Beyond the Flames of Protest Part I: Why I believe 2020 is the Turning Point for Black America
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Published: June 15, 2020
By: Willie Barney, Co-Publisher Revive Omaha
Beyond the Flames: Why I Believe 2020 is a Turning Point
Where Do We Go From Here?
Harlem. Watts. Newark. Detroit. Omaha. Los Angeles. Ferguson. Baltimore. Minneapolis.
“If we don’t learn from history, we are destined to repeat it.”
– Philosopher George Santanya and Winston Churchill
In 2014, as I watched the fires burning in Ferguson, Missouri, I wrote a piece entitled “Beyond the Flames: Will We Get It Right This Time?” Ferguson was burning in response to the devastating scenes following the killing of Michael Brown by a police officer. I was so impacted and moved that I had to write down on paper what became a speech I gave at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
This followed the 2012 vigilante killing of Trayvon Martin and preceded the 2015 death of Freddie Gray in police custody which ignited the flames in Baltimore. The frustrating and devastating list goes on and on and continues today.
There have been other shootings of unarmed black men and black women when police officers received no repercussions from their crime. This list also includes Omaha after the officer-involved shooting of Vivian Strong in 1969 that resulted in the destruction of North 24th Street. The once thriving corridor is just now in the process of being rebuilt.
No justice for Eric Garner, New York, 2014. No justice for Sandra Bland, 2015, southeast Texas. No justice for Philando Castile 2016, suburban Minnesota. No justice.
African-Americans have tried to send a message for decades that we are suffering. Suffering from the lingering impacts of slavery, Jim Crow and segregation effects that were never fully addressed. Suffering from unemployment, lack of investment, neglect, poor educational outcomes, low access to capital, over policing, poor housing conditions and so much more. There have been small attempts to fix the situation, but nothing substantial and sustained.
A temporary reconstruction period followed the abolishment of slavery where some progress was made, but abandoned just at the time when freed slaves were finally starting to become integrated into American life. No Justice.
There were promises made beyond the elimination of slavery. Promises for land, property and finances for the freed slaves to get a new start at becoming full citizens. Policies were changed to finally recognize African-Americans as being 100% human, correcting the Constitution which had declared us as 3/5ths of a man.
The original constitutional declaration allowed America to benefit economically for over 250 years from free labor through inhumane conditions. It is referred to as the worst form of enslavement in modern history. African-Americans helped build this country and were paid nothing for it. No Justice.
What’s happening today is not new. Racial tensions have raged before. There has always been a spark which kindled the flames.
These flames have come as city after city and community after community across the nation have been destroyed.
Before Richard Nixon was elected in 1968 on the promise to be a law and order president, President Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) commissioned a group to find out why the cities across the country were burning. The commission produced a document which became known as the Kerner Report.
Rather than identifying African-Americans as the cause, the report shined the light on white America. The Kerner Commission presented the case that the blame for the riots should be placed squarely on the shoulders of underlying conditions of injustice, neglect, disinvestment, unequal treatment and systematic racism.
The report clearly states the priorities that must be addressed: 1. Unemployment and low wages. 2. Poor educational systems. 3. Poor housing conditions. 4. Bad relationships between police and the community. 5. Lack of services for those in poverty and the structure of welfare system.
The most important conclusion to address the injustice? America needed to make a significant investment to right the wrongs of the past.
Little did I know until recently that the former Mayor of Omaha, A. V. Sorensen, had reached the same conclusion in 1968. He said then that Omaha needed to bring together people from all sectors to form a coalition that would oversee a massive investment to address African-American poverty. Nothing was done.
He left office realizing the city did not have the will or appetite to fully address the issue. The city and nation continued redlining and driving interstates through the heart of black communities under the guise of urban redevelopment.
America chose to make small investments to address the injustice, but with a costly Vietnam War occurring at the same time, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. declared that the nation had given black America a blank check. He said the easy part of the Civil Rights Movement was getting legislation passed for voting rights; the hard part was securing the funds to address the economic issues. This was going to cost the nation money, King said.
For a time, mostly through programs enacted by President Johnson, some investments were made through the so-called War on Poverty. The investments were not sustained and were not implemented anywhere near the level required.
One of the most significant statements and conclusions from the Kerner Commission was “to mount programs on the scale equal to the dimension of the problems.” “These programs will require unprecedented levels of funding and performance…”
The report emphasized that if America didn’t respond on a large scale, we would see the creation of two America’s. One black. One white. Separate. Unequal.
Across the nation, we have inherited the promise. Two Americas. One white. The other, everyone else (black and brown).
I wrote in the speech, after watching the flames in Ferguson, that in 1968, the nation had a decision to make. Do we finally invest in helping African Americans become economically sound and full citizens or do we invest more in police, expanding the criminal justice system and building more prisons?
President Richard Nixon answered the question for America. Law and order. No Justice.
For decades, African-Americans have asked for additional investments to address employment, education, housing, health and other needs. Funding was never available at the scale of the problem. Communities were not rebuilt.
African-Americans asked for the promised 40 acres and a mule. African-Americans presented plans such as the Freedom Agenda under Dr. King which proposed to end poverty in 10 years. African-Americans asked for reparations.
It is important to note reparations have been granted across the world after a specific race, ethnic group or nation was on the wrong end of injustice. The answer to these requests for African-Americans? No funds available. No justice.
Where would America ever come up with trillions of dollars to right this wrong? We were always told, it would be absolutely impossible. We were told there is absolutely no way America could ever come up with trillions of dollars to address its original sin. It’s been over 400 years since enslaved Africans were brought to these shores.
But, no recompense. No Justice.
Instead we are told, pick yourself up by your bootstraps and help yourself. Instead we are told, forget about slavery. Instead we are told, you’ve had a black President. Instead we are told, it’s a post-racial society and racism doesn’t exist. Help yourselves, we are told. There will be no hand up, we are told.
Cue the Coronavirus.
The virus may not be racist, but the impact surely is disproportionately destructive to African Americans and other people of color. Health and economic inequities have been laid bare. Consequently, the virus called for a critical response. A national response.
What does COVID-19 have to do with this justice and systemic racism? As soon as the nation began to experience the negative economic and health impacts of the virus, immediate legislation was drafted and approved by Congress. The Treasury Department rewrote the rules. Trillions of dollars were miraculously found and infused into the economy to address suffering corporations, small businesses and most U.S. citizens.
In a moment of crisis, leaders can find the money.
The message this sends is that it matters who is suffering. African-Americans have been suffering for centuries. Native Americans have been suffering for centuries. However, when the unemployment rate for white Americans hit the same level as the African-American unemployment rate which has languished for decades, Congress and the Treasury department have taken actions to produce what is estimated at seven trillion dollars of economic activity.
The question is where did the money come from in this instance? It’s been made abundantly clear that the nation could have made the right decision in 1865. We could have made the right decision in 1918. We could have made the right decision in 1968. We could have made the right decision in 1992 after Los Angeles and Rodney King. We could have made the right decision after Ferguson in 2014. We could have made the right decision after Baltimore in 2015.
No justice. No peace. Fast forward.
Cue the final spark.
Watching an unarmed black man, George Floyd, die a horrific death with the knee of a white police officer on his neck, and 2 other officers on his prone body behind the car, the image was finally too much. African-Americans have experienced police brutality and violence for decades, but this was filmed, became a viral moment on social media, and impossible to ignore, deny or cover up. Breaking point.
In the midst of a pandemic which has killed over 100,000 Americans and disproportionately impacted African Americans and people of color, we once again are face to face with injustice and racism.
After being locked away in their homes for nearly three months and watching the video from Minneapolis and dozens of other racial events within a few weeks, cities across the country and internationally have erupted with protests and flames are once again burning in America.
What to do now? Where’s the hope?
We know what needs to be done. We have known for decades. Case study after case study, commission after commission and book after book, have boiled down to economics, education, housing, equal access to health care and people working together to address poverty and systemic racism.
Be sure to check out Part II: Moving Forward with Solutions
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Community Features
95% increase in the number of Black-owned businesses with employees in Omaha
A recent story by the Brookings Institute highlights a 95% increase in the number of Black-owned businesses with employees in the Omaha metro.
The Brookings reports leads with the statement that Black-owned businesses are driving economic growth in America.
The report uses data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey showing an increase of 182 Black-owned businesses with employees in Omaha from 2017 to 2022.
That is great news for the organizations and businesses working to increase the number and size of Black-owned businesses.
“We set a goal in 2015 to work together to help create or scale 250 more Black-owned businesses with employees by 2025,” said Willie Barney, CEO of the Empowerment Network and co-owner of the Revive Black Business Network and Carver Legacy Center.
“Even with the pandemic, we have collectively made substantial and measurable progress. This proves what can be accomplished in just five years and we want to help create or scale 250 more before 2030.”
“This is incredible. A 95% surge in Black-owned businesses with employees in Omaha is more than a statistic—it’s a testament to resilience, innovation, and economic empowerment,” said Frank Hayes, CEO and Founder of Hayes & Associates. “This growth fuels generational wealth, strengthens communities, and drives the local economy forward. When Black businesses thrive, Omaha thrives!”
The Brookings report shows that minority businesses are driving economic growth in the entire country.
Some neighboring cities in the Midwest and partner cities also performed very well when it comes to increasing the number of Black owned businesses. The Census report shows the largest growth occurred in the South and East.
Omaha. 182 more Black-owned employer businesses. A total of 373.
Minneapolis had a startling 157% increase. 1,482 new employer businesses.
Milwaukee. 92% increase. 728 more Black-owned businesses.
Indianapolis. 638 more businesses. 90% increase.
Locally, there are many support organizations and the entrepreneurs working to make things happen in Omaha:
- Nebraska Enterprise Fund
- Grow Nebraska
- Omaha 100
- Start Center
- Omaha Economic Development Corporation
- Revive Black Business Network
- Empowerment Network
- Carver Legacy Center
- Metro Omaha Women’s Business Center
- Hayes & Associates
- Business Seals
- Small Business Administration
- DreamBusiness
- Greater Omaha Chamber
- Urban League of Nebraska
- Midlands African-Chamber
- and others are focused on entrepreneurship and business growth.
“When we invest in small businesses, we invest in the heartbeat of our communities. These businesses don’t just provide services, they create jobs, generate local spending, and fuel economic growth. By empowering entrepreneurs in low to moderate-income communities, we build ecosystems of opportunity where every dollar earned circulates locally, strengthening neighborhoods and paving the way for generational prosperity,” said Veta Jeffery, CEO of Jeffery Consulting.
MOVING FORWARD
“The timing is perfect for this report as we turn our attention to Transformation 2030,” said Barney. “This should be a celebration point for Omaha and other cities and also inspire us all to push even harder after seeing what is possible.”
Investments through the North and South Omaha Recovery Program and other sources should help accelerate the pace of growth even more in Omaha over the next five years.
The additional funding is made possible through the partnership of the community and leadership of Senators Justin Wayne and Terrell McKinney to gain passage of LB1024 and LB531. After a nearly unanimous vote in the Nebraska State Legislature and the signatures of former Governor Pete Ricketts and current Governor Jim Pillen, the legislation became law.
Awards were announced in January 2024 and The Department of Economic Development has led the allocation of funding and many Black-owned businesses benefitted from grants ranging from $50,000 to $2,000,000.
The future $30 million investment in the IHUB and $90 million business park in North Omaha will also make an impact.
These funds and other strategic investments will support the continued progress and help to increase the number of Black-owned businesses with employees. It also has an impact on future generations.
“When young people grow up seeing businesses start and thrive around them, they begin to dream bigger, knowing they, too, can build and contribute. This cycle of inspiration and opportunity fuels long-term economic resilience, ensuring that thriving businesses lead to thriving communities for generations to come,” said Jeffery.
Read the full Brookings report here: Driving prosperity: How Black-owned businesses fueled recent economic growth
For a listing of Black-owned businesses in Omaha. Revive Black Business Guide – Revive! Omaha
Community News
Step-Up Omaha interns gain valuable work experience at UNMC
Front row from left: Evelyn Grixby, UNMC employee relations programs coordinator; Alona Wilson; Jennifer Esqueda; Amari Johnson; Lakeisha Bonam of Step-Up Omaha; and Linda Cunningham, associate director for UNMC Human Resources. Back row from left: NeRae Davis; Niara Bowie-Berry; Randy Smith; Mukundaha Devanaboyina; Julia Livingston of Step-Up Omaha; and John Skradski of Step-Up Omaha.
Published: July 21, 2024
WRITTEN BY Jeff Robb, UNMC strategic communications
Step-Up Omaha interns are back at UNMC for another summer of work experience and learning opportunities around the academic medical center.
Step-Up Omaha is an initiative of the Empowerment Network, the City of Omaha and community partners to give youths summer job training and work experience.
Since 2016, UNMC has participated by hosting interns in a variety of departments, centers and offices around the campus. This year, the program, which started June 17, has eight interns.
Evelyn Grixby, employee relations programs coordinator in UNMC Human Resources and the Step-Up Omaha program coordinator, said UNMC’s Step-Up internship program is a coordinated effort with the worksite partners to invest in the interns and intentionally provide them valuable outcomes by the end of summer.
The interns receive job shadowing, mentoring, career guidance and networking opportunities, Grixby said.
“In the short period of time that the interns are on campus, they gain soft skills training that leave them feeling empowered, inspired, connected and more confident about their career interest,” she said.
Linda Cunningham, associate director for UNMC Human Resources, said the department is excited to welcome the 2024 interns to UNMC.
Cunningham credited Grixby for her dedicated efforts to the program. She also thanked participating UNMC departments, saying they are mentoring future leaders while also embracing the fresh, new perspectives shared by the interns.
Said Cunningham, “Our campus remains committed to providing thoughtfully designed and impactful learning experiences for our Step-Up interns in a supportive environment that exceeds their expectations and hones their curiosity for career exploration and success.
“We encourage each of them to take full advantage of the rich opportunity, resources and connections available to them during this experience.”
Intern Randy Smith is back at UNMC for a fourth summer through the program, this time working with the UNMC Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research. Smith, who is studying psychology at Metropolitan Community College, said he was drawn by UNMC’s environment of friendly people.
“It’s great working along with people who are like-minded, driving towards a better future in technology and health care,” he said.
This summer’s interns and their departments are:
- Jennifer Esqueda, UNMC Human Resources
- Alona Wilson, UNMC Human Resources and the Office of the Chancellor
- Randy Smith, UNMC Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research
- NeRae Davis, UNMC Facilities Management and Planning
- Amari Johnson, UNMC Office of Inclusion
- Mukundaha Devanaboyina, Munroe-Meyer Institute community engagement
- Ajay Repakula, Munroe-Meyer Institute Trailblazers Program and administration
- Niara Bowie-Berry, UNMC Global Center for Health Security
Community News
Ashlei Spivey running for State Senate, marches towards general election
Published: August 20, 2024
As Nebraska’s Legislative District 13 prepares for a new season, Ashlei Spivey is running for office to become the clear choice to lead this truly resilient and diverse community.
A lifelong resident of North Omaha, Ashlei epitomizes the spirit and core of the district’s culture, rich history and vast potential. With a deep commitment to her community along with a proven track record of advocacy, Ashlei is campaigning to be the leader District 13 needs.
Growing up in North Omaha, Ashlei didn’t just witness the challenges her neighbors faced, she lived them. This personal connection fueled her passion for social justice and inspired her to dedicate her life to serving others.
With degrees in Communications, Marketing, and Urban Social Planning, Ashlei brings a unique blend of vision, intelligence, and Omaha grit to the table. Ashlei believes her educational background, coupled with her vast experience in nonprofit leadership, equips her with the necessary tools to create meaningful change.
Ashlei is a leader on a mission. Having founded the nonprofit, I Be Black Girls and currently sitting as its Executive Director, her impact has driven significant change, notably in Black maternal health. Her tireless work led to the creation of Nebraska’s first statewide Black maternal health coalition, transforming healthcare delivery for Black women across the state.
But Ashlei’s vision extends beyond healthcare. Her goal is to make a measurable difference in the lives of Nebraskans. She plans to tackle head-on issues affecting her constituents, like public safety, economic development, lowering property tax, and improving education. “Residents of District 13 deserve the opportunity to thrive in a safe community,” she said. My commitment is to fight for the things that matter, such as affordable housing, quality healthcare, and well-funded schools accessible to all.
Ashlei’s heart is on full display when you examine her professional work and personal life. Having worked alongside many in the district, she has built strong relationships with local community organizations, businesses, and residents alike.
Her unwavering commitment to the region she calls home is palpable. Her ability to listen, empathize, and act on behalf of her constituents is what she says sets her apart and prepares her to bring the voices of District 13 to the Capitol.
Given the successes under her belt, her talent has not gone unnoticed. Ashlei has been nationally recognized, earning such distinctions as the Ten Outstanding Young Omahans Award, the Chamber YP Changemaker Award and she has been featured in Forbes and Essence.
Ashlei Spivey is not just running for political office but for the many neighbors who rely on her to make a difference. She wants to empower the residents of District 13 to ensure they have a voice at the highest levels of their government.
“I am ready to hit the ground running on day one,” Ashlei says, “and I look forward to earning the vote and trust of Legislative District 13.”
To learn more about Ashlei Spivey’s vision for Nebraska Legislative District 13, visit https://www.ashleifornebraska.com/