“It
is time now to turn with all the purpose at our command to the major unfinished
business of this nation. It is time to adopt strategies for action that will
produce quick and visible progress. It is time to make good the promises of
American democracy to all citizens-urban and rural, white and black,
Spanish-surname, American Indian, and every minority group…”
(Excerpt
from the Report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders – 1968).
We’ve
all heard and seen this song and dance before. The unwarranted abuse and killing
of
unarmed Black people at the hands of local authorities, the time worn narrative
of “justifiable homicide,” and of course, the usual posturing of so-called
Black religious leaders, rewarded with recognition in exchange for their quieting
of the dissatisfied masses, have together revealed a disturbing trend regarding
the current disposition of Blacks in the United States.
Within
a progressively diverse society, and through the context of an increasingly globalized
market economy, Black American youth are unhappy with the obsolete ideas and faint-hearted
agendas advocated by yet another generation of timid Black leaders and
organizations compromised by grants and philanthropic contributions. Ironically
having hundreds of billions of dollars at their disposal, but failing to apply
the unity necessary to exploit those dollars, go-along-to-get-along leaders,
particularly of the religious ilk, employ too much compromise and too little
principle regarding the social, political, and economic development of Black
America.
In
Ferguson, Mo., after more than 70 days of civil unrest stemming from the August,
9 2014 gunning down of unarmed Black teenager, Michael Brown, and the
heavy-handed militarized response against protestors, the façade of American
civility has been removed as paramilitary police forces deployed tear gas,
heavy weapons, and armored vehicles to reestablish and impose an unjust order upon
a Black people who have clearly had enough. In response, Missouri Governor Jay
Nixon’s recently announced plan to institute a study, to address community fear,
anger, and mistrust, in the name of his so-called Ferguson Commission, appears
to follow on the state level what Illinois Governor Otto Kerner presided over
on the national level 46 years ago.
Appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to
investigate the causes of the urban rebellions in major U.S. cities between
1965 and 1967, The National Commission on Civil Disorders, also called the
Kerner Commission, reported that Black frustration emanated from a lack of
economic opportunity, housing disparities, and a mainstream media oriented solely
to the views of the white world. Warning that America was “moving toward two
societies, one black, one white – separate and unequal,” it is clear, in 2014, that
neither the report, nor its recommendations were truly designed to respect or empower
Black America as an equal.  |
| The Kerner Commission, 1968 |
In
addition to the study’s findings, the commission predicted that if nothing were
done to disperse Black population centers, and to reduce Black fertility rates,
cities would become majority Black entities surrounded by White suburbs by 1985.
It also suggested that police departments should “develop a means to obtain
adequate intelligence for planning purposes;” that “an intelligence unit
staffed with full-time personnel should be established to gather, evaluate,
analyze, and disseminate information on potential as well as civil disorders,”
(and) that “it should use undercover police personnel and informants.”
While
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., initially praised the Kerner report for some of
its pronouncements, did he recognize the potential for abuse that such a study could
actually engender?
Today,
it is clear there has been an active plan to disperse Black populations in most
urban centers, throughout the United States, and to reduce or eliminate local
Black political bases. It is also a fact that Black fertility rates have
declined from an increasing trend through the 1980s, toward a flatter trend
today, where Black America’s numbers have dropped below the Latino population. With
these facts being true, along with the rise of mass incarceration, in an increasingly
privatized prison industry, what was the actual motive and intention behind the
Kerner Commission in 1968, and what is the true motive and intention behind the
so-called Ferguson Commission in 2014?
 |
| Photo: stlamerican.com |
According
to Europe’s France24 television, and an
internationally televised discussion centering on the future of Black America,
they referenced an October article in the U.S. news magazine, The Atlantic, regarding a piece titled:
“What If Black America Were a Country?” After thoughtful examination of why
European viewers would harbor such an interest in this subject, along with the
facts and statistics cited throughout the piece, an astute reader should deduce
that the U.S. government and European capitals both view the existence of a
conscious, enlightened and empowered Black America as a threat to their
long-term mutual interests.
 |
| Photo: theurbanpolitico.com |
Following
this logic, it also should be obvious that any moral appeal for Black economic
empowerment; an end to government monitoring, surveillance and
counter-intelligence activities; and the abolishing of the prison-industrial-complex,
will fall upon deaf ears. With no incentive for the white elite to countenance
a socially, politically, and economically strong Black community, buying off
weak and malleable Black leadership, and discouraging the concept of collective
wealth and infrastructure creation, appears to serve a policy and agenda of
white supremacy on a global level.
Don’t
underestimate your significance on the world stage
According
The Atlantic article, a 2005 RAND Corporation
study used a CIA assessment based on the University of Denver’s International
Futures model to measure national power. Accordingly, “the main metrics of
world power used in the…assessment are gross domestic product (GDP),
population, defense spending, and a less precise factor that includes
innovation in technology…Black America cannot be scored on all these factors,
but key indicators are examined here to approximate its standing,” the article
said.
Consider
the following data discussed and outlined in the piece:
·
Blacks are the only racial group
overrepresented in the U.S. military. Blacks make up 12.6 percent of the U.S.
population, but over 17 percent of military service members.
·
For GDP per capita, Black Americans (as an
independent country) would rank 46th in the world, below Saudi
Arabia, Italy and the United Arab Emirates, but above Russia, Mexico and
Brazil.
·
As a population, Black America ranks 31st
in the world, just below Mexico, the UK and Italy, but above Canada, Iraq,
Saudi Arabia and Australia.
·
According to the Fund for Peace’s Fragile States Index, Black America (as
an independent country) would resemble a fragile state listed among one of the
world’s worst 30 nations.
·
Black America’s poverty rate of 27.4
percent is currently higher than that in war torn Iraq.
·
Black America’s median wealth per adult is
$4,955, just below Mexico, China and Brazil, but above India and Russia. Black
American household wealth is just above the median wealth of Palestinian adults.
·
Black American men have higher
incarceration rates than the total numbers confined in the countries of Cuba,
Russia, Brazil, Mexico, and India.
·
The United States ranks 5th in
the Human Development Index, but if
Black America were a country, it would rank 30th, between Qatar and
Saudi Arabia.
The
previously stated facts reveal that Black America is indeed at a crossroads,
and while there is clearly a plan from the highest levels of society and
government, to manage and control the destiny of Black America, there is also a
plan to lift it from the level it currently occupies. While many rightfully
argue that a white supremacist system created the condition in which Black
America now finds itself, it is also true that the wherewithal to correct it is
undoubtedly found in Black excellence, uncompromisable Black leadership, and
above all, the love of self and kind.
Today,
the most significant obstacle to local and national progress is not necessarily
racism and white supremacy alone; but it is without doubt fear and ignorance of
that dying ideology that neutralizes Black leadership’s effectiveness, particularly
if they fail to muster the courage to overcome that fear and ignorance.
Black
America, and its leadership class, have a choice to make and time is fast running
out. We can either continue down the current road, believing that
going-along-to-get-along politics will save us and preserve our future; or regardless
of religion, creed, or class, in the Black community, we can contribute to our
own social, political and economic salvation by uniting our human capital as
well as our nickels, dimes and dollars. Backing strong Black leaders and doing
for self, as outlined by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Honorable
Minister Louis Farrakhan is a start, and studying their social, spiritual, and
economic programs without envy, jealousy or bias is a must. Visit www.economicblueprint.org
and see what has been done, will be done and can be done with just the
contribution of your nickels, dimes, and dollars. Following right guidance may
very well save our lives in a time of crisis. 