Jerroll Sanders' Role
as "Self-appointed Chief Operating
Officer (COO) of Black America "
What does a corporate chief operating officer
(COO) do?
In
most organizations, the chief operating officer (COO) reports directly to
the chief executive officer (CEO)
who heads the organization. In many small companies, one person functions as
both the CEO and COO. The COO focuses on day-to-day operations and is
responsible for making sure goals are met and everything runs efficiently.
There are many organizations working
to improve the state of Black America. While many of these organizations are
making strides on a micro level, their collective efforts are not achieving
the dramatic improvements African Americans so desperately desire on a mass
scale. African Americans want to be top academic achievers and financially
strong. They want vibrant, united and prosperous communities. Jerroll
Sanders has stepped up to the plate to help Black America realize its goals.
What will Sanders do? She
will:
<Help identify statistical
indicators that characterize how African Americans are doing relative to
other racial groups.
<Help formulate a Black
agenda with clearly defined objectives and numerical targets, where
possible.
< Enlist African Americans
and others from all walks of life in helping to improve the State of Black
America.
<Launch a framework for data
collection and reporting.
<Host think tanks and forums
to allow for presentation of "position papers" and spur the emergence of new
leaders and more active community members.
What will guide Sanders'
strategic approach?
Sanders will be guided by the
principles of A.R.E., which she discusses in her book, The Physics of
Money: If You've Got My Dollar, I Don't. The letter "A" refers to
a concept called
increasing acquisition, which involves helping African Americans make
more money; "R" is for increasing retention, which involves helping African
Americans save more of the money they make; and "E" is for preventing
extraction, the removal of money from African Americans. Extraction occurs
in many forms, including
money spent defending wrongful police actions and
income foregone by African Americans due to discriminatory employment and
contracting practices. It also refers to monies wrongly denied
African-American litigants by rank judges and judicial officials.
Is it wise for Sanders to
criticize the work of Black leaders?
A responsibility of any COO is continuous quality
improvement, which involves continuously working to make
all facets of an operation efficient
and effective.
As COO of Black America, Sanders will help devise, offer and
contribute to the implementation of innovative strategies and tactics to
improve the lives of a critical mass of African Americans. She will also
offer constructive criticism to help African Americans shed practices that
hinder progress.