We gave too much attention to something that didn’t matter today. We gave no love to those who wanted to display the value of urban folklore and the death and mayhem that continues to pass our way. We want to have a red phone like the hot line that makes calls to and from D.C. We want the president and the first lady to dine and socialize with you and me. And yet at best this is not the reality of who we are and where we need collectively to be. The very value of understanding the distance and the disconnect between the president and our agenda, is a matter of cooperative discourse and mutual respect.
The fact that 50 percent of African American students drop out, is a grave and dire matter no doubt. While the sun is on the horizon for so many other ethnicities, we have to identify and solve the problem in our own communities. But we believe it’s as simple as picking up our cell phones and placing a call. We make calls to the law to respond and resolve problems of our own making, without regarding to the rules we are breaking and the hearts which may be aching. We call the preacher when we need help in determining spiritually what we need to do, but we are immobilized and near paralyzed when we are asked to leave the pew and financially follow through. And then we continue to find reasons for not trusting each other and working together to pursue, ideas, dreams and aspirations as members of other cultures do. No we opt to cal each other the ‘N’ word, and you know that’s exactly what we do.
We call our women names and denigrate them all the same, and then look for someone else to blame. The Destruction of the Black Civilization is a book that has already been penned, and we continue to live it and walk that path to the end. We still don’t see ourselves as as society with obligations to the people within, so our collective strength continues to ebb and wear thin. We put the drain on our cultural mainline, and we cut open wide that imaginary nationalistic vein. We wallow in that psychological pain that causes us to hesitate, procrastinate and ultimately refrain.
It is here that personal ambiguity and self-serving bigotry, cloud our minds and muddy the waters of rational thinking. As our conversations conclude we stew and brood and point out the inconsistencies between our actions and our attitudes. So African American companies are not going up for public trading, and even the Wall Street Project with all of its crusading can’t force us to check our assumptions and consider upgrading.
Yes, we built a monument to Martin Luther King, and while we hold hands and stand at the base and sing, there are forces afoot and stirring in the political right wing. Collectively speaking we don’t see ourselves, with the clarity of vision to free and uplift ourselves. We allow that unreal reality TV, to establish and color the perceptions of you and me. That’s right in the blink of an eye, there a commercial break and then another televised lie.
We need each other brothers and sisters, perhaps more than we have ever needed each other before. So for all us who are feeling even remotely empowered, should find away to throw down a ladder or just open the door. We must stand up and show love for our brothers and sisters as we maneuver and navigate the hills and valleys of this land. Remember capitalism has no conscience, but you do. So let us not take advantage of each other, but instead reach out and reach up so that we may all enjoy the view.
Peace.
Munson Steed
