Advocates Want More Help for Jobless Blacks: PHILADELPHIA -- In the battle against Black unemployment, places like the Opportunities Industrialization Center are ground zero.
Savory aromas wafted from a king-size kitchen one recent day as the instructor demonstrated a fish recipe to a dozen aspiring cooks. Nearby, a mock hotel room was waiting to be cleaned. Downstairs, electrical fixtures hung from an exposed wall, ready to be wired. Here, the goal is 'helping people help themselves' through literacy programs and training for hotel, clerical, building, retail and other jobs. 'We have to give people transferable skills,' said Robert C. Nelson, president and CEO of the Philadelphia OIC. There is a growing outcry among Black advocates for the Obama administration to target Black joblessness with similar training programs and direct job creation.
Black unemployment has climbed from 8.9 percent to 15.6 percent since the recession began in December 2007. In comparison, the nation's overall rate has risen from 4.9 to 10.0 percent. The White rate climbed from 4.4 percent to 9.3 percent.
