Dec
22
Written by:
Marlon Aldridge, Sr.
12/22/2008 12:24 PM
Who are the Black organizations that work in collaboration with other Black organizations to provide a rich environment for Black society?
Most Black leaders stress individual effort or taking personal responsibility as a means to overcome conditions that are a detriment to many of us (Black folks). They consistently say that “we just need to take more responsibility”. The assumption hints at a genetic disposition for not being responsible. I offer the following biological scenario to counter this assumption. Two identical seeds are planted thusly: one in rich dark soil and the other in clay-like soil. The one planted in rich dark soil flourishes while the other struggles to survive; however, they are both made of the same "genetic stuff". Should we remark that one is better than the other? Surely not! Sometimes we are just in the right place at the right time with the "right stuff". The point is that the environment cannot be excluded from any scenario of human advancement.
What makes one society better adapted to survival and prosperous living than another? In most societies, the children are able to walk, talk, and reason on the same level before they reach school age. However, for American-born Black children a performance gap relative to White children starts to develop as they progress in school. Does logic admit of an innate disparity since we all started at the same place intellectually or does the environment provide a more logical answer? My logic has it that the environment is more probably the cause of any discrepancy. Yet, the call to personal responsibility still persists.
If more Black people would just do well in primary and secondary school, attend and graduate from top schools with marketable degrees, and get jobs with successful companies, we would do fine. Many of us have done that and have succeeded to a limited degree (with the help of affirmative action, admit it or not) but more of us have not. Probability has it that a proton or a neutron may escape the nucleus of an atom without aid. Each proton is identical as well as each neutron, but the nucleus stays intact. However, when the conditions are right, all nuclear contents may be released, and we get energy to power our homes. Who sets the conditions in society for favorable events? People do. What people? The people that have knowledge of conditions that control particular events manipulate the conditions in their favor. By logic, it may be argued that Black people as a group evidently do not have adequate knowledge of the conditions that control particular events like higher than average levels of black-on-black crime, lower than average high school completion rates, higher than average jobless rates, etc. Would we not create conditions favorable for the group if we could? Let us assume that we knew the conditions and how to optimally adjust to them to rid ourselves of any disparities. What then would be the obstacles? Some have said unequivocally, racism, or lack of unity, or both. These also presuppose knowledge of the conditions. Why are the disparities still there? Let’s start with the former condition.
Racism by definition is oppression of one racial group by another racial group by virtue only of their differing racial characteristics. Racism can be subdued as was the case in this country after many years of oppression of blacks by whites, but evidently the mitigation of racism has limits. If racism has been subdued, why do the disparities of wealth, income, health, educational achievement, mortality, etc. still exist?
I argue that lack of unity, which is really lack of organization within the Black community, is the root of disparities in America. Lack of African-centered ideological constructs and lack of focused leadership are just as important, but for brevity I will stick with lack of organization.
The civil rights movement is one great example of highly organized masses of people focused on one goal, the fulfillment of basic human rights. Organization presumes a strategy, focused leadership, and a willing motivated constituency. All of these elements were present during this profound movement guided by the ideological construct of basic human rights for all Americans. However, when the supposed objective was accomplished with the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Amendment [emphasis added], we lost our way because we did not possess African-centered ideological constructs that would have forged our sense of group consciousness and sense of self-concept. We immediately assimilated into the mainstream without any idea of the long term consequences, which we are still reeling from today.
With that said who among us best exhibits that other characteristic of living organisms mainly organization? Unlike other organisms, humans structure their internal aspects as well as their external aspects to optimize conditions favorable to their existence. The human brain through a process of internalization does the same thing. Some developmental psychologists define this process as intelligence. Consequently, as a result of inefficient organization, some societies cannot effectively compete with other societies that are more organized. Is Black society intelligently organized? If so, who are our best examples?
2 comment(s) so far...
manufacturing jobs is going overseas by the hundreds of thousands,which were manned by hundreds of thousand blacks and whites.
big buisness concerne is profitt not nation so they 'big buisness" sell out the nation for profitt , so the ones at the bottom of the economic ladder is now submerged . they are now below bottom totally dependent upon outside help"welcome back to share croping",next stop "slavery"
By tmmm52 on
12/9/2010 2:45 PM
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Sounds about right.
The more things change the more they stay the same.
By Marlon on
12/10/2010 3:54 PM
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