Robert L. Johnson via Twitter

This week, 30 executives  led by Robert L. Johnson, founder of BET and current chairman of The RLJ Companies, met at the W Hotel in Washington to discuss a plan that, if effective, would close the employment gap separating white from black and Hispanic workers, particularly at the upper levels of business. According to a report by The Washington Post, this plan would “encourage U.S. businesses to interview at least two qualified black or Hispanic candidates for every job at the vice president level or higher.” Johnson also calls for corporations to interview minority-owned firms for manufacturing purposes.

This blueprint was brought to the White House’s attention before and has President Obama’s attention now. But while the President liked the proposal, no actions have been made to put it into motion thus far. Because of this, Johnson and other ambitious business leaders have sent letters of request to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable.

Those behind the projected course of action wish to see racial inclusion and the opportunity for minorities to share their wealth of knowledge within firms that could highly benefit from it. For Johnson and his associates in this endeavor, they refuse to give up, even without the backing of the President and government. As Luis Ramirez, president and chief executive of Global Power eloquently declares, “We need people who have diverse backgrounds and experiences to add to the populations of executives and corporate board members.”

We’ll stay tuned to see how far this goes with the government.

by Randy Williams

As recent data has shown, the net worth of Whites is now about 20 times that of African-Americans. Between 2005 and 2009 the household wealth of African-Americans fell a staggering 53%. Maybe more detailed numbers will put the canyon that is the Black wealth gap in greater perspective: The average White household in the United States has $113,149 in wealth while the average Black household has only $5,677. In spite of what the statistics say, closing the wealth gap is still possible, but several changes must be made in order for this to happen. Here are seven words that can completely transform the economic outlook for African-Americans.

Collaboration – How can one of the most imitated and influential cultures ever suffer from such drastic economic frailty? Historically, our culture is one that stresses individuality and harbors a “I-have-mine-now-you-get-yours” mentality that has weakened black families for decades. As studies have shown, Black families have very few resources individually; however, by pooling our resources together we dramatically increase the power of our communities. Essentially, this power can then be used to build businesses, promote social interests and lessen the individual burdens that many of us face. Collaboration also becomes a breeding ground for new ideas and concepts that were previously unavailable. Studies predict that by the year 2013, the spending power of African-Americans is expected to reach $1.2 trillion, proving that together we are a force to be reckoned with.

(AOL Black Voices) — I was recently checking out some of CNN’s special, “Black in America,” the show they seem to do once a year. In the series, African Americans are analyzed like lab rats in a cage, with producers highlighting every dysfunction imaginable, as if we have a monopoly on counter productive behavior. Although I’ve always had a good relationship with CNN, I can barely stomach some of what I see. This is not to say that black folks are perfect: but the idea that we are somehow less perfect than whites is nothing short of paternalistic, White Supremacist thinking.

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