As the nation recognizes Black History Month an appropriate question that remains is the one posed by Dr. Martin Luther King in 1967. Where do we go from here?
Black History Month is an integral part of the nation’s calendar celebrated in February to honor the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass not because it is the shortest month as some have joked about. Black History Month by design for some and default for others serves to remind the nation of its failure to live up to its creed, the brilliance of its governing documents and the resilience of the human spirit despite the sinful nature of man. It is also the time when black families in particular must remember to pass down their history. While it can be painful, we cannot depend on external institutions to tell the story. One just has to look at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recent actions.
The black community is not monolithic in its political and philosophical outlook. Nonetheless, while not all African Americans share a family history of chattel slavery, all black people in America share a legacy of brutal oppression stemming from the legacy of slavery which lasted over two centuries.
The response to this reality is where differences occur.
While some blame the vestiges of slavery for the present condition of the black community others particularly conservatives believe the community itself is the progenitor of much of its present condition.
While the former has more historical evidence on its side there is reason to believe that both beliefs have salience.
Suffering is a huge part of human history and no people’s history has escaped that reality. While communities may differ in their specific circumstances the central theme of suffering and oppression is a constant throughout world history. What makes the American black community unique is not simply its history of oppression but their story of victory and resilience despite the challenges it encountered whether legal, social, or economic. There is no questioning of the brutality rendered by the white establishment in America. Nonetheless, the black community is a beacon for other oppressed communities because of its consistent resilience.
Dejure discrimination is over. The civil rights movement at great cost and loss was victorious in its fight against legal discrimination. The challenge that remains however, is defacto discrimination which has been socialized into the body politic. Whether it’s where real estate agents show houses to black couples versus a white couple, responses by police when they see black males, reaction of employers who didn’t realize that the interviewee is a person of color or how various media outlets depict black people, this aspect of discrimination is difficult to overcome because it is ingrained into the social fabric.
Great progress has been achieved but the question remains as to what needs to happen now to achieve greater progress.
There is one item which should be immediately addressed. Conservative commentators along with some on the left have a tendency to complain about so-called identity politics. It should be noted that black people did not create identity politics. This was created by the dominant community as a way of disparaging the talents and skills of the black community to protect their position of superiority. One of the ways the dominant community used identity politics against the black community is through the idea of Black on black crime. While crime in the community should not be down-played, intra-race crime is prevalent across the board but is emphasized in the black community to continue the narrative about the criminality of black people. Identity politics was created as a negative but the African American community was bold and smart enough to take what the dominant culture meant as a negative and turned it into a positive. To paraphrase the book of Genesis “you meant it for evil but God used it for good.”
There is no doubt that many of the present maladies of the black community is in no small part a consequence of historical oppression. It is also true that as individuals people make their own choices for which there are consequences whether negative or positive. Nonetheless, black people were systematically denied access to industries and careers that could have led to generational wealth or had their communities such as Black Wall Street or Rosewood torn asunder. Even in places such as New York and across the nation in what James Weldon Johnson called the Red Summer, whites rioted against blacks to prevent them from getting jobs. There is no doubt that if the United States had lived up to its creed of democracy instead of an Aristotelian notion of governance it is quite logical to conclude that the black community as a whole would be much better off and the idea of race relations would not be the sore point it is today.
The path forward for the black community must continue to be a combination of internal and external strategies.
One place to start is the consistent narrative of the black community which too often centers on criminality, poverty and miseducation. While all of these maladies are present in every community regardless of ethnicity, too often they are attributed to the black community. This highlighting of deficiencies makes the idea of black success and excellence seem like an exception to the rule. This narrative while it has improved is reinforced through popular culture and media. While deficiencies should not be overlooked it should not be the overriding descriptive narrative. It is imperative that the black community seek greater control over its narrative and how it is portrayed through the culture in its various forms. While in popular culture the days of Amos and Andy, Stepin Fetchit or Willie Best are long gone, there is still a tendency to depict blacks in ways more palatable to the dominant culture rather than as holistic human beings. While it can be rightly said that African Americans do not control the structures which convey the narrative, it is also true that the black community can and at times does influence media output. Media is a huge part of how a narrative is transmitted to the broader culture in which all groups must operate and the black image can be a touchy subject even internally. Hollywood in particular has floated all types of black images from Butterfly McQueen, Mantan Moreland to Sidney Poitier, Viola Davis and Denzel Washington. Nonetheless all have received criticism from various members of the black intelligentsia. Even the Cosby show which depicted an upper middle class black family was criticized by some as ignoring issues of racial tensions. Nonetheless, despite the superfluous nature of some critique, great care must be given to how blacks are portrayed. There must also be a push to make sure that the only time black voices are heard is not only when a case of police misconduct occurs. Narratives have consequences economically, politically, educationally and even when it comes to safety and health. The narrative of the black community must not simply be that of an oppressed community but must be carefully constructed since it sends a message not only to the broader community but to it’s progeny as well. While the story must be told, the message sent to its progeny must be one of a people of resilience, achievement and excellence.
Second there must be a cohesive strategy in dealing with the social disparities whether income, wealth, health or education. When it comes to education, the recent lawsuit filed against the Baltimore school system, which was joined by civil rights attorney Ben Crump and conservative Armstrong Williams, may be a model of holding school systems accountable for their failure of the communities children. There is ample evidence both empirical and anecdotal about the importance of an effective educational system but in too many cases structures such as school boards have devolved into political battlefields with people vying for power rather than the good of the community. This is a case where a large part of accountability will have to come from the community itself. While charter schools are constantly lifted up as a success, especially by black conservatives, the reality is when you compare a charter school to a comparable public school, studies have shown virtually no difference. Nonetheless, charter schools should be part of the discussion when looking to improve the quality of education. The more important aspect however is that parents must use their political agency to hold those institutions accountable for the education of their children. School boards must cease to be a launching pad for political careers. While parents must have positions of power on boards because of their vested interests, school boards should also have a preponderance of educational experts as members as well.
When it comes to wealth disparity the idea of reparations has a definite moral foundation as well as an historical precedent and should be seriously considered. The notion of 40 acres and a mule is rooted in a meeting when Secretary of War Edward Stanton told General William T. Sherman to ask twenty black pastors “What do you want for your people.” This January 12th 1865 meeting resulted in the pastors asking for land which led to Field Order 15 which would have reserved 400,000 acres of confederate land. When distributed it would have resulted into 40 acres per family. Unfortunately when President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, the new President Andrew Johnson rescinded the order. There is recent precedence for reparations. The Reagan administration paid reparations to Asian families who were sent to internment camps during World War II. In Rosewood Florida, Governor Lawton Chiles signed a bill that paid $150000 to those who could prove they owned land in Rosewood in 1923 during the time it was decimated by white terrorists. The bill also set up a college fund for descendants of those who lost land during that massacre. While it may be a logistical quagmire, the role of reparations should not be dismissed outright with the oft used rationale by whites “I didn’t discriminate against anyone.” While reparations is an external solution to the issue of wealth disparity, it must also be addressed from a generational perspective. How wealth is taught both at home and through community institutions such as the local congregation must be part of the solution to decreasing the wealth gap. In fact it can be argued that part of the educational curriculum should include financial literacy.
Third there must be a broadening of knowledge, passion and perspective about issues that are seemingly not directly about the black community. Dr. King said “we are all caught up in a network of mutuality…whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.” There is no doubt that police brutality is an issue that directly affects the black community. The recent death of Tyre Nichols rightly stirs up passion and draws upon the energy of the black community to seek redress for his murder. Other issues must stir up passion as their affect while not immediate has a gradual impact on the community’s quality of life. From climate change, the role of social media platforms, inflation, electric vehicles, terrorism, the stock market, America’s role in Europe, South and Central America, Africa, to Russian aggression, all issues affect the black community. This is not to diminish the importance of issues such as police brutality but like all communities its interests must be holistic and broad.
Fourth the black community is in a unique position to create and lead new political alliances. While the African American community is not the largest minority community or fastest growing community it’s history as it pertains to oppression and resistance is the predominant story in American history. As diversity becomes more prevalent, other communities will bring their stories of oppression and discrimination as well as their political agendas to the public square. Whether Asian, Jewish, LGBTQ or Hispanic there will be a need for new political alignments. The black community is in a unique position to create a new political reality. The absence of these new political realities will result in competition amongst these communities which will result in a status quo politics which benefits the dominant culture for scant resources by these various communities.
Fifth it should be clear by now that the black vote is a feared commodity by those on the right. Why else would people go to such great lengths to make voting harder in communities of color. The black vote usually stands at 52%. Quite frankly that is not good,enough. While protest is a quintessential component of civil society it is the vote that enables communities to ultimately affect change. While the work done by Stacey Abrams and others is a model for voter turnout campaigns around the country voting must also be explained in a way that goes beyond the presidential race. There is a tendency for people to say voting doesn’t matter. This mode of thinking stems either from ignorance or sometimes sheer laziness. Voting is done for three reasons. One is to gain something that’s on your political agenda. Second, it’s to maintain the progress that was already achieved. Third is to prevent something negative from happening. The recent Dobbs decision by the Supreme Court reversing a woman’s right to choose is a direct result of voting. Those who stayed home in 2016 effectively enabled a man to appoint three Supreme Court justices who virtually lied about their belief in stare decisis and subsequently overturned Row V. Wade. It has also led to Justice Clarence Thomas saying that it’s time to revisit Supreme Court decisions upholding, marriage, equality, as well as affirmative action. Voting matters.
Black History month provides the nation in general and the black community in particular to reflect upon its progress as well as the work that still needs to be done. It reminds the black community that despite challenges its history of resistance and resilience there is nothing that can prevent the community. It reminds the younger generation that if their ancestors survived what they encountered there is no reason not to achieve even greater things. In Haggai 2:9 it says “the latter glory of this house will be greater than the former.” With the spirit passed down this generation can leave an even greater legacy than those before it.