Only
in the last decade of my life have I begun to fully realize what phenomenal men
my grandfathers were.
They
were the sole bread-winners of their families, but both of them lived and died
without credit cards, payday loans, or second mortgages. (Grandpa Anderson never
even had a 1st mortgage.) To
their combined 16 children, my grandfathers both left land, not debt.
They bought
property, built homes, raised children, and sent many of those kids off to
college. And they, Black men, accomplished
all of this in south Mississippi during the years of overt, violent segregation.
Neither
of my grandfathers had any specialized skills, professional certificates,
degrees, or even a high school diploma. They
weren’t inventors, investors, financial geniuses, or marketing gurus.
They
were honest, strong men who worked hard and didn’t do a lot of stupid stuff
with their money.
That’s
it. They worked----- hard and they didn’t
do a lot of stupid stuff with their money.
I had
two epiphanies about my grandpas’ financial lives:
1st. What they did in their time was totally--- ORDINARY. Most of the men (the Black men) of their
generation in my hometown whom I knew had similar educational levels and left
similar inheritances to their children.
2nd. What they did, they could not do
today.
Barring an oil strike in one’s backyard, a winning
lottery ticket, or a highly successful lawsuit; what are the chances that a 8th
grade dropout with no investment portfolio and no specialized could acquire a
16 lot subdivision and keep it ---debt-free.
Wait. Don’t just repeat that American dream stuff
about hard work and dedication. Stop and
think through the scenario of an uneducated man, a regular guy, starting off
right now in this economy. Run the
scenarios in your head and tell me how he ends up. I’ll wait.
……..Well?
Exactly.
He’ll
end up homeless, addicted, imprisoned, indebted, dependent on charity, and/ or
dead at a very young age.
Here’s
the reality: It’s not enough anymore to
just be an honest, hard-working man who won’t do stupid stuff with his money.
And that
means that most of the approximately 39 million adult American citizens who don’t
have a high school diploma ARE SCREWED ---- unless they get some other
educational or professional credential.
Yeah,
yeah. They should’ve stayed in
school. Too late. They didn’t.
Riightt. They ought to go get their GED’s. I teach GED classes. It’s harder than standard high school graduation
exams.
And
really, the fact that when you think of a “solution” it involves acquiring some
new educational credential is pretty much my point.
It’s not enough to be an honest, hard-working citizen who doesn’t do stupid
stuff with his/her money.
But that’s what tens of millions of Americans are. They couldn’t (or didn’t) succeed in our
educational institutions but they are decent, honorable people who just want to
work.
40-50%
(depending on the study) of college graduates can’t are unemployed. And as of 2012, 284,000 college graduates
were working at or below the minimum wage.
So,
who’s going to hire someone with an 8th grade education when they
can hire somebody with a master’s degree for the same pay?
The
Bible says that If anyone will not work,
neither shall he eat. (2 Thessalonians 3: 10)
But
what about those who will work, but can’t?
You can’t just walk off into the woods with an ax and a rifle and start
clearing land and hunting game. All of
the land in America is either privately owned, municipally zoned, or protected
by the office of something or other.
You can’t
just walk into a store with a help wanted sign, give the owner a firm handshake and good eye contact, and start working. The
manager has to do a background check, a drug screen, and e-verify your citizenship; and that's only after you complete the application online and IF you make it through the
automated screening process.
And
if you have any of the following items on your record, it doesn’t much matter
how much you’ve matured, changed, paid your debts, or proven yourself---- you’re
screwed and burned.
·
felony conviction
·
revoked/
suspended driver’s license
·
drug use in the
last 14-90 days (depending on the sensitivity of the screening instrument)
·
no current permanent
address
·
no email address
·
bad credit report
·
no credit report
·
any conviction
for “any offense other than a minor traffic violation”
·
less than 3
verifiable references
·
absent or spotty
past job history
Doesn’t
matter how hard you WILL work. If you
have to check “Yes” to any of the above boxes, you probably CAN’T work.
Contrary
to the opinion of many, the chronically unemployed can’t just “get a job.” And when the economy improves it won’t
improve or the people whose resumes look like the resumes my grandfathers never
had to write.
My grandfathers were decent, dignified, and dedicated men. They went to church. They were married to the
same woman all of their lives. They owned
guns and they paid their taxes. They were
all that an American is supposed to have to be.
But if
they started off today, my grandfathers would be unemployed, or homeless, or
criminals.
Now,
this is the place where I tell you my solution.
This
post is not a solution. It is a lament.
Woe! Woe unto the American who is JUST honest,
hard-working, and won’t do stupid stuff with his money.
---Anderson
T. Graves II is a writer, community organizer and consultant for
education, ministry, and rural leadership development.
Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall
Memorial CME Church in
Montgomery, Alabama, executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking
Organization (SAYNO) and director of rural leadership
development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).
Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
If this message helps or touches you, please help
support this ministry. Send a donation of any amount by check or money order.
Mail all contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116
