is as American as apple pie. Strikes, protests and walk-outs have been part of this country from its earliest beginnings.

●    First recorded prosecution against strikers occurs in New York City (1677)

●    Artisans and laborers in the Sons of Liberty protest against oppressive British taxes (1765)

●    Philadelphia printers conduct first successful strike for increased wages (1786)

●    Philadelphia carpenters strike for and win a 10-hour work day (1791)

Many lost their lives in service to their fellow workers.

●    Ten Molly Maguires, Irish coal miners, were hanged in Pennsylvania (1877)

●    Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire in New York kills nearly 150 workers (1911)

●    Ludlow Massacre of 13 women and children and seven men in Colorado coal miners’ strike (1914)

The strides made garnered by tradesmen and laborers have not only helped them, they have helped us all.

●    Department of Labor is created (1912)

●    Fair Labor Standards Act established the first minimum wage and 40-hour work week (1938)

●    César Chavez formed AFL-CIO United Farm Workers Organizing Committee (1965)

●    Occupational Safety and Health Act passed (1970)

Submitted by Shannon Mouton

Tweeting and Streaming Obama's Townhall

Tweeting and Streaming Obama's Townhall

McKinney & Associates is proud to say that one of our highly esteemed colleagues, Shannon R. Mouton, was invited to live-tweet the President's town hall from the University of Maryland this morning.

According to the White House website, President Obama will address "the on-going efforts to find a balanced approach to deficit reduction."

Follow Shannon's tweets. Follow the conversation.

JOIN THE LIVE CHAT

VISIT WHITEHOUSE.GOV