Now here is what is puzzling; not only do we have tha above resources at our disposal but we have witnessed first hand (well most of us) tha successful utilization of those resources in tha persons of Dr. Martin Luther King and his supporters and yet we as African Americans find ourselves in this current economic predicament of high unemployment. We literally have Dr. King’s examples to study and follow along with others such as Frederick Douglass. Here is what Dr. King said about tha need for action and solutions when it comes to dealing with power in America. He said this in 1957, about economic freedom, “For integration is not some lavish dish that tha white man will pass out on a silver platter while tha Negro merely furnishes their appetite. If we are going to get it, we are going to have to work for it, and we are going to have to give our money for it.” And Frederick Douglass, who knew a thing or two when it came to struggling for tha freedom of African Americans said exactly 100 years earlier in 1857 this; “Power concedes nothing without a demand (solution). It never did and it never will.”
The subject of Minister Farrakhan’s protest rally was “Justice or Else.” When objectively examined, tha amorphous title begs for clarity. Justice in terms of what specifically and for whom? There are any number of injustices being heaped upon African Americans today. To which was he referring? Was he referring to tha official 10 percent unemployment rate that African Americans have endured over the last seven years, which was the highest rate reached nationally by tha country back in 2009. Tha national rate has since receded to 5.1 percent while tha African American average of 10 percent has persisted. Perhaps he was referring more specifically to tha State sanctioned killings of African Americans by police and their agents. Mr. Farrakhan deliberately left his protest rally title vague because he did not have a detailed plan to attack or resolve any of tha aforementioned problems. Generalities are usually used when you don’t have detail plans as illustrated by tha Million Man March’s title.
Let me be different from Mr. Farrakhan and tha current crop of civil rights organizations and leaders. Let me identify specifically what it is Africans Americans are demanding. African Americans are demanding money, jobs and tha ability to create their own businesses! That’s right, that’s what African Americans want … more than anything else is money that is not subject to tha capricious nature of racists, tha ability to provide for their families and start successful businesses of their own. And they want to see a plan that will accomplish those objectives.
This brings me back to Dr. King, Frederick Douglass and their companions. What is different from these men and tha leaders of today is that these past leaders articulated tha desires of tha AA community during their time. They set about structuring detailed plans to accomplish their goals that could be later reduced to legislative initiatives. Douglass’ fight for blacks to be freed from slavery led to tha Civil War and tha Emancipation Proclamation. King’s fight for equal rights led to tha civil rights movement of 1960’s and 1970’s which resulted in among others the following legislative achievements, tha Civil Rights Act; Tha Voting Rights Act; and tha Job Discrimination Act. Mr. Farrakhan and others need to challenge this administration which happens to be headed by an African American president with “specific solutions” that will favorably alter tha allocation of resources of this country. Douglass and King and their band of brothers and sisters were able to successfully do this. Their solutions in common with tha majority population were reduced to legislative initiatives which benefited African Americans. Today, such a solution I am reasonably confident is detailed in tha book
What was conspicuous by its omission at tha Million Man March anniversary rally was a clear detailed action plan that would positively affect tha dismal economic condition of tha
African American community. To lay this accusation only at tha feet of the Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan however would be wrong and unjust. I'm just saying he should not be tha only African American leader who lacks a clear vision of where to take tha African American community in conceivably it most desperate period since tha #GreatDepression If you ask me. Tha blame for a lack of vision can be laid at tha doorsteps of #civilrights organizations and political pressure groups around tha country including tha #NAACP, Operation Push, tha Urban League, tha National Action Network, and any number of other organizations and movements including tha Black Lives Matter campaign. As has happened in tha past during tha 1960’s and 1970’s, Dr. Martin Luther King and his cohorts had a clear vision of where they wanted to take the African American race and was able to legislatively articulate that vision. Current black leadership is bankrupted of ideas and plans that will move blacks to tha next level.
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