What #Justice4All and #blacklivesmatters means is simply too important to be thewarted by intergenerational conflict. Yesterday in DC, tensions rose as many of the original protestors from Ferguson clashed with the NAN organizers of the march. There were many who felt that young activists should have been given more time to speak. Rumors that @Nettaaaaaaaaas mic was cut off. Ruffled feathers because organizers felt that the young activists were disrespectful in their words. Outrage because organizers had created a VIP section with limited access. This is sensitive, and, I suspect will not likely be popular but some of my early thoughts: Everybody--on both sides--needs to check their egos. Hard. Easier said than done, but with whats at stake, there is too much to see this movement torn apart because of it. To the older, more seasoned folks: there is a place for us all at the table. Our strategies which once won us victories decades ago are in a serious need of an upgrade and stand to benefit from the energy and innovation that younger voices give. You will not be here forever and while your efforts of yesterday are appreciated, they will be for naught if there is not a greater effort toward inclusion and to cultivate opportunities for cohesion. The table is big enough for us all to have a seat. You will gain more respect by opening the door than resisting the change. Stifling those voices, or, appearing to, only furthers the notion that you are out of touch and self-interested. Passing the torch and working together are hardly mutually exclusive. You can pass the mic without having to leave the stage. We are on the same team, even if we transition roles. To the younger, fresher activists: while you may have jump started a newer movement fresh off of the passion you may feel and your admirable desire for change, you did not START this movement. #blacklivesmatter is as much about Michael Brown as it is Emmitt Till, Medgar Evers, Sean Bell, and countless others. That is a history that has to be respected and the entitlement displayed is as much a barrier to the growth of the movement as is resistance you may feel from your elders. Paying dues is a real concept and you all are not the first generation to feel the frustrations of having to do so. Responding with disrespect solves nothing. At the end of the day, NAN called for a march and you elected to attend and to participate. If you didnt organize this demonstration, it is poor form to publicly admonish the efforts of those who did because you disagreed. What you may not realize is there are many who have sacrificed more than you know and subjected themselves, their families, and loved ones to criticisms and sacrifices that many others (yes, even some of you) would not and have not. Think of it what you may, coordinating yesterdays march was no small feat and thus you should avoid hasty precocious and impetuous castigatiny of the organizers and the agenda they set. The infighting hurts more than it helps. The caveat here, of course, is that as F. Douglass so famously noted once, true power concedes nothing with out a demand. If you dont like the way that march was organized...create your own, run it as you see fit, and there wont be any beef here. I just ask that in having more of your own that you remain open to the advice and guidance of elders willing to offer it. People will respect that there is a place for youth in this movement. A big place. But, they will only do so after you make them respect that. And dogging Al or Jesse, for whatever you may think of them, isnt the way to garner that respect. Im sure Ill have more thoughts. But this is all for now. Lets learn from yesterday that we can all be better. This is simply too important for both sides not to get this right.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 20:11:16 +0000
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