Steppin' Up To The Plate, Carrying The Torch

I had the opportunity to enter a dialogue with Rev. Al Sharpton on the radio the other day while he was in Atlanta for the Southern Christian Leadership Council's (SCLC) dedication and inauguration of their new headquarters located on historic Auburn Avenue.


Although I don't agree with all the causes Rev. Sharpton chooses to champion, he does a good job of bringing issues and causes affecting segments of the African-American community to the limelight and his type of activism and methods of publicity sometimes places him at odds with the conservative, old school leaders of the modern civil rights movement.


The question that was presented was this: In the civil rights community, why are there no young leaders stepping up to the plate to carry on the movement? What can old school do to inspire, assist and progress the challenges faced by our community and the world and why isn't new school picking up the gauntlet?


My feelings are such and they mirror the problems we, as a community, need to address foremost before we can affect any change a group is this...as a people, we have lost our way.
Old school has been reticent to change, organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), have due to corruption and divisive internal power struggles, have relegated this organization to become basically an ineffectual and irrelevant institution in the African-American community. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts, absolutely. It's well known that if you're case is not a high media exposure case, chances are you'll be told your case won't even be investigated. Unless the story has been picked up by the media outlets, you won't hear them at your door. Pandering to various special interest and losing touch with the people they were purported to serve, has left this once influential institution a mockery of the values they once vigorously upheld. The leaders of the old guard, refuse to embrace change and different, outside-the-box approaches presented by the opposite sex and younger members, leaving policies to stagnate and become ineffective in a new world order. The game has changed, but our methods have not kept pace.


New school is not exempt from criticism either. During the early years of the movement up until the mid 70's, there was a sense of obligation and activism alive in well in the Black community. We joined together as a community and the rights that our predecessors fought and sometimes died for, were still fresh in the collective minds of the community and our parents, churches, civic leaders and activists, never let us rest on our laurels, nor did them become complacent; we had made substantial gains but it was always imparted that one must always remain vigilant and everyone should do their part to ensure that the gains achieved were never forgotten or allowed to stagnate.


With the new attitudes brought about in society in the 80's, revolving around the materialistic individualism and insidiously combined with the decline of American family structure, and the introduction of crack cocaine into our inner cities and bringing about a new economic power, new school became comfortable and lulled into a false sense of security from equal opportunity laws and relaxing attitudes and acceptance in "general" society. Getting and keeping your paper up, became the rule of the game. The mentality became, "I'm trying to get mine, and I just might have to take yours." Who had time to think about helping another, reaching back to lift one up and fulfilling the promises to the ancestors? We had jobs and were breaking employment barriers, we were moving out of the cities and into the suburbs, becoming visible members of local, state and national government, we were getting educations, the fight was over, wasn't it? So the most visual reminders of racism, such as the lynchings and the violence of the early years have stopped, but the issues still remained, they were just insidious in nature and harder to spot, but not non-existent, from a long shot. The younger generation settled into a sense of complacency and conceded; satisfied with the gains and progress made but not wanting to get involved, there would always be someone else to do that.
Guess what, Black America? Shame on you, shame on me, shame on us. We need to stop destroying ourselves as a community and a people, wake up and get it together, fast. We need to empower ourselves as an economic force by supporting our vendors and businesses, reclaiming our communities from the destructive societal elements facing our society, stop the infighting that has plagued us for years and stop imploding. In the face of insurmountable odds, I have seen us achieve fleeting moments of greatness, imagine what a force we could truly become should we all embrace a new way of thinking.


New school needs to embrace and incorporate change and needs to stop, listen and learn with respect due from the elders. Learn the game on a higher level and learn to use it to your advantage and advancement of your people. Stop talking about what the problems are, we all know what we as a people are up against, and don't tell me what you can do, show me, show us! Start in your home, stop raising future pimps and strippers, impart a sense of responsibility in your children, stop neglecting your children's spiritual education, and be an example, get out and do something in your community. I can't say it enough, in the words of Brother Gil Scott-Heron, "No one can do everything, but everyone can do something."


As we can see, just looking as far as some of the articles and comments here on Gather, that we were terribly mistaken. In America, right now, it doesn't matter if you're Black, Latino, Asian, Native American, etc., if you're not of the Caucasian persuasion, you'll be reminded of who you are quickly, should you venture too far out of place. Let Tiger Woods fall out of grace and see how long it takes for someone to call him a "n*gger", even though he doesn't claim being Black. The Mexicans and Latino communities are finding that out all too well with the immigration issue, they've got to get to the back of the bus just as the other racial groups living in America. But I digress...Black America, change will have to start from within and we each need to make sure our own backyards are tended to before you look at others. Do your part and uphold the legacy. You owe it, now the time to pay up. Not all are meant to answer the call, but don't act like you don't hear it, either.