Black History Month Event
Local Church Works to Solve the Employment Picture in Urban Communities
KNOXVILLE, Tn.(February20, 2012) Where are the jobs? How can individuals land one? As we left 2011, many individuals job opportunities faded away. There are over 15 million unemployed in our country. What worked in the past for job prospects will not work during this economic crisis. Working with a local church, one professor hopes to empower local communities with information during Black History Month.
Payne Avenue Missionary Baptist Church of Knoxville, Tennessee will host an Employment and Job Creation Dayon February 25, 2012, 9:30a.m., at the church. There will be a job strategy seminar followed by an employment panel. Some of the employers and industry experts participating in the panel discussion include Scripps Network, Lincoln Memorial University, Knoxville Area Urban League, TEK Systems, Connect Ministries, and Manpower. The event is free to the public.
The employment picture for the urban American is very troubling. Unemployment in the black community is more than doubled that of the average American. Additionally, the unemployment gap between blacks and whites have widen since the recession ended over two years ago. For blacks, the unemployment in 2011 was 15.8% while the white employment fell from 8.5% to 7.5% percent. Knoxville is no exception.
Richard S. Brown Jr., pastor of Payne Avenue Missionary Baptist Church, argues that it is time that churches take a more active role in this employment disparity: We are called to minister to the whole man. We are to feed the whole man spiritually. However, we want to also minister to meet the physical needs of this person. Pastor Brown hopes that this event will expose the community to employment opportunities.
Dr. Daryl D. Green, professor at Lincoln Memorial University, has spoken extensively on how to solve the employment picture during this economic crisis. His book, Job Strategies for the 21st Century, has been rated number one on Amazon.com. Dr. Green notes, For millions of people, the concept of social mobility is dead. They do not feel that they can move ahead. This church can assist with this problem. With the high employment rate in the black community, we haveto do something. With millions of people searching for full-time employment, it pays to distinguish yourself from others by building skills that speak to the concept of indispensability. Individuals need to retool their thinking about indispensability before it is too late.
For more information about this event, please contact Payne Avenue Missionary Baptist Church at 865-524-7234. Dr. Green is available for media interviews on this critical issue by contacting Donna Gilliard at 865-216-9209.
