Hobbs’ Monday Musings: “Where do we go from here?” “I - TopicsExpress

Hobbs’ Monday Musings: “Where do we go from here?” “I was never more hated than when I tried to be honest. Or when, even as just now Ive tried to articulate exactly what I felt to be the truth. No one was satisfied” ― Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man Across America yesterday, a number of churchgoers attended services wearing all black in an impromptu show of solidarity in support of protests of police killings across America. Separately but similarly, thousands of Facebook users, including Ol’ Hobbs, blacked out their profile pics and took a vow of 24-hours’ worth of silence in commemoration of the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tahir Rice and countless other thousands of blacks killed by vigilante justice, the police and yes, by other young blacks. I strongly believe that symbolic gestures are important. Throughout history, whether it was the Uncle Sam “I Want You” posters of the World War I era which prompted many millions of Americans to enthusiastically join the armed forces, or the “Buy Savings Bonds,” “Loose Lips Sink Ships” or materials conservation campaigns of the 1940s where even those Americans who were not serving in the armed forces during World War II were able to do their parts to help with the war effort, one would be remiss to summarily dismiss symbolic gestures. If nothing else, yesterday’s acts show solidarity, a phrase that is often bandied about by Black Americans but one that has been elusive since the end of the 1960’s. But the question that begs asking is, with this newly found solidarity, what will we collectively do with it to foster meaningful and lasting change? Before answering that question, it is important to note that the solidarity that existed among Black Americans prior to the end of the ‘60’s was due in large measure because of Jim Crow. You see, there was something about being forbidden by law from enjoying the fruits of liberty throughout much of the US that compelled black folks to either march and protest for change alongside the NAACP, CORE, SCLC, SNCC and other groups fighting for civil rights, or if not actively expressing passive resistance through civil disobedience, encouraging and supporting such efforts in many ways. Today, there are myriad issues that prevent widespread, disciplined and sustained action for positive change and quite frankly, part of it stems from the fact that integration---or the illusion of integration--- has made far too many folks born from 1961 to 1980---which is my generation---far too comfortable with the idea that individualism trumps the collective. Some of us were raised by parents who endured Jim Crow but as their prospects of career success improved, one of the first things they did was move out of the ‘hood and enrolled many of us in the “best” public and private schools that money could buy. But in the south, in particular, if you ever take a look at the dates within which most private schools still in existence were started, you will see “established in 196x.” Meaning, most of these schools were established in open rebellion to the dictates of the Brown vs. Board of Education decision that mandated desegregation “with all deliberate speed.” Still, such establishment did not stop and still does not stop many affluent black parents from enrolling their kids at this or that Christian or preparatory academy, but what often happened was for many of us whose educational peregrination included such academies, there was still racism and more than anything, a feeling of being cut off from the masses. Sub-consciously, for some of this ilk, while they may have excelled academically within some of these schools, the notion of “us” was lost because, get this, some were so proud to say they attended Choate, Exeter, Maclay and the like that they forgot to understand that yes, you are still black and no different than the black masses. Public schools in many cities were no better: whether it was forced busing that started riots or social engineering that placed certain housing projects and rural enclaves into the zones for well-heeled public schools so that the athletics programs would not suffer, well, for many of my generation, they may have attended a public (and nominally integrated) high school, but when you peruse their yearbooks, memory books and pictures, you see that many were STILL segregated even within an integrated enclave. There were the black extracurricular groups, the black tables in the lunchroom and on the yard, and at most sporting events, blacks and whites cheered for the same team albeit in self-imposed separate sections. The same for our generation held true for many blacks who attended public and private predominantly white colleges. Read, for reference, First Lady Michelle Obama’s senior thesis from Princeton to see just what I describe herein, a reality in which integration was but a word and racism still was prevalent albeit more insidious. And so it remains to this very day, thus the “wake-up” call for some who even if they did not think that “post-racial” was real, still never thought that violence against black men---and the apathy if not outright support in some quarters among non-blacks, would be so pronounced. Still, some of us never slept, but until now, perhaps we did not have the outside forces like Jim Crow or this instance, proof that black lives do not matter to some, to serve as the rallying point for change. So where do we go from here? A few suggestions: 1. Know that federal civil rights charges are typically unlikely in most vigilante or officer involved cases because the need to prove racial animus is difficult and depending upon who the Attorney General is, untenable. Do not expect federal indictments for Officer Darren Wilson for killing Mike Brown. It won’t happen. But it is possible that federal indictments may occur in the Garner and Rice cases for violating those two individuals’ civil rights. Why? Because the acts of the two arguably did not rise to a level of conduct that inures officers with the typical “officer safety” argument; 2. “Power doesnt have to show off. Power is confident, self-assuring, self-starting and self-stopping, self-warming and self-justifying. When you have it, you know it.” ― Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man Each of us must organize on a local level. Ever notice how the Tea Party morphed from a smattering of protests into political action that to this day impacts the GOP? Such occurred because folks took their momentary anger and turned it into focused political action on a local level. The same must occur now and in cities and towns across America, concerned blacks should be meeting with local government officials about their concerns with police brutality and when the meetings are not to the group’s liking, preparing to run a slate of candidates to challenge the incumbents. Further, we must develop political action committees and start raising money to support candidates whose world views are similar to yours; 3. Mentoring. If you already mentor, kudos. If you do not, now is as good a time as any to impact a young black boy or girl who may not know how to conduct themselves when encountered by vigilantes or the police. We also must keep it real with mentees, too, to let them know how we were able to obtain success sans lives of crime in hopes that they, too, will emulate our behavior.