Jackson Free Press

Boneqweesha Jones: "It's me on the scene, reporting live from the Black History Job Fair held at the Clubb Chicken Wing Multi-Purpose Complex. Despite the unemployment rate dropping from 8.5 percent to 8.3 percent in January, a lot of jobless folk have come to the Black History Job Fair to apply for gainful employment during this Great Recession. With me is the honorable Congressman Smokey 'Robinson' McBride, the organizer of this event.

"What is the Black History Job Fair all about, Congressman Smokey?"

Congressman Smokey 'Robinson' McBride: "'Qweesha, it's nice to see the unemployment rate down a little. I'm sure it's good news for my fellow politicians, our president and those who are employed.

"But, still, many mid-career, long-term unemployed and unskilled workers, plus recent college graduates, are left behind. Some folk will feel like the lone player who didn't make the team. Other folk will believe they have failed in life.

"My purpose is to celebrate and make history by encouraging the workers who remain jobless in 2012. I will not condescend or criticize people who feel betrayed by the government, politicians, corporations, etc. Instead, I will use the stories of people like Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, Ida B. Wells Barnett, and Ella Baker to motivate the despondent and defeated masses still looking for a job with health-care benefits.

"The party is not over until everyone gets a job. And without any struggle in this matter, there is no progress."

Boneqweesha Jones: "Congressman, you've said a mouthful."