OP-ED BY RAY A. JONES, CEO IN RESPONSE TO TRUMP ’S

 COMMENTS COMPARINGS OMALIS TO “GARBAGE” AND OTHER

 REPREHENSIBLE  STATEMENTS

I write in response to the irresponsible and reprehensible statements made this past week by President Trump in which he compared an entire nation and its’ people to “garbage”. Continuing, Trump specifically said a sitting member of Congress, a child immigrant who legally immigrated to the United States when she was fourteen years of age to escape genocide, “. . . is garbage.” While Trump may have legitimate public policy disagreements with Congresswomen Ilhan Abdullahi Omar, D – Minneapolis, Minn., comparing her to trash is vulgar and unacceptable today in America.

Ours is a nation of immigrants; everyone who now resides in the United States, with the sole exception of the native Indians, are the offspring of immigrants, or immigrants themselves. President Trump’s forefathers were German immigrants; his wife Melania immigrated to the United States from Slovenia. My own mother emigrated from Jamaica, West Indies. Mohamed Abdullahi “Farmajo” Mohamed, a former prime minister and president of Somalia, is himself a dual citizen of the United States and Somalia, having lived in Buffalo, New York after escaping the slaughter and before returning to run the Somali nation, spearheading the effort to restore peace to his native land. Around 260,000 people of Somali descent live in the U.S., according to 2024 statistics from the Census Bureau (the most current available). The largest community of Somali immigrants, some 84,000, is found in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The second largest Somali community, approximately 50,000, is found in Columbus, Ohio. The nation of Somalia experienced a deadly civil war, beginning in the early 1980s in 1980 after Siad Barre took over the country. By 1991 several groups rose to oppose him, and armed conflict broke out as Barre fled to Nigeria. Over time many strongmen attempted to take over as Somalia fell into full-blown civil war.

Dozens of warlords attacked and destroyed communities; entire extended families of parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, siblings, nieces, nephews and cousins were slaughtered. While it is impossible to determine the exact number of dead estimates range from a low of 350,000 to more than one million. The killing continued for more than thirty years. In October 2011 military units from Kenya entered Southern Somali and established a buffer peace zone. Finally, the United Nations and a coalition of nations began eliminating the warlords. Today civil conflict continues but is largely controlled. At the height of the civil war more than 5 million Somalis were rendered homeless. Huge refugee camps were opened in Kenya and Ethiopia. In the early 1992 the United States joined with numerous international refugee agencies to place these dislocated persons. Former President H.W. Bush led the way in agreeing to assist refugees from the Somalian Civil War.

The UN Refugee Agency, and the International Organization for Migration, organized immigration to numerous countries. U.S. based organizations, relying on international referrals, accepted about 90,000 Somalian refugees. These organizations included the International Rescue Committee, the United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, and Global Refuge. Religious based organizations, including Catholic Charities and Lutheran Social Services worked with these organizations to sponsor Somali refugees, assisting with housing, food and arranging employment opportunities. 90,000 Somalian refugees legally entered the United States in this fashion. In the ensuing thirty years the Somalian heritage population of the United States has grown by three times as couples married and had children, who are themselves naturalized American citizens.

In doing so they followed the guidance of one of America’s founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, who famously believed the United States had a moral duty to offer asylum to those escaping tyranny, asking, “Shall oppressed humanity find no asylum on this globe?” Surely there is no greater tyranny than random slaughter by war lords simply because of the family of which one is a member?

Abraham Lincoln viewed immigrants as crucial to American strength and growth, seeing them as a vital labor source, leading him to sign the first federal act to encourage immigration in 1864; he opposed anti-immigrant groups like the Know-No things , seeing their nativism as hypocritical and a betrayal of American ideals, though he also navigated the complexities of ethnic politics, often favoring German immigrants who voted Republican while recognizing the contributions of all groups. Lincoln championed and signed the Act to Encourage Immigration (1864), establishing the first federal immigration bureau and protecting immigrants from exploitation. He defended immigrants’ rights, including the right to citizenship, and argued they were part of the American fabric, “blood of the blood of the founders”.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. famously stated, “There comes a time when silence is betrayal,” emphasizing that remaining quiet in the face of injustice is a moral failing, akin to complicity. He stressed that “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter,” and that the “silence of our friends” is more damaging than the profound hurt of abandonment by allies in times of struggle. He believed indifferent allows evil to thrive, famously saying. The hottest place in Hell is served for those who remain neutral in time of great moral conflict”.

Institute of Migration Policy statistics show that 89% of working age Somali adults are employed, contributing to the American economy, and paying taxes. United States Census Bureau statistics show that only 8.4% of Somali immigrants to the United States are not American citizens. This means that 92.6% of Somalis living in the United States were either born here or, after immigrating, have taken the time to learn about their adopted home, studied the American system of government, and have successfully taken and passed the naturalization test given by the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They have raised their right hand and have sworn to protect and defend the United States as their own.

Just as President Trump’s German immigrant forefathers once did, and as our First Lady did in recent years. Current estimates of the Census Bureau suggest the population of the United States is 347,275,000. The 260,000 residents of Somalia heritage living in the United States represent 0.00074% of the total population. By comparing any human to garbage, President Trump denigrates and dehumanizes all Americans. It is unbecoming and unacceptable for anyone – especially the President of the United States – to compare anyone to garbage. After all, the President, once elected, must represent and defend ALL Americans, whether born on Park Avenue in New York, or in the most modest apartment in the land. By degrading the most common among us, President Trump dishonors and slanders all of us.

Ray A. Jones, C.E.O. of The Jones Company of America had the pleasure of meeting and sharing time with Presidente Cindy Arvizu of San Jose Iturbide, Guanajuato, Mexico and Congressman Armando Rangel Hernández of Guanajuato.

Ray A. Jones, C.E.O. of The Jones Company of America is proud to announce partnering with Gladys Maricel Alvarez Morales, affectionately referred to as “G” a 16 year veteran in the eatery business to help build back one of the industries hardest hit by the Covid19 pandemic. Since the start of the pandemic, over 110,000 restaurants have gone out of business nationwide. In Ohio alone, 90,000 eateries have closed since the start of the pandemic and over 4,000 have closed permanently, while other continue to struggle and are on the brink of closing down according to the Ohio Restaurant Association. The Jones Company of America, believes a major contributor to the strength of a city’s success is through the amount and diversity of eateries and entertainment venues it has to offer in order to build a strong economy. Ray Jones said, as regional, national and international convention planners go through the process of selecting which cities to hold conventions that diversity of eateries, entertainment venues and hotels are paramount in their decisions. “G” said, she will renovate a boarded-up building structure which was built in 1928, four minutes away from the John Glen Columbus International Airport and transform it into what will become G’s Shepard Springs Café, located in the Shepard Subdivision and bordered by the Brentnell and Saint Mary’s of the Springs Subdivisions. The cafe will offer a menu selection of healthy fresh foods, brewed coffee using the highest quality of beans to create custom coffee blends having their own unique taste of expressos, cappuccinos, mochas along with various types of teas, served in a cozy environment. In addition, the café/coffee shop will offer private meeting rooms to accommodate customer wanting to hold private meeting that is lacking in the urban community. G, started in the eatery business working at a longstanding established full service restaurant for a couple of years and later took the risk of transferring to a start-up café/coffee shop located on the near eastside of Columbus, Ohio. She worked her way up from the bottom, eventually becoming the manager of what has become one of the most popular café/coffee shops in the urban community. G’s hard work and relentlessness in her role and responsibility as manager significantly contributed to helping the owner of the café survive the worst period of the Covid19 pandemic. She believes much was learned as a result of the pandemic and these lessons has prepared her for the challenges she will face as an owner operator of the future G’s Shepard Springs Café. Ray Jones said, the impact their development would have on the community will be to help spur revitalization in an area that had lost much of its commercial and retail service during construction period of Interstate 670 Highway system, built in the 1970’s. G’s Shepard Springs Café will create jobs, increase tax revenues, spur economic development, create a bilingual atmosphere (English & Spanish) and provide healthy meals in an area considered a food desert along with occasional entertainment. “G” said, this is just the beginning of what we hope will be the first of other G’s Café/Coffee shop developments to come!

Congratulations to my Nephew-in-law Brian Brooks & Niece Dominique Brooks, Co-C.E.O. of E.E.Ward for their significant business accomplishment and for their place in American as an African American Business.

https://www.fox46.com/queen-city-news-now/oldest-black-owned-business-in-us-expends-to-charlotte-raleigh/

Ray A. Jones, C.E.O. of The Jones Company of America Congratulates his long time friend, Inna Kinney, C.E.O. of E.C.D.I. for leading her organization to becoming the largest Micro Loan Lender in the United States. Ray Jones, described her as being an Exceptional Executive whose passion is to grow the nation’s economy by fueling small businesses to include startup businesses with a focus on small minority and female businesses. He said, E.C.D.I’s service adds to the 1.million jobs that are created annually and account for 64% of new jobs created in the United States. Ray Jones said, small businesses not only generate jobs, in totality, they are the largest employers in the United States.

Inna Kinney is founder and CEO of Columbus-based microlender ECDI.

Ray A. Jones, C.E.O. of The Jones Company of America appeared in an interview on the Neurbanismo radio show in Mexico along with a successful U.S. business leader to discuss issues facing Mexico and United States.

The Jones Company of America’s C.E.O. served as one of two individuals leading the largest Latin American Delegation to include a representative from the Caribbean of Election Observers in Ohio history during the 2020 Presidential election. The delegation was comprised of business and civic leaders, public officials, journalist, former election officials, and students in support of promoting Democracy.

The delegation met with national and regional leaders in the Battleground state of to include Frank LaRose the Secretary of State of Ohio, Ambassador Ken Blackwell, Former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, Douglas Preisse the Chairman of the largest county Board of Election in Ohio, Jane Timken the Ohio Republican Party Chairwoman, David Pepper the Chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party, Joyce Beatty of Ohio’s 3rd congressional district and many more national and regional leaders.

The Jones Company of America’s C.E.O. Ray A. Jones speaks to The Gleaner, Jamaica’s largest and oldest newspaper (186 years old) about the possible impact a Biden-Harris Administration could have on Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean.

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20201108/what-biden-harris-win-means-jamaica-and-caribbean What a Biden-Harris win means for Jamaica and the Caribbean.

The Jones Company of America, C.E.O. Ray A. Jones contributes to having the Caribbean represented with a group of International Delegation of Election Observers in the United States 2020

The Jones Company of America has partnered with Lowe’s Home Improvement in Ohio’s Northeast Region to provide NP95 protective mask for minority businesses at no cost. Although, the store locations are in the Marysville, Marion and Bellefontaine area, arrangements can be made to have them delivered to those of you based within the Central Ohio area.

If you would like to arrange to receive masks, Contact, Amanda at (614) 732-8982 and tell her you were referred by Ray Jones.

The Jones Company of America wants you to know whats going on in the United States and throughout the World regarding the Coronavirus.

Click the COVID-19 Visualizer button below for more information regarding Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The Jones Company of America has been given the green light by Kulture the tech and innovation company to offer its followers and clients a special early opportunity: Kulture is a smart communications company offering a topics-based messaging app for iOS and Android.

The app offers a more productive way to organize and develop messaging with your contacts. The Jones Company of America is providing you with an early sign up opportunity to the app by clicking Kulture – Get Early Access! button below.

Ray A. Jones, founder of The Jones Company of America, said he was very proud to hear the news that his Nephew-in-law & Niece, Brian & Dominique Brooks were finalists in the 2019 C.E.O’s of the year! Jones, said that the couple who own and operate the oldest minority owned company in America are deserving for their hard work, long hours, work ethics and for their excellence in business!