The AIEBC has set its sights on strengthening and growing its membership in the next year.
The local branch especially hopes to engage young adults, business owners and students both minority and non-minority.
The emphasis will be on creating a core of active members, those who not only attend meetings but also serve on committees and extend their outreach into the community.
While the AIEBC has traditionally been associated with serving the American Indian community, its mission has been to help American Indians and the under-served populations.
Blacks and Hispanics, the two major minority groups in Kansas and Missouri, have issues common to both groups as well as the issues we face directly but have little to no interest or acknowledge issues in the American Indian community.
When you take the voter ID lawsuit into account, you also had Voces de la Frontera and the NAACP come together,” you also have the Black / Brown coalition being heralded by Emanuel Cleaver here in Kansas City Missouri and Kansas City Kansas.
I know we have many of the same issues related to other minorities as well as non-minorities here with employment, the need for diversity, housing, mortgage discrimination, job and business development. Its just that the American Indian community also struggles with a vast disparity in the area of diversity inclusion despite the “percentages” that are used to show that we are struggling no less than the Hispanics and the African American community are but I have to say nothing could be further from the truth.
The American Indian community has lost leaders who were ties to the organization’s past, leaders who would point to the bad and the good without fear, without a care as to how they will be seen or treated because they did not take the popular opinion. They created the lives they want to live and we’re missing that today.
It’s time that we get more people involved and active, not just recruited during our November American Indian Awareness Month in November but year round.