Commitment is one of the most sacred words you can say to a woman and most times it will make men run so fast you would think they are trying to get out of the rain.  I'm not talking about commitment between a man and a woman I'm talking about the commitment to the success of our race.

Are we committed to progress for our race no matter what the cost or have we become committed to the dollar and the hell with all the rest. Yes commitment has changed over the last half century. We used to call it giving back, spending time with the less fortunate or donating to a cause. What results have our mediocre commitments provided for us since integration? African Americans are less committed to progress today then we have ever been.

Everyone has their own set of problems and life is tough for some trying to make it. So many of us turn the blind eye to what is really going on until it hits home. When one of our own children gets caught up in the justice system or death nocks at one of our children's door then we want to vent and say not my child.  Well it's a sad day for our children and even a sadder future according to the latest statistics.

Commitment comes with a price tag and yes the cost is high if you want progress you have to pay for it. If we are committed to progress for our children and want to leave a legacy to our grandchildren then we have to pay for it plain and simple. We are paying for it now in the wrong ways. We are paying for it now by seeing our children make up 44% of the prison population in the US. We are paying now by seeing the African American being labeled as the largest consumer in the US (we don't make anything we just buy, buy, buy). We are paying for it now because we are at the bottom of practically every economic category in the US. We are paying for it now with the highest unemployment statistic (16%) if any ethnic group in the nation. We are paying now with the highest rate of single family households raised by our women in the US. I can go on and on some were we have to take a stand and say enough.

When will it stop, what will it take for us to wake up and make that commitment to our families, children and grandchildren? Our problems are so great and so urgent that we have to solve them for ourselves. No one is going to help us out of this pit of hell that we are in but ourselves.

We need to make that same commitment that we make to those companies we spend our dollars with like the cell phone companies when they temporarily interrupt your service somehow you find a way to get it turned back on pronto!

We have to make it happen! We have to create this opportunity.  Collectively we have millions of dollars sitting around in our homes in jars, piggy banks and rolls of pennies. That's the old way of saving money yea grandma, grandpa and granny used to do that. We have to make that money work for us 24/7 and the best way to do that is to invest it in ourselves collectively. It's true we are facing tough economic times now but our ancestors faced even harder times. Their hard times make our bad times look like a walk through the park and they came out victorious we must do the same.

We have to commit a portion of our hard earned money to progress for our future. I don't care if it is nickels, pennies, dimes or dollars we have to start somewhere. Right now the sum is zero and as you know nothing from nothing leaves nothing.

This is why  we have not seen any financial progress in over several decades because we are not investing in our future properly. We are not making a commitment to ourselves and our families for a better life and brighter future.

Carlton Banks is the founder and managing member of GlobalFinet, LLC, a unique economic network dedicated to solving the Black financial crisis in America. For readers interested in moving the Black Economic agenda forward  go to http://www.globalfinet.com/ for additional information.