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Counter’ ’Revolutionary”
Most African-Americans seem to ex
ist in a perpetual state of disillusionment
and more often indifference towards
America's political system. This coma
tose state has been induced by a mega
dose of reality; African-Americans are
politically sterile. To the cringing con
servatives, I will not entertain any
babble on big political gains when Black
male recidivism rates for prison are off
the chart. Yet the "haves," a blessed few,
truly feel America's political system is
equitable by virtue of their bank ac
counts. The basic needs of my brothers
at the bottom of the well, who have no
voice or political recourse, must be met
with a plan that is free from the unreal
istic chatter of the "revolutionary" ivory
tower.
As 13% of the population, we can re
sign ourselves to the fact that exacting
fundamental change on the national
level would take an act of God. Com
paratively, African-Americans have a
great deal of control on the local level
due to our highly concentrated presence
in urban areas. That said, we should
examine the conditions of our cities' in
frastructures and schools empowered
by the knowledge that we can select
leadership in-tune with our
community's predicament. But the sad
reality is African-American elected offi
cials are wont to take office and forget
about their people. Brothers are quite
familiar with the alternative to being
pro-active in local government; African-
American politicians fulfill their selfish
agendas to ultimately fatten their wal
lets. To my disgruntled and disenfran
chised brothers, your word for the new
millennium needs to be "accountabil-
The Maroon
ity." Our leaders must be held account
able and made to answer for each ac
tion, whether it be through correspon
dence campaigns or massive demon
strations. As a starting point to more
progressive activity, brothers can vote
out those local politicians who meet the
community's sense of urgency with
complacency.
Allow me to preface the following
comments by underscoring my stance
on the "power" of the ballot. At best,
voting is only a minuscule portion of
your socio-political responsibility to
your people. Casting a vote has to be
accompanied by aggressive, consistent
community activism. Our problem
solving approach must be wholistic.
Accordingly, failing to vote screams ir
responsibility and suggests that you are
grossly out-of-touch with the reality of
your people's situation. In classes and
around campus, there seems to be this
rising tide of gross apathy thinly veiled
by the usual "afro-hippie" pseudo-revo
lutionary mantra, "I'm not voting be
cause I refuse to participate in this rac
ist political system." Well, we need to
take a walk down reality lane: we have
existed in this society for centuries, our
people have been socialized in the domi
nate culture, and we are forced to oper
ate within their economic and political
constructs. Unfortunately, Black
America is like a crack-addicted baby
that must be systematically weaned off
the deadly substance until the infant's
immune system is strong enough or ca
pable to fight its dependency. Let us
assume there are a group of brothers in
our midst who possess a variety of fea
sible plans for social action that will get
Page 4
by michael j. powe
editorial page editor
us off the white man's dole. Despite the
plan's merit and short of "Scottie" beam
ing us all to "Afrolantica/' any strategy
will take time to implement. The ques
tion becomes what will we do in the in
terim. Until African-Americans can
achieve a modicum of self-sufficiency,
we might have to settle for the lesser of
two evils. There is no dishonor in do
ing what is necessary for the survival of
your people.
Whether or not our resident authori
ties on revolution want to admit it, there
will be a President of the United States,
who will have a tremendous impact on
the lives of our people. A Dole admin
istration coupled with a Republican con
gress would mean draconian cuts in
Medicaid and several other social pro
grams that, for example, make sure your
grandmother can afford her insulin.
Many will contend that African-Ameri
cans should and can organize efforts to
take care of our elderly's medical needs.
However, your grandmother does not
have time to wait for brothers to "get
on the bus." Moreover, voting in the
election does not preclude a Morehouse
brother from developing, for instance,
a community outreach program, backed
by African-American entrepreneurs, to
provide struggling families with child
care. While voting resonates of civic
accountibility, it is the act of making
good on your own promises and respon
sibilities that is the true testimony to
your sense of community, nation, and
manhood.
Monday, November 4,1996
Whether or not our resident authorities on revolution want to
admit it, there will be a President of the United States, who will
have a tremendous impact on the lives of our people.