WASHINGTON – It was a pivotal moment for the Congressional Black Caucus and the African-American community. The CBC was face to face with President Obama at the White House to talk about joblessness among African Americans.

But when the (March 11) meeting was over and the 41 Caucus members were back in their Capitol Hill offices, had America’s first African American president really listened?

 The jury is still out according to the African-American Congressman who holds the highest office on the Hill.

“We’ll have to wait and see. I don’t know. I know that there were some significant suggestions,” said U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), the House Majority Whip.

“I will be sending a memorandum to his senior staffers who were in the meeting to let them know what I thought I heard and what I thought some of the suggestions were and hopefully lay a foundation for us to evaluate in a few weeks or months whether or not they’re listening.”

Twelve percent of the U.S. is African American and CBC members represent an overwhelming majority of that population through their districts. Since Obama has been in office, Caucus members have used letters, phone conferences and committee meetings to push their concern about jobs to the President and his staff. Meanwhile, the overall African-American unemployment rate is 15.8 percent – double the white unemployment rate, which is several percentage points below the national average of 9.7 percent. And for African-American males, the rate is 18 percent.

According to Clyburn, the President wasn’t trying to hear all of that.

“He didn’t really want to hear how bad it is and how bad off people are and how much unemployment is out there because he said – and rightfully so – ‘I know all of that. So, what are your suggestions as to how we can address all these issues.’ And that’s what made it a great meeting.”

Among the suggestions that the CBC made to President Obama:

• Create jobs through weatherization programs that would create jobs for landscapers, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, bricklayers and other skilled workers.

• Make sure governors are putting stimulus grant money where it should be and that it’s not just sitting in state coffers.

• Allow retrofitting of homes to save energy and for people to get low interest loans through co-ops in order to pay back their monthly bills.

• Create a big summer jobs program for youth.

• Establish new tax credits.

CBC Chair Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said President Obama has been receptive and has listened.

“I think it was a very productive meeting and very specific,” she said of the session with the President.

The CBC is doing its job by being the voice of African Americans and other disadvantaged people, even at the Obama White House, said Lee.

(Hazel Trice Edney is NNPA News Service editor-in-chief.)