By Barack Obama Mandela.
I believe that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is figuratively a black man.
I am the same age as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In addition, Trudeau and I have similar educational achievements. Yet he is the most powerful man in his country, and I am an impoverished person who struggles to survive.
What is the difference between Prime Minister Trudeau and myself? Well, obviously Trudeau is a white man who is son of a former prime minister; while, I am a black man who is the son of a welfare recipient single mother.
The United States Department of Education must do more to invest in young African American students. Local school districts across America must institute an African American Empowerment Initiative (AAEI) to empower black students to achieve success.
President Barack Obama is on the right path with his My Brother’s Keeper Initiative which is administered by the White House. The goal of President Obama’s meaningful effort is to improve scholastic achievement among young people of color.
As the president, himself, said on the White House website, “That’s what ‘My Brother’s Keeper’ is all about. Helping more of our young people stay on track. Providing the support they need to think more broadly about their future. Building on what works-when it works, in those critical life-changing moments.” https://www.whitehouse.gov/my-brothers-keeper
Not only am I the same age as Prime Minister Trudeau, I am also from the same generation as prime minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Rutte Prime Minister Rutte has a degree in history from Leiden University, while I have a Doctor of Law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.
Yet Rutte is entrusted with the prime minister’s portfolio, while I am frequently stopped by police because I happen to be a black man in America. Instead of being treated as an attorney who graduated from California’s oldest law school, I am treated like a burglary and homicide suspect.
No one asks me where I earned my bachelors and law degree, instead I am questioned as to whether or not I am a possible gang member or crack dealer.
When I see young leaders such as Prime Ministers Trudeau and Rutte, I am proud that my generation is rising to leadership positions. (Florida Senator Marco Rubio is also happens to be my age)
With the help of pro-black educational initiatives, black people like me can become just as successful as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X dreamed about a future America that would unlock the potential of African American men and women. Hopefully, our country will create more African American political leaders, computer scientists, physicists, engineers, and mathematicians.
I call upon the United States of America to declare an “African American State of Emergency” and utilize FEMA funds to rehabilitate African American communities and empower African American young people. We risk losing generations of red blooded Americans.
During his campaign for Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau invoked the memory of his own late father, Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau, “My father raised us to step toward trouble rather than to step away from it.”
The time has come for the United States to successfully heal the wounds of slavery, discrimination, and ghettoization. In doing so, we can transform Justin Trudeau into a successful black man.
