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Mr. Kenyada's Neighborhood presents |
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Dialog in Black:
In the wee hours of the morning, two African American males - a 22-year old and a 52-year old - sit down for a chat across the kitchen table known as The Internet. Umoja: Why is
young Black Rage and Anger so hard to understand for our elders? Kenyada,
I found myself meditating on two of your archived articles (1. Tupac & 2.
Khallid Muhammad)...and I just feel lead to talk about them. I understand
your responses (and I feel ya)
But I also know what it's like to be the militant
on campus...the "bringer of hate/anger"....I'm a recent college Grad, 22
years of age (probably real close to your son’s age)...and I, my fiancé',
and our 2 best friends were the BSU officers.
In those posts we faced so much from so
many....B/C we didn't want the few Black Students on Campus tap dancing
for the masses, whites were mad... Our goal was simply Black Love First...when we
arrived on campus with just a hundred black people...there was no black
unity, nor black studies program...even sisters and brothers weren't
talking...my fiancé and I were the first black couple...
And as I grew in that relationship, and knowledge
of history...I understood that I had a reason to be mad...b/c so many of
us had been tricked...and therefore had become complacent...many of my
classmates hated themselves and hated me for trying to inform them...they
were afraid to say to white people what needed to be said...they did not
want to be thought of as Black (rather earthlings)...I had a
responsibility to speak when no one would or could...to act when no one
would...to write when no one would...to raise hell and fight when no one
would...It wasn't a responsibility to them, but it was a responsibility to
my ancestors and to my God to liberate myself and others from
oppression...to appreciate myself...to love myself and others like
me...and to never forget that It wasn't just Martin but Malcolm too...that
It wasn't just McLeod but Davis too...that It wasn't just Booker but David
Walker too...
I think that sometimes we assuage the anger of
youth by not saying, "Yes you have the right to be angry...you deserve
it...lets try and fix the problems without taking less then we deserve."
I think young Black Militancy can be
informed, educated and articulate given the right opportunity and
environment...it doesn't mean that people won't compromise...rather, they
are not going to be walked upon
Kenyada: Some
younger people (not you) talk about Black Rage as if it's something that
they invented. Do you not believe that there was rage in Dr. King? Hell
yes there was! There was black rage even in the actor who played Stepn
Fetchit, believe it or not.
However the rage that we see exhibited by many of
today's youth, centers on empty rhetoric and profiling. And often it is a
rage that turns on blacks. In other words, it is self-destructive. When
Khalid Muhammed incites a crowd of youth to riot against heavily armed NYC
police, is that constructive ...or suicidal? Black folks don't need
anymore martyrs, real or imagined. We need to take that rage and channel
it in a positive direction. All that is important is that we live together
in peace. That should be the goal. I support "Black Militancy" only when
it is about more than empty anger. Black Militancy without commitment is
...a facade. Black Militancy without an education of one's history is
...stage acting.
What we found in the 60s was that there was a
hard-core political activism that was community-based and committed to
change. When they run movies and documentaries about the Black Panthers,
for example, they show you the anger and the guns and the rhetoric. But I
was around when it was about setting up neighborhood schools, and feeding
the kids breakfast and lunch. Yes, they were full of rage, but they fed
off of that rage to get the energy to do what needed to be done in the
community.
That's where I'm coming from; that's where the
seeds for MKN and PCs to the People were planted. That's also why I have
no time or patience for "angry" young people who can only talk about
"revolution" when they've got a joint dangling from their lips....or the
appropriate rap music lyric in the background. REAL commitment is
sobering; real constructive rage is not a sometimes thang; it's 24/7 ...liiiiive!!
I applaud young people who are out there "doing
it", working in the community on a small scale; anonymous, but dedicated.
I understand your sentiments and the "fire" you brought to your campus.
But let me pass on a little of what I've learned, even at my advancing
years, from working in the community. You can't be angry for someone else,
anyone else. You can't spread your rage around with the hope of enraging
others. All you can effectively do is to state your case - clearly and
succinctly. Some will get it, some will not. Work with those who "get it."
They will usually bring something of their own to the table, and together
you may capture the imagination of others who get it. Bottom line ...work
with those who get it, even if you know that it will benefit many of those
who don't.
Every great man and woman of color
understood that. And it's up to the rest of us to work with each other for
the betterment of *both* of our races - African and Human. Umoja:
I agree with that philosophy. It is important to work...and I guess it's
true that I've forgotten that even my elders are angry. I realize that you
have a right to be angry too.
Although, so many times I find my elders acting
out of complacency (not to say that my generation is any better).
I know that anger should begat community
involvement. Especially for the young (which have historically been the
conspirators of change)...but how?.. and where?... and with what money?..
Remember the article in Newsweek...about the guy
who had two kids, a wife, and a low paying job but, who was committed to
the community...Although, his actions are applauded many of my sisters &
brothers (my age) don't want to be caught in that low income rut for the
sake of helping the community...I know that our generation has been
engrained with a hedonistic philosophy...but I know that many of us are
educated and aware of the problems at hand...
But how do we balance that with our monetary
needs?
Take for instance Atlanta, where does one get a
job working for the community where he/she can make enough money to
support a car, home, and school loans? I haven't found one yet!!!!
Many of us want to do something, but we don't know
how...and we don't know the means...
I think, when we think about it, we are amazed at
the 50's-70's...because we can't really imagine what happened...and many
of our parents don't want to talk about it because of the mental, physical
and emotional trauma.
I don't think we really have the tools to mobilize
and act...Society has changed so drastically...and unfortunately our
leaders have not, and our methods haven't either...so many of them (the
methods) make us nostalgic for a period we really don't understand...
In essence, I'm just trying to say...yes you are
right...but what do we do now...that's the answer I'm looking for
What do we do to empower and activate the soapbox
rhetoric we articulate?
Peace and Blessings
Kenyada: Everything must change …
The ways in which we deal with our adversaries; It's interesting that you mention that our methods
ands leaders have not changed. That's one of my pet peeves; we're still
marchin' and singin' while groups like the Southeastern Legal Foundation
have given white racism an element of sophistication and respectability.
There are no more dogs and fire hoses. Instead we are confronted by court
challenges to affirmative action programs. These groups are well-funded,
well-organized, well-connected. They are using the Internet, while we are
using word-of-mouth. They are inside the courtroom using the justice
system, while our leaders are *outside* the courtroom leading marches,
holding hands, singing.
Everything must change.....
I would suggest that young people first secure a
good education and pursue a career of their choice. You can't help anyone
until you secure your own "footing". I'm an engineer, and it's a job that
I *love*. It's my passion, and I'm lucky enough to get paid to do it. In
addition to that, however, there is a need to help others. All through my
career, I've tried in some small way to help younger people succeed in the
engineering profession. I didn't try to change the world, as we know it, I
just worked one-on-one, to do what I was capable of doing. Often young
people want to paint the community activism portrait in broad-brush
strokes, when small detail work is better accomplished.
In the beginning of MKN, I caught some flak for
narrowing our focus on two major issues, computer literacy and teen
pregnancy prevention. People wanted us to do "everything", everywhere …for
everyone. Whites said we were too exclusively pro-black in our focus. Some
young blacks felt that the MKN concept should be "franchised" around the
country instead of just within the boundaries of a small part of metro
Atlanta. But I felt if we were to have any real, measurable success, we
would have to concentrate our efforts right here in our own backyard
....first. We didn't want to change the world; we wanted to show the world
how to change itself.
Another important lesson I've learned is that no
matter how well intentioned your motives are, you cannot do it alone, and
you shouldn't have to. Find a forum of like minds, and divide the
responsibilities. Otherwise you will suffer "burnout' early on. It is
possible to be selfless, without being self-sacrificing.
Peace
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