I watched a special on Dr. King the other day and it reminded me that he was only 39 years old when he was assasinated. Him and his peers, along with countless other young Black Americans motivated and impacted an entire generation, country and world to recognize the injustices that were being suffered by Blacks in this country. They led, they followed, they stood for something and they never backed down. Although many things have changed since the Civil Rights Movement and Blacks have come a lot further some of the same things that were happening back then are still happening now and even new problems have surfaced. Malcolm X, Martin, Medgar Evars, Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hamer were all YOUNG blacks with strong cultural identity and pride. I watched the State of the Black Union a few weeks ago and someone said we dont pick our leaders, the media does and the media is run by whites...so with this I ask who are the Black leaders of our generation that will emerge and fight to maintain our rights and combat the injustices we continue to face?
In my opinion they are folks that you might not hear about that are behind the scenes making moves. I see the next generation of leaders as being wealthy and capable of affecting change whether people like it or not...
Folks like Cosby, Oprah, Johnson, etc with 8 and 9 figure bank roll can make things happen in a major way....
What about Barack Obama?
Bob Johnson, Oprah and Bill are old heads that assimilate. They are loved by whites and blacks alike. There is no way either of them would lead a protest or speak out against some of the things going on in our communities...hell, Oprah (as much as I love her) wont even have hip hop artists on her show! Yes they have plenty of money -- Oprah built a school for girls in South Africa while there are millions of young black girls here that need her help. Where are the young, under 40 leaders who will take a stand? We can't rely on the old heads to understand our generation, there is a HUGE difference between us and them. And what about Obama? I dont know anything about him, I think its time for him to make his platform more clear to his voters because when it comes down to it, Im voting for the candidate with the platform I believe in, not the candidate that looks the most like me....Obama, Im not convinced yet...
Cosby has been speaking out... Yea i agree on your voting principles... Though i'm still convinced that those with money and influence could turn things around the quickest but you have to be really smart. Controlling media has a lot to do with it.
I think there's an assumption that leadership only comes with a title and a picture on the front of Time.Truthfully, we need people to lead in everyday practice, and not just symbolic gestures. We have a "leadership" structure that values summits and press conferences over simple hard work, and honest talk.I would trade a hundred speeches about Black manhood for one Brother willing to teach boys to be men. And a hundred "Black History Months" for one month to put aside **** and ****, and get our lives in order to begin making new history.Especially young people like ourselves... we have the most to offer, with the least to lose.We can't be afraid to start small. The modern civil rights movement started in dorm rooms at Morehouse and A&T. What could be accomplished if five young Brothers or Sisters got together and decided to help each other build financially? Or clean up their neighborhood? Or help create better schools?Until someone has the courage to do that, we will be forever asking this question.
This is HOTT!
I step out for a couple days and you guys r changing the world.
I gotta agree with Dawn on that. You got politically correct, you got majority appeal, then you got Black Leaders, or at least we did. Jackson and Sharpton just don't have the character, fortitude and strength of Malcom/Martin.
I didn't realize King was so young, never really thought about it.
When I first read the title "Where are our Black Leaders" I was thinking, what, Blacks have been stepping up in that area lately.
But, not in the way you are talking about. We haven't. It definately starts in the neighborhood. Creating opportunities is well and good, who's going to prepare young men and women to maneuver the opportunities that Obama, Oprah and whoever make available. That's the point here.
Truthfully, we need people to lead in everyday practice, and not just symbolic gestures. We have a "leadership" structure that values summits and press conferences over simple hard work, and honest talk.
Excellent Point! It's sad that today's black leadership as we've come to know it, is so partial to standing in front of cameras talking about the issues instead of remediating them. I can appriciate all that Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton has done for the race. They've stood in front of millions of people and represented the African American race well. But that simply isn't good enough anymore. We need proactive resolution to the issues crippling Black America IE DRUS!!! I think that needs to be a number one issue on every single person's agenda bacause that is what is the root of what is bogging us down. We can no long wait on the government to feed us their lies, and continue to corrupt our neighborhoods. OUR hands are the only ones that are capable of bringing about real change. So if you're asking who will be the next generation of Rosa's, Malcom's and MLK's....What I can tell you is that I am not willing to stand around and "negotiate" and "delegate" while the community crumles. I'm in no way comparing myself to legends of the past, however I am hoping to actively continue their efforts. What a lot of people don't realize, the fight didn't die along with MLK. There is work to still be done, and the fact that many African Americans have been satiated with the status quo of Black Amrica disgust me.
...I think I'm going to stop now because I have been rambling for a good minute now. Hopefully I'm making sense.
Excellent Point! It's sad that today's black leadership as we've come to know it, is so partial to standing in front of cameras talking about the issues instead of remediating them. I can appriciate all that Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton has done for the race. They've stood in front of millions of people and represented the African American race well. But that simply isn't good enough anymore. We need proactive resolution to the issues crippling Black America IE DRUS!!! I think that needs to be a number one issue on every single person's agenda bacause that is what is the root of what is bogging us down. We can no long wait on the government to feed us their lies, and continue to corrupt our neighborhoods. OUR hands are the only ones that are capable of bringing about real change. So if you're asking who will be the next generation of Rosa's, Malcom's and MLK's....What I can tell you is that I am not willing to stand around and "negotiate" and "delegate" while the community crumles. I'm in no way comparing myself to legends of the past, however I am hoping to actively continue their efforts. What a lot of people don't realize, the fight didn't die along with MLK. There is work to still be done, and the fact that many African Americans have been satiated with the status quo of Black Amrica disgust me.
...I think I'm going to stop now because I have been rambling for a good minute now. Hopefully I'm making sense.
You're making a lot of sense... I think that the next generation of leaders won't appear from behind a podium on CNN. They are already in our midst.Just as MLK and Stokely Carmichael began by recruiting people one by one, our leaders are reaching out and networking through technology.The hand-printed newsletters and coffee-shop lectures of last generation have evolved into blogs and Webcasts. Same principle, different mode.We're still debating issues and planning action, but instead of opening people's minds in church basements, we're using web forums.Don't look to popular media for leadership... when you think about what they stand for, you'll realize why you won't find it there. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who feels this way.
I gotta agree with Dawn on that. You got politically correct, you got majority appeal, then you got Black Leaders, or at least we did. Jackson and Sharpton just don't have the character, fortitude and strength of Malcom/Martin.
I didn't realize King was so young, never really thought about it.
When I first read the title "Where are our Black Leaders" I was thinking, what, Blacks have been stepping up in that area lately.
But, not in the way you are talking about. We haven't. It definately starts in the neighborhood. Creating opportunities is well and good, who's going to prepare young men and women to maneuver the opportunities that Obama, Oprah and whoever make available. That's the point here.
