“It is a peculiar sensation, this double consciousness, this sense of always looking at ones self through the eyes of others. . . one ever feels his twoness, an American, a Negro; two souls, 2 thoughts, two un reconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder, (DuBois).” In essence, it essentially becomes a time in every African Americans existence to ponder the philosophical question. . . Why is important for African Americans to rebuild a sense of community that essentially transcends socio-economic boundaries? In actuality, it seems African Americans have lost a sense of “together we may conquer” ideological mentality that was fluent during the Civil Rights Era. As a result, historically black colleges and universities once considered “Black Ivy League” institutions like Spelman, Morehouse, Howard, and numerous others have lost a substantial amount of black applicants, due to the whole ideology that Ivy League institutions that generally place African Americans within the minority percentage, better prepare African for the real world, due to the fact that the real world isn’t all one color. This ideology is presumably fundamentally flawed and evidently inadequate, however, as historically black colleges and universities have proven themselves efficient in sending the best and brightest African Americans into the work force well equipped with a sense of identity and confidence that can only be attained from a historically black institution. In essence, it is detrimental for African Americans to rebuild a sense of community that was prevalent during the Civil Rights Era, in order to gain a sense of identity in America, an identity correlated with pride for ones heritage, intellectual and social growth, and most importantly an identity that is focused on improving ones own community.The African American community is essentially divided in terms of a generalized ideology. In order to connect the fragmentation that has divided the African American community for years, we as a people should first and foremost realize that a division does in fact exist. After pondering on the philosophical realization that has been accomplished, African American intellectuals and politicians should come into black communities with decisive initiatives, an address African Americans directly, rather than indirectly. This rational method alone will ultimately bring forth a since of community and generalized ideology to the masses.A characteristic of a thriving and growing community consists of community in which the residents of that specific community support one another including themselves. Also, in my opinion a thriving and growing community has the ability to keep illegal ****, gangs, and crime to an absolute minimum. On-line social networking platforms such as HBCU Connect, Facebook and My Space serve in establishing a growing community, because through networking blacks as well as any other race have the ability to come together on certain issues, along with bringing different people closer together with the aid of scheduled events and groups that establishes a community that supports a general ideology.
