As I consider the point of attack by many a Black person who stands resolute in his views about how the current state of Black America being shaped by our past of Slavery, Jim Crow and oppression I am brought to the point of wondering if these same people will be talking about the impact of American Slavery for a period longer than we were actually enslaved as a people?
African-Americans have been free from Slavery for more than 140 years. The practices allowed under Jim Crow were made illegal with the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. There is no doubt that it took longer for the populace to catch up with that which was written on paper as the laws of the land.
As I consider the outlook for my two children and I think down the line about the children of their children I wonder if many of the same language used to describe the situation for the Black American will still be in play then? The time then will be the year 2100 or there abouts. Certainly there have been massive population movements and cultural revolutions that have taken place in less than 95 years. Sadly I see no new ideas or concepts receiving birth among the current channels of thought and ideas that percolate into the mass consciousness of Black people.
I suggest that we begin to shift our consciousness and our support from that which is said to be the POPULAR Black Agenda over to that which can be proven to be EFFECTIVE at TRANSFORMING the situation of Black people from where we stand into where we desire to be based on our words said in our prayers to the higher power.
An adherance to a popular political dogma often results in the defense of the INSTITUTION rather than an abstract evaluation as to the effectiveness of this institution and it's people in achieving the common goals for the people. So often we will be asked to be UNIFIED so that we cannot be fractured. Rarely are those who are calling for this unity going to put their platform on the table for inspection and battle fitness. It seems to be assumed that their current set of beliefs and methdology to achieve it is the most correct for Black people and anyone who diverges from this is an enemy of the state.
In truth a "critic" of this methodology may only want the best for his people and are seeking to have his voice heard rather than being suppressed by those who are protecting the institution over and above the question of the EFFECTIVENESS of the institution.
In my view nothing short of a reformation of the major concepts of culture, economic, academics, laws & law enforcement and families/human relations within the Black community will sufficently change our course of action.
The current focus on external adversaries needs to be transformed into the building of our inner selves to shape the conditions of the year 2100. The only relevant point is what happens TODAY, not the past.
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2 comments:
Totally agree!
-G.
I agree CC...the only problem is I cannot subtract internal progress from external environment. Although I think the concentration on internal progress is more effective, relevant, and transformational than concentrating on our external environment, none-the-less, external environment issues have to be factored into any equation for change.
I used to be a business banker, and we were trained to analyze variables that could cause a loan to not be repaid and be prepared to have a risk/mitigant section in our credit approval presentation. One of the primary 'risk' for many businesses is environment and managements track record and ability to overcome environment.
When you are talking about a wholesale paradigm change amongst us blacks, you can not address that change unless you adequetely identify and mitigate the external environmental factors in America that influences, shapes and provides barriers to changing the paradigm.
So the question for me becomes this, how do you effectively change currently held paradigms when you have an external environment that benefits from this paradigm, and an internal resistance to change from the masses of those who will benefit fom the change in paradigm.
For example the crappiness of the Democratic party. Internally you have an affiliation whereby 90% of the established black voters consistently support this party through their votes. How do you change that?
External variables, the democratic party has in its vested interest to keep this voting block, and therefore will do what it takes short of destabilizing the whole part to do so. How do you mitigate that?
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