Monday, May 5, 2008

God Damn The Black Community

AAPP: H/T Brother Peace Maker - Check out afrospear member Brother Peace Maker's most recent post of the Afrospear's blog. He has a lot to say about the Rev. Wright situation and what black folks should be saying and doing. He has an interesting perspective that needs to be part of the conversation. Check out his post:

God Damn The Black Community

“God helps those who help themselves!” – Benjamin Franklin

Reverend Jeremiah Wright is in the news again and is said to be a distraction to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, by far his most famous former parishioner. Reverend Wright has spent the last week or so giving his side of the story. Mr. Wright feels that he has been personally attacked and also feels that the institution of the black church has been attacked by the dominant American culture. He’s been referred to as a kook and described as trying to knee cap Mr. Obama’s presidential bid. Mr. Obama tried to minimize his relationship with his former pastor. But when that didn’t put the issue to rest, Mr. Wright conveniently comes back on the scene to give Mr. Obama a second chance to sever the relationship cleanly in the public’s eye.

The overwhelming majority of America never knew Mr. Wright prior to the networks airing of the infamous recording of Mr. Wright saying that god should be damning America instead of blessing America. People refer to Mr. Wright as a blatant racist although he never once said white people were the problem. Mr. Wright said black and white people are different with neither one being better than the other. But this is too racist a concept for most. White and black people are actually saying that Jeremiah Wright is the problem. No one of any prominence has given Mr. Wright any understanding or support, with the possible exception of Bill Moyers when he hosted Mr. Wright on his PBS show Bill Moyers Journal and allowed the former pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ to defend himself without adding fuel to the fire of controversy. Mr. Moyers doesn’t have a political agenda to push so it is no surprise that he isn’t condemning Mr. Wright the way that the typical network pundit would.

But nevertheless, for the most part, when it comes to the black community, Mr. Wright is standing alone. Other than Mr. Moyers, I have yet to see any high profile support. Where are the leaders of the black community? Where are the people who claim to the welfare of the black community a top priority? It is a given that white people would want take the five or ten minutes of Mr. Wright’s sermons that have captured America’s attention. When Mr. Wright says god should damn America white people take this personally for America is white America. America is baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet. America is the corporate environment where white people rule the upper management, white people make up the vast majority of middle workers, and black people make up the bottom rung of the corporate ladder in janitorial services and the mailroom. To say America is messing up is to say that white people are messing up since they are the ones in control of 98% of America’s institutions. And these corporate institutions are using their resources to pick Mr. Wright apart and make him an example of what happens when you bad mouth America.

And with an election coming, and with the chance that a black man could actually obtain the highest office in America’s land, America will push with all of its corrupt corporate capitalist might to find anything and emphasize anything to keep Mr. Obama from obtaining the title of President of the United States. It is truly understandable why the dominant community would work so hard to keep the status quo of white only from being broken. Black man might become president and try do something positive for the black community. White America just can’t take that chance. So I can understand why the Tucker Carlsons and Sean Hanitys and Pat Buchanans of the world to persecute Mr. Wright, and therefore Mr. Obama by association. These are the type of people who would be content to see the despair of the black community continue without end. But where are the people who say that they have a vested interest in the uplift of the black community?

Where are the people who are more likely to defend Mr. Wright? Barack Obama tried to distance himself from Mr. Wright without outright rejecting him and it nearly cost him his lead in the presidential nomination race. There is too much to lose. So regardless of what Mr. Obama says to the contrary it is relatively easy to see how his highly visible divorce from Mr. Wright can be considered politically advantageous. So it doesn’t take much of a brain to see that there will be no comfort there. Where are the other high profile blacks who sit in black churches on a weekly basis and can relate to what Mr. Wright says about being black in America? Are we in the black community are supposed to believe that Jeremiah Wright is a lone exception with a totally unique perspective of the relationship between America and what she has done for and what she has done to the black community? Are we to believe that no other black high profile black celebrity has any idea what he is referring to? Comment and Read More HERE



3 comments:

Enoch Mubarak said...

Young African Americans are looking in the wrong direction.

Many of the more vocal civil rights era black leaders have succumb to old age, poor vision and bad health.

Intellectual rights have replaced civil rights and the sun has set on their activism.

They high profile black leaders you speak of abdicated freedom and independence in exchange for promises, special privileges and civil rights.

The Voting Rights Act was one of the civil rights our forefathers, grandfathers and fathers marched, fought, or were imprisoned and died for.

The last official act of the civil right era black leaders was to live and fight long enough to see The European players symbolically extended the Voting Rights Act before the N.A.A.C.P in 2006.

21ST CENTURY
The current condition and situation we are in at this very moment can’t be blamed on the remaining living black leadership from that era.

The remaining living black leadership from the civil rights era has retained your privilege to vote for over 25 years.

They did their part.Let them rest in peace.

TAKE YOUR TURN
Take your turn because cowards die many deaths.Young educated African American readers, writers and producers stop hiding from your responsibilities.

Step up to the plate. Take your turn. Stop looking for the senior citizens to save the day.

I pray that you young, strong, educated African American leaders won’t be like the coward black men of Rosewood that would hide in the forest until Obama wins and then run out of the forest looking to have your say and to ride on the presidential freedom train.

GATHER YOUR INTELLIGENCE AND COURAGE.
It is incumbent you to collectively gather your intelligence to establish an industry, technology or infrastructure to replace the symbolic voting rights gesture and the dead civil rights agenda.

In the 21st century when the Voting Rights Act is taken away with nothing to take its place, it shall be the failed legacy of 21st century black leadership. The young black leadership of the 21st century has the sole responsibility to create and establish for us a new legacy of inclusion.

The 21st century black leadership consists of young black educated African American readers, writers and producers. The young black educated African American readers, writers and producers are the ones with the responsibility to create for us a new legacy of 21st century inclusion.

Young educated African Americans should not be attempting to build on what the black civil rights leadership negotiated 25 years ago. The civil rights agenda was right for their time in history. The civil rights agenda is their victory and legacy.

DEFINED INTELLIGENCE
Defined intelligence suggests that the N.A.A.C.P. should be renamed and become “in fact” the B.R.S.C.C. (Black Race Strategic Command Center For Defined Intelligence.) for the 21st century.

UNDERCOVER SMART
Young black African American writers and producers stop accusing the European players of not aiding and abetting our survival because without intent, that is exactly what they are doing.

Undefined intelligence prevents you from seeing that the European players without intent are helping us by challenging the Arab players in Iraq.

The European players are challenging the Arab players that otherwise would be insurgents in Sudan.

Young bright educated African Americans should be grateful for the assistance from the European players.

In technological terms the European players without intent dropped us off on high tech ground.

African Americans are the most advanced Africans on the game board. Thanks to the European players’ technology, infrastructure, and industry you have a unbridled opportunity to compete in the 21st century.

Instead of complaining about white America you should thanking them for bringing us this far.

Enoch Mubarak
Mubarak Inter-prizes

darylandmelanie said...

An opportunity has presented itself with the fortune of Mr. Obama. It would be disappointing if the opportunity were not capitalized on.

Anonymous said...

Most of us old folks are savvy enough to realize how the media is trying to manipulate the public using the Reverend Wright as bait. Most of us old folks are savvy enough to not take the bait. We understand what Reverend Wright meant because we lived and grew up in the same turbulent times and we have intimate knowledge of what he speaks. We also took a moment to read his entire sermon in context, which was another reason not to take the bait. Because we have an intimate understanding of Reverend Wright's words and their true context, we can engage in conversations with people-Black, White, "Indifferent"- about what he said and not succumb to the fear-mongering within that exchange. We always remind people that we view history from at least two sides. The view from my side includes slavery, the Trail of Tears, Jim Crow, segregation, and the Japanese internment, among other things. The view from the other side many times wants to minimize or overlook those events. But my conversation reminds them that you cannot have meaningful dialogue without foundational understanding of the lasting impact of those events, and you cannot make a viable plan to move forward without first making a true assessment of where you are and how you got there.