History Reveals Direction for Black Leadership of Today

For most of my lifetime, black leaders promoted a philosophy that relies heavily on two important credos. The first, racism as the source of what ails black folk, has catapulted certain leaders like Minister Louis Farrakhan, Reverend Jesse Jackson and Reverend Al Sharpton to the national stage. The second credo, that the guilt of those directly or indirectly responsible is a profitable enterprise, has subverted the true intent of the Civil Rights Movement in America.


In his recent publication, “White Guilt: How Blacks and Whites Together Destroyed the Promise of the Civil Rights Movement”, author Shelby Steele asserts that a combination of white guilt over racism and black opportunistic leadership came together to dramatically alter the original intent of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950’s and 60’s. It is worth mentioning that my study has led me to conclude that the Civil Rights Movement was not a struggle against racism as much as it was an effort to gain human recognition. Who can forget the signs held by the striking sanitation workers in Memphis 1968, just days before the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.? Those signs said, “I Am a Man”, not a black man, but a man.


Today’s black leadership has drifted far from that proclamation by asserting blackness over humanity. While I am proud of my ethnicity, it does not deserve to be elevated over any other, even in light of past atrocities. The elevation of my humanity before my ethnicity removes the power of the racist in my life. I will not accept poor treatment because as a human, I require better.


It seems that past black leaders like Booker T. Washington understood this concept all too well. Washington, an ex-slave who rose to national prominence in the late nineteenth century, once remarked concerning the future of black people in America, “No greater injury can be done to any youth than to let him feel that because he belongs to this or that race he will be advanced in life regardless of his own merits or efforts.” This statement reveals Washington’s deep belief that the advancement of every human being should be by his or her own determination and effort.


Today’s black leadership seems content to mire the consciousness of America in the victim-guilt pathology. Leaders like Rev. Jackson and Rev. Sharpton make handsome livings by stoking the fire of racial intolerance, identifying the victims and sending a bill to the guilty. This policy of neglecting the glaring social problems that find their genesis within the black community must cease to be the rally cry of black uplift. We must shun leaders who wish to keep us in a state of perpetual victimhood, while they goad the assigned guilty into lining their pockets or assisting in the redistribution of wealth in America.


This doctrine of victimhood even infects those blacks who have worked hard and earned some degree of success in America by enticing them with the carrot of “you would be better off if not for racism”. Recently, I met a person of like ethnicity who appeared to be hardworking and gainfully employed. He remarked to me “the black man’s biggest problem is racism in America today”. When I challenged this assertion by saying that I thought the failure to take advantage of opportunity was a much greater malady, he proceeded to demand that he get what was his by right.


This thinking underscores the fundamental need for new direction in black leadership. Our history teaches that we can gain uplift without creating victims.

Democrats Best at Fear Mongering

The Democratic Party in the United States has for the last several years has accused conservatives of “playing to the fears” of Americans in reference to the Republican stand on the terrorism threat. Democrats say this as if we should not be overly concerned with fundamental zealots whose desire to destroy our way of life is well documented. The Democratic Presidential nominee, Senator Barack Obama, is on record as saying that he would meet with our enemies “without condition”. Recently, Senator Obama has retreated from that stance to say that there would have to be some conditions met before loose cannons like the current President of Iran would get a sit down with Obama.

Perhaps Senator Obama’s change of heart is genuine, but more likely he has been made aware just how dangerous the world in which we live really is. It is not fear mongering to report that we live in a volatile world, with some countries led by unstable leaders and/or governments. To inform people of this is simply being honest. Republicans have been historically bad at drawing this simple distinction in the media.

So who is really better at pandering fear? It is the party that says be afraid of those who tell you that the world is still a dangerous place, that there are still dangerous people in places of great power, who want to commit violent acts in order to destroy your way of life. The Democrats want you to be afraid of Republicans because Republicans are not so trusting as to believe that a despot can change his manner overnight, or because he now wears a suit and tie. As President Ronald Reagan used to say, “Trust but verify”. This has to be the mantra of any responsible government in the United States.

In addition, the Democrats want you to fear your own success or potential for success. They do not want you to apply your skills to improving your own life. They wish to do it for you. They want you to fear the future if you make your own decisions and set your own direction in life. Why is this? Simply because once you tap your potential by taking control of your own destiny, you will never fall for the idea that government can do a better job at managing your life and the future of your family better than you manage. You become, in a sense, dangerous to those who make their living off increasing your taxes, promoting class warfare, and limiting your opportunity for self-determination by convincing you that you are a victim of some masterful, yet evil plan for your destruction.

I suggest that you need not be afraid to control your destiny by the grace and gifts given to you by Almighty God. If you want to succeed, stop fearing your own ability to create success from the opportunities before you. This is still the greatest country on earth in reference to opportunity for success. Do not be afraid to go back to school, not matter how long you have been away from organized learning. Do not fear the opportunity to expand your knowledge of your profession or begin some entrepreneurial enterprise that would fulfill your life’s dream or ambition. You and I don’t need more government telling us how to live and succeed, we just need more courage to do so.

Black Uplift Discovered in Rich History

During the Democratic National Convention, set on the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, my focus drifted to the rich history of black people in America. Black delegates were, as I was, extremely proud of this historical moment. Yet I began to wonder about the philosophical similarities or differences between black leaders like Senator Obama, Reverend Al Sharpton, Reverend Jesse Jackson, and Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Each has stood for what they believed to be the authentically black position of their day. The question I will address in this three-part series, is whether the past leaders would agree with positions espoused by current black leadership. To examine this, one must juxtapose the historical record of quotes and books by past leaders against current ideas emanating from black leaders of today.

Frederick Douglass, a former slave, embodied early black leadership in America. Escaping in 1838, Douglass rose to prominence as an abolitionist in the 1850’s and continued until his death in 1895. In his 1865 speech before the Annual Anti-Slavery Society, Douglass describes his philosophy concerning the uplift of blacks in America when he states, “Everybody has asked the question. . ."What shall we do with the Negro?" I have had but one answer from the beginning. Do nothing with us! Your doing with us has already played the mischief with us. Do nothing with us! If the apples will not remain on the tree of their own strength, if they are worm-eaten at the core, if they are early ripe and disposed to fall, let them fall! I am not for tying or fastening them on the tree in any way, except by nature's plan, and if they will not stay there, let them fall. And if the Negro cannot stand on his own legs, let him fall also. All I ask is, give him a chance to stand on his own legs! Let him alone! “

Douglass seems committed to black uplift as the result of individual responsibility, occurring in an atmosphere of unencumbered opportunity. This is fascinating when considering that Douglass lived in an America that provided miniscule opportunity for blacks to succeed. Opposing this position seems to be the mantra of current black leadership.

Senator Obama said while in Gary, IN, “I think it's time we had a president who doesn't deny our problems or blame the American people for them but takes responsibility and provides the leadership to solve them”.

This position by Senator Obama commits the resources of the Presidency to solving the problems of Americans. Should this be the task of the President of the United States? If so, then perhaps we should include this responsibility in the presidential oath of office. We could remove the part about upholding the Constitution and defending us from all enemies, both foreign and domestic; replacing those words with the promise to pay all my debt, educate my children and myself, abort children on demand, allow people to enter America illegally, and pay for it all by raising taxes on the most successful of us.

Americans would never stand for this, yet it is interesting to see ideas of success compared with one another. Douglass’ position not only works for black Americans, but for all Americans.

The Constitution does not guarantee equal success, but does guarantee equal protection and equal opportunity. To expect that we should all succeed applying various levels of personal industry is like saying every horse should win just because he is in the race.