Unrelated Update (3/11): Very nice, although the last sentence should be attributed to John McCain. You may have to register to see it.
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In its effort to “reach out” to black voters, the Republican National Committee has formed the African-American (Ed. note: Ugh!) Advisory Committee:
In another sign of its determination to win over black voters, the Republican National Committee announced on Thursday that it has formed an African-American Advisory Committee.RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman said the committee will bring together “respected community leaders” who will meet monthly with RNC leaders — to “provide a sounding board” for Republican outreach efforts. (Source)
Why not say “respected citizens in the community?” Who is advising George Bush? The last thing America needs are more “black leaders” of any political affiliation. I should call the RNC and chide them for making what I call a DNC-like move. The very idea of so-called black leadership conjures up unpleasant images of a horde of newly freed, mostly illiterate and helpless slaves fresh off the plantation looking for direction. These folks needed someone to guide them through the process of claiming full citizenship rights in a hostile, war-torn country.
But this is 2005. Why do blacks specifically need to be led by another propped-up black claiming to speak for all? Are we children? Perpetual followers? Perhaps my independent and prideful streaks blind me to the concept. I deeply resent the implication that I need a “black leader” for any reason. Am I the only black person bothered by this? Then again, some blacks may need/want leaders. What do I know?
Maybe it’s just semantics. Replace leader with a different, less patronizing word, and I’d probably keep my mouth shut. Maybe. Before my eyes, political lines are blurring.
The following op-ed is one of my early efforts at self-expression. If you like it, by all means say so. If not, you can say that, too.
I suppose.
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No More Leaders! (December 2003)
Like voices in the wilderness, a group of black businessmen and clergy — who call themselves Voices of Morality — spoke out against Jesse Jackson for his self-appointed, self-interested leadership style.
Protesting last week at his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition headquarters in Chicago, the group contended that Jackson has taken advantage of his “leadership” position in black America. One problem the group has with Jackson is his pattern of “shaking down” businesses with threatened boycotts if they refuse to give in to his “suggestions” about who they will or will not hire. The boycotts usually end up financially benefiting Jackson’s family and friends. (See Shakedown)
“Jesse Jackson has passed himself off as a leader of African Americans,” said group member Reverend Lance Davis. “[He] is not a leader, and he is not a role model, yet he has been represented as one by the media and by himself and his supporters.”
Invigorating. A group of blacks criticizing a “black leader.” In public.
This striking image of non-white, non-Republicans publicly speaking out against Jackson is refreshing. Such censure typically occurs only behind closed doors. Openly doing so is tantamount to “airing dirty laundry” — an act still seen as traitorous in certain segments of the black community.
As expected, Jackson accused the protestors of being “politically motivated.” Really? It’s like the pot calling the kettle…well, you get the point.
Blacks claiming to speak for all are the first to accuse black conservatives of being pawns for the white man and ignorant of black history. But it’s the so-called leaders who are ignorant of the history of struggle and the virtues that enabled blacks to prosper in the first place.
Historically, the guidance of dedicated leaders was a matter of survival. Strong, focused leadership was essential to the progress of a people newly freed from the ravages of human bondage. In the post-Reconstruction era, the condition of former slaves declined rapidly. As the federal government withdrew protection from the south, “states rights” proponents sealed the fate of blacks with Jim Crow legislation. The uneducated, illiterate masses needed direction.
In 1895, Booker T. Washington proposed his famous (or infamous) “Atlanta Compromise.” He believed blacks would be better off training themselves in the ways of industry and economics, while temporarily forgoing the fight for political rights — a startling idea to our twenty-first century minds. Around 1903, W.E.B. Du Bois, an early supporter of Washington, became disillusioned with this approach and offered a radical alternative: In addition to studying the arts and humanities, blacks must fight to gain full citizenship rights. Forty years later, Martin Luther King, Jr. organized the oppressed masses and decisively forced white America to submit to the U.S. Constitution they claimed to honor and confer equal justice under the law to all citizens. These leaders knew that attaining education and equal opportunity — not to be confused with equal outcome — were the keys to uplifting a race subjugated by laws designed to “keep them in their place.”
But the era of dignified black leadership is over.
What’s important to leaders today? Corporate kickbacks, television airtime, grievance shopping, class envy, racial pandering and intimidation. So much for dignity. Today’s self-appointed leaders are superfluous and divisive.
But there is light at the end of the tunnel.
According to a recent survey conducted by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, Jackson’s approval rating among the black population since 2000 has declined significantly. In 2000, his favorable rating among blacks was 83 percent; in 2002, it’s just 59.5 percent. It’s still a majority, but very encouraging.
A growing number of younger blacks express greater dissatisfaction with the failing public school system and are more supportive of school vouchers, as are 60 percent of black parents. A rising percentage identify themselves as Independent, and are less inclined to view the race relations debate in terms of blacks as victims and whites as oppressors. No longer will they listen to so-called leaders who tell them they can’t make it in America without handouts from the federal government.
If the white media — liberal or conservative — care at all about black Americans, it must stop referring to these loud, headline-grabbing, media hounds as “black leaders” and castigating other blacks for speaking out against them.
Free-thinking, un-oppressed, enterprising black Americans don’t need to be led anywhere. Racial problems exist, but self-seeking, post-Civil Rights leaders represent only themselves and their special interest groups.
It’s time to leave the Follow-the-Leader game on the playground where it belongs.
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