Black folks can we talk? If we are going to really change our communities from the ground up, do we really need a bunch of self appointed clowns jockeying for the position of HNIC? Because honestly, that is exactly what has been happening lately in the civil rights industry.
You have Tavis fighting with Rev. Al, the NAACP, and the Urban League. And you have Rev. Al fighting with Tavis. And, once again, it's about them, and not the larger struggle that they are supposed to be a part of.
But I blame his O ness for all of this. If he hadn't went and became president of these divided states, some of these clowns would have actually still been running around d thinking that they have some juice, and that they are still relevant in black America. They are not. The only people that they are relevant to are young white cable news producers who give them shine so that they can tell the rest of A-merry-ca how black folks think. They can't. Black folks are not monolithic thinkers, (just read the comments on this blog) and we sure as hell don't need a bunch of self appointed leaders of the Negroes in A-merry-ca telling us how to solve our problems.
If you live in Camden or Detroit, your problems are local: Poor schools, crime, jobs, reentry programs, affordable health care, and so on. So you really don't need a bunch of national talking heads who are paid handsomely to be professional poverty pimps, pontificating about us and our problems. And we sure as hell don't need to be a part of their clash of egos because someone was dissed or offended by the others words. The tragedy is that they are on national radio programs doing this bullshit, and we have to be dragged into the middle of it.
" James Taylor, a political science professor at the University of San Francisco, calls the current debate an example of black political elite fighting for better positions for themselves.
'“This really isn’t about representing the concerns of everyday black people,' Taylor told BlackAmericaweb.com. ''You have black millionaires coordinating a program that is economically driven and not protest driven.
'While blacks, like others in America, want to see more people back to work, most don’t look to activists for the real solutions, Taylor said.'They look past Smiley and Sharpton. They look to President Obama for policy that will eradicate the poverty of blacks,' Taylor said."
Amen Mr. Taylor! And BTW, I loved "Fire & Rain".
But seriously, if others can see it, why can't they? Are they they so caught up with their own egos and self delusiuon that the can't see the forrest for the wingtips? I mean really, was this really necessary? (Tavis, I guess Rev. Al kept it real at your expense. That will teach you to get all jealous [no pun intended Mr. NAACP leader] just because his O ness didn't invite you to the White House. And Rev. Al. if we are going to keep it really real "fo" real; how about a little less of the Super Bowl festivities and more of the people's work? Folks, I got my peeps all over A-merry-ca. )
"Syracuse University professor Boyce Watkins said the debate between Sharpton and Smiley is one that can probably be heard at dinner tables across America."
I love you Dr. Watkins, but you are wrong. The only thing that is being said at black dinner tables "across America" is how did the job interview go? And, pass the salt.
