|
50 Solutions to the
Black Dilemma
by
Anthony Assadullah Samad
part 2
Central to solving any
problems in the collective black community is correcting the mental and
physical state of Black America. The figurative state of Black America
is reflective of
literal state of Black America’s health and mindset, both of which that
causes us to think and act in ways that are counterproductive, at best,
or destructive to the notion of unity in our communities. It is time for
us to admit the black people, in their current condition, are every bit
as sick, physically and mentality, as the forces that created our
societal circumstances.
If you want to lay it at the feet of “the White Man,” then so be it. He
certainly has done (and continues to do) his share. But I’m not so sure
we can blame the white man for all our problems anymore. For instance,
the white man doesn’t make us over-eat to
the point that obesity has become a pandemic in the black community.
With the average black man 20 pounds overweight and the average dress of
a black women being a size 22, can we really say the white man is making
us eat much of the “slave foods” (truly a vestige of slavery when we ate
the scraps from the master’s table) that have now became the
“delicacies” we call “Soul Food? Does the white man make us kill
ourselves in the streets of America to the tune of close to 100,000 over
the last 20 years? Does the white man make us sell dope to our people,
or leave our women, or beat our seniors, and I can go on and on….The
argument could be made that racial circumstance makes us “do what we
have to do to survive” or make us so “frustrated”that we turn on
ourselves. The response to that, of course, would be, “Isn’t that part
of the plan?
Genocide is genocide, whether it’s orchestrated or self-inflicted. The
point is the black “mindset” must be adjusted for us to fight that
fight, and our health must become our wealth to the point of where we
value it more than the things we kill ourselves over. That being said,
some of our solutions must address our heath status. Here goes:
Solution 11: Admit that most black people need some kind of counseling
to exorcise
themselves from the demons that centuries of racial hate (white on black
and black on black) has produced. Black America has serious self-esteem
problems that, even when we succeed, cause many of us to hate each other
and separate from the condition of the masses of our people. We can’t
run from each other, and help each other at the same time. Nor can we
ignore the condition of the masses. Nor can we wash the black off. None
of us can escape the condition of the least of us.
Solution 12: Stop hatin’ on each other. Jealousy keeps us suspicious of
each other, and
envy is the mother of murder. Self-hate is environment under which our
enemy operates, and confuses us to who our real enemy is. As long as
black people are hatin’ and killing on each other, we cannot see the
enemy from without due to the confusion caused by the enemy within.
Solution 13: It is time for black men and black women to call a truce.
All black men are
not triflin’ and all black women are not mean and evil. The dysfunction
of the family that now has the new “black family” being 59% single
female-headed households stems from the dysfunction of the black
male-female relationship. The black community has lost its balance
because the black family has lost its balance. We have to restore the
black family unit where both men and women are present. Black
relationships don’t have to be traditional to be balanced, but every
household must be covered. Whether they are men-women, gay-lesbian,
man-sharing, women-sharing, whatever they are, black men and women
cannot raise a community distrusting/fighting each other.
Solution 14: We must become a community that raises our children again.
We can’t
leave it to just the child’s parent. When we see children do wrong, the
community must correct them in the absence of their parents. Parents
must give permission for the community to correct their child. And when
their parents don’t know right from wrong, the community must embrace
the fatherless and motherless child. “It takes a village to raise a
child” must become more than a saying.
Solution 15: We must restore a position of prestige to our seniors where
they can pass
the best of our history to us, and help guide us through this storm. No
race can survive without tapping into the wisdom of its elders. Young
men for war, old men for guidance. Young men don’t get to be old without
guidance. Our community mothers must teach our young ladies how to be
women—not hoes, not b*tches, not rumpshakers, not shooters—women. We
need the guidance of our elders.
Solution 16: We must change our dietary habits to extend our lives. How
can we say
we’re no longer slaves, but continue to eat slave foods that put African
Americans at the top of every major health affliction; heart disease,
hypertension/strokes, diabetes and certain cancers. The common
denominator is our obesity. Blacks must eat less, and eat right to
eliminate race health disparities. Then we must exercise regularly. Good
health is the first step to black recovery.
Solution 17: We must eliminate stress from our lives. Stress complicates
our poor health
status. Stress relief comes in many forms, from prayer to mediation, to
exercise to soothing music. We must find our quiet space where mind,
body and spirit can come together and guide us in a constructive manner.
Stress is the silent killer amongst us and makes us intolerant of each
other.
Solution 18: Find a way to make a difference. Not just by writing a
check, or having your
job buy a table to the local black organization chicken dinner. Give
time, money and resources to, at least, one activity or organization
that is really making a difference. We can feed a child for a day, or
teach a child to fish where they can feed themselves for life. The state
of our communities are what they are because not enough of us do our
part. If we spend as much time helping people as we spend fighting for
positions of recognition in our social organizations, all our problems
would be solved. It’s time to end tokenism. Each one, reach one, teach
one, then save one. That’s what we used to do. If all of us just saved
one…we could save them all. It’s better to be heard in private than to
be seen in public.
Solution 19: Stop making excuses for why we can’t do anything “as a
people.” Because
past efforts failed, doesn’t mean future efforts can’t succeed. Nobody
is going to save Black America, but Black America. If we don’t believe
we can do it, nobody else will. Let’s “just do it.”
Solution 20: Let’s start listening to each other, and accept valid
criticisms. Black people
are too damn sensitive. Sometimes, criticisms aren’t valid, but letting
people express themselves (sometimes) serves as a bridge to better
communication. We need to check each other sometimes, but we don’t need
to always be checkin’ people and we don’t always have to be right. Let’s
develop a sophistication to our interface that allows us to disagree
agreeably, and move ahead.
These solutions were meant to help us deal better with each other. The
third ten will
focus on our politics and our spirituality. Hold on to your hat—I feel a
hellava holy roller comin’ on.
Anthony Asadullah Samad is a national columnist, author and managing
director of the Urban Issues Forum. His new book, 50 Years After Brown:
The State of Black Equality In America can be ordered online (go to
www.thestateofblackequality.com). He can be reached for comments at
www.AnthonySamad.com
part 1 |
part 2 |
part 3 |
part 4 |
part 5
comments and letters to comments@ipoaa.com |
