Leaderboard

Over the years there have been many conversations on this forum about how Black people should pool our resources, support our businesses, and control our destiny. In the past, civil right organizations lead the charge in organizing successful boycotts and getting important legislation passed. Today these organizations are a shell of what they once were -- toothless. Social media is seen by many as the modern way to mobilize Black people. I've always lamented the fact that we hitch our wagons to platforms we do not own or control and claim it as a tool to support Black people. This was always a flawed strategy. "Black Twitter" was a recent example of this. I'd go farther and say that the entire social media universe not only does not serve Black people; it is harmful to us. In the past, any organization that has shown a sign effectively mobilizing Black people from the Universal Negro Improvement Association to The Black Panther Party even the Nation of Islam, was actively undermined by our government. Obviously, our current lack of organization is not only a consequence of direct attacks against our organizations, but several hundreds of years of violent and legalized oppression. Today are we completely rudderless as a people? Who, or what organization, could initiate a Montogomery Bus Boycott today? Are we so happy today that a boycott is completely unnecessary? Which organization could do what the NAACP Legal Defense Fund did to win Brown v. Board of Education, or are we happy that "race" can no longer be used to help reverse hundreds of years of being prevented from learning to read, while benefits to white people like legacy admissions continue? If we are happy with the way things are then cool. If we are no satisfied then, who with the power to effect change, leads the Black community in 2023?

I believe black churches used to be the needle that "knitted the fabric of our communities together" which kept us grounded. We had no where else to go. No where else we could be heard, respected, and accepted. Now with the African American community being splintered along socioeconomic lines instead of racial ones, not only is our economic power but our spiritual power as well being diluted. Mr. Brown's take on church leadership is a good point - but it's the easily "visible" point. As an African American minister of the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I've seen first hand over my 20+ years of ministry the apathetic nature of so many men of God. They seem satisfied holding a position of leadership within a congregation. They don't seem desirous to make a difference. They don't seem to care about their social obligations outside of the walls of their sanctuaries (feeding the homeless, justice, education, health, etc.). They like the acclaim of men, the respect of the members, and getting served first at church gatherings. This subtle scenario is, I believe, more devastating overall than the one described by Mr. Brown. These ineffective churches pepper our communities nationwide, leaving those inside wanting for more - and those outside not bothering to enter.

Oops homie.🤣 You're absolutely right about taking actions that actually work. That requires a plan: 1) Identify problem. 2) Come up with a solution. 3) Execute. Of course, that level of discipline goes back to codification.😎

There ProfD goes again stealing my lines.......lol. I was going to say that many other marginalized and oppressed groups DO speak out and complain but they do more than JUST complain. They actually DO something about their mistreatment and use various methods to do so. I personally don't believe that AfroAmericans complain ENOUGH.....and definitely don't DO enough and take enough ACTION to right the wrongs done to our people. And often times, it's not so much the complaining but it's who you complain TO. You have to take your grievances to the proper channels. There was a lady I used to work with who would constantly come to ME complaining about a man who was sexually harassing her. She'd complain to me about him over and over and over again and she'd also complain to other co-workers. But who she DIDN'T complain to was the Human Resources Department or even to the Managers....just other co-workers. Like Neely Fuller Jr. often says, a lot of Black people have a bad habit of picking up what DOESN'T work and focusing in on doing just that. Find out something that clearly DOES NOT WORK.....and dive right into it and do it to death. The sit back complaining about why their condition hasn't improved but has gotten worse.