Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 1 September 2000 — Page 13

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1,2000

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Leaders versus pleaders

LETTERS

“The most persistent complaints the community makes concerning its current leadership are that they have either been coopted by the ruling white regime; are outdated in terms of values, goals and techniques, are not truly and deeply committed to the welfare of the people; are self-centered, self-serving, egocentric, corrupt; out of touch with current and future realities; timid and cannot recognize the needs of the people or articulate those needs in ways which move the people towards their satisfaction; are intellectually inept and are not effectively educating the masses and inspiring them to realize the enormous power that lies dormant within themselves.” — Dr. Amos Wilson ***** When we survey the lay of the land and assess our situation in light of a 381-year history of subjugation as forced laborers and peons in a socio-economic and political system that codified, stultified and consigned us to a subordinate status in every aspect of society, we have to do some' serious introspection, soul searching and self-evaluation. We have to ask ourselves some very cogent questions. Have we succumbed to the brainwashing of our oppressors? Do we view our situation as hopeless and helpless? Are we all we are capable of being? Are our leaders really working on our behalf, planning and pursuing our best interests? Considering our pathology as seen in the rise in nihilism, purposelessness, substance abuse, self-destructive lifestyles and at risk behaviors so many of our people indulge in, we’re forced to either conclude that we do, in fact, view our situation as helpless and hopeless, or that we have lost our minds. Where is the concerned and collective leadership to, as Dr. Wilson said, recognize and , »

Positively

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articulate the needs of Africans in America, educate the masses and inspire our people to realize and actualize the vast reservoir of power, talent and potential we all have within ourselves? When we look at the quality of leadership in our communities what do we see? Do we see leaders or leeches? Do we see men and women who stand up for our people, who have assessed our needs, fashioned, founded and executed pro-active, holistic programs to meet these needs? Or do we see men and women who are running a con game on our people, using them to fatten their purse and enhance their status within the context of our oppression? Are they leaders or pleaders? Do we see men and women of thought, planning, courage, boldness and action building programs to empower, encourage and ennoble our people to be their authentic selves? Or do we see pleaders — shrewd reactionary opportunists who take full advantage of our predicament, our disorganization, disorientation and confusion? Pleaders come in, often from out of town following some egregious act against Black folks by the keepers of the status quo threatening boycotts, rallying the community to the verge of civil unrest, shaking their fists at the establishment, all th£ While brokering deals with the ruling class or their lackeys that enhance their position as “leaders,” but who never resolve the

problem of racial caste and subordination. You would think after 381 years of the “same-ol-same-ol” we would wake up. We would leam how to train, develop, support and protect a new breed of leadership that is clear and committed to improving our situation. Where are our modem day Pap Singletons, Booker T. Washingtons, Bishop Henry McNeil Turners, Mary McCloud Bethunes, Mary Church Terrells, Nobel Drew Alis, Marcus Garveys, Elijah Muhammads and Marva Collins who promoted an ethnocentric agenda? Where are the people with the gumption, grit and initiative who will step out on faith, not seeking self-aggrandizement or fortune at the expense of their people who are willing to do the work to inspire, exhort, teach, mentor and support African people? Where are the folks who have the courage of a Rosa Parks, the insight and intellect of an Edward Blyden or Nathan Hare, the charisma of Marcus Garvey or Malcolm X? Who will step to the plate out of the glare of television lights and press conferences to do the strategizing, organizing, galvanizing, fund raising and day to day work within our community to help move us from dependency to self-sufficiency? Who is willing to take the initiative to be a catalyst and a role model to lead the way to collective group actualization and empowerment? Who will formulate and execute the spiritual, psychological and educational programs that will help restore us to sanity? How many want to see us at our best? Someone stated greatness lies in humble service. Who’s willing to experience greatness by serving our people? Are you?

Imlifl , « example There is currently a lot of talk in the U.S. media regarding the candidacy of Joseph Lieberman, the Democratic vice presidential nomi-

Christians is all the more deplorable because of the recent findings that the church blasts were caused by a Pakistan-inspired Islamic cult Let us pick up good from everywhere while refraining from un-

Throwing stonos

Last May, one of your columnists, Amos Brown, stated that I

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would wage a negative campaign

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big deal to have a non-Christian at this high post. They also talk about Lieberman being the only non-Prot-estant senior-level candidate after Kennedy. They talk about whether Americans will accept a Jew as vice president. Such talk comes

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against Julia Carson. I

Mr. Brown and stated publicly and privately that I would not run a

negative campaign.

True to my word, I have remained positive, however, the al-

state religion. Independent and democratic for about S3 years, 3 percent Christian, 18 percent Muslims, the rest Hindus, Sikhs, Bud-

dhists and etc.

Still, India has had two Muslim presidents and numerous Muslim

Dear WWH Veterans/Defense lies of my Democratic opponent Workers and Families: have not waged such a campaign Help save the personal legacy of On July 28, Steve Laudig, chair of

after two centuries of democracy! World War B. The experiences and the Marion County Democratic In this light, it’s interesting to memorabilia of those who served Party, sent an email to potentfaT look at India. Just like the USA, it in the armed fences and defense Democratic supporters for 5 is a secular democracy with no industries is a valuable part of this fundraisertobeheldonAugustSaf ,

nation’s history. the Athletic club for the Democrat’s^ , The Florida State University’s “Get Out the Vote Effort” department oniistory has set up The receivers of the email were the Institute on World War II and instructed to RSVP to Micharf’ the Human Experience to collect Kenneally and the missive closed 1 '' and preserve this physical heritage with Steve Ludig. There were nine for research, teaching and exhibi- points to the email as it attempted

and Christian ministers and chief tion. If you or someone you know to State Julia's position on the Otina : ministers. The current president and has letters, diaries, photographs or Trade Agreement and her subset "

naval chief are Christians. Even mementos of the period, please quent vote

contact the Institute at the Depart- I am concerned with item nihe mentofHistory, Florida State Uni- of the transmission, which stated': versity; Tallahassee, FL 32306- the following: Those who mighf' 2200 Phone: (850) 644-9033. want to oppose her because of thi!j ,;

the true original Roman Catholic Sonia Gandhi, a European bom to boot, is the leader of the opposition

in the Parliament!

This is not to say that India is better than the USA, or that the USA needs to leam from India. It is simply a presentation of reality. Those who claim that minorities are systematically discriminated against in India should take a look at this picture. Automatic vilification of Hindus for attacks against

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Contact Junious Stanton at jrsw liter® bcsmail. com

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Tall order to redeem the dream

We will be delighted to send an vote need be mindful that if information packet and answer any get what they wish for that questions concerning donation of wing nut (read Mean Mo materials to the Institute and their Marvin) will have zero interest future use. labor’s concerns for the future WflUam O. OMson American working families i 11 '

Professor of history none” Let the record show that I have!? not gone negative in this campaighi 1 rather it is the local chair of Democratic Party that has done s6 . C l The disclaimer at the end of thir '' email is most entertaining and states; “This intermittent, eccefr'' 1trie, hopefully always entertaining' and edifying, newsletter is ffOtn : ‘ the Marion county Democratic^

Central Committee.

For the record, I am not a “rigM 1 ' wing nut” and I am not sure WhMt n ' Mr. Laudig means by “Mean Mouth'' Marvin!” I do take exception this characterization of me, this is to remind Mr. Laudig, Ms^ Carson, and the 10th District edri^'i ’ stituents that the Democrats thqfyri the first stone. 4

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When Martin Luther King III announced that he and the Rev. A1 Sharpton would try to redeem his father’s dream by recapturing the energy and the spirit of the monumental 1963 March on Washington, it seemed like a tall order. The original march punctuated by King’s towering “1 Have a Dream” speech acted as a powerful wrecking ball that crumbled the walls of legal segregation and ushered in an era of unbridled opportunities for many Blacks. The results are unmistakable today. Blacks are better educated, more prosperous, own more businesses, hold more positions in the professions, have more elected officials, and high ranking corporate officials, managers, executives than ever before. Yet the towering racial improvements that the 1963 March on Washington symbolized, mask the harsh reality that the times and challenges King faces are far different and in some ways far more daunting than what his father faced. When King Jr. marched in 1963 Black leaders had already firmly staked out the moral high ground for a powerful and irresistible civil rights movement. It was classic good versus evil. Many white Americans were sickened by the gory news scenes of baton battering racist Southern sheriffs, firehoses, police dogs, and Klan violence unleashed against peaceful Black protesters. Racial segregation was considered by just about anyone and everyone who fancied themselves as decent Americans as immoral and indefensible, and the civil rights leaders were hailed as martyrs and heroes in the fight for justice. As America unraveled in the 1960s in the anarchy of urban riots, campus takeovers, and antiwar street battles, the civil rights movement and its leaders fell apart, too. Many of them fell victim to their own success and failure.

When they broke down the racially restricted doors of corporations, government agencies, and universities, middle class Blacks, not the poor, were the ones who rushed headlong through them. As King Jr. veered toward left radicalism and embraced the rhetoric of the militant anti-war movement, he became a political pariah shunned by the White House, as well as mainstream white and Black leaders. King’s murder in 1968 was the turning point for race relations in America. The selfdestruction from within and political sabotage from outside of Black organizations left the Black poor organizationally fragmented and politically rudderless. The Black poor lacking competitive technical skills and professional training, and shunned by many middle-class Black leaders, became expendable jail and street and cemetery fodder. Some turned to gaiigs, guns, and drugs to survive. If MLK III is to redeem, or better yet reshape, his father’s dream he will have to confront the crisis problems of family breakdown, the rash of shamefully failing public schools, racial profiling, urban police violence, the obscene racial disparities in the prison and criminal justice system, and the HIV/AIDS crisis. These are beguiling problems that sledgehammer the Black poor and these are the problems that King’s father did not have to deal with. King IB will also have to confront something else that his father did not have to confront. King had the sympathy and goodwill of millions of whites, politicians, and business leaders in the peak years of the civil rights movement. MLK HI does not have that. Instead he must confront the hostility and indifference of many whites to social programs, education, civil rights and civil liberties. He will have to deal

The life of Wayne T. Harris

By MMOJA AJABU

God chose to take another of us. Truly, the good do die young. Rev. Harris was only 46 years

with the reality that race matters in America can no longer be framed exclusively in Black and white. Latinos and Asians have become major players in the fight for political and economic empowerment and figure big in the political strategies of Democratic and Republican presidential contenders A1 Gore and George W. Bush. He will also have to figure out ways to balance the competing and contradictory needs of these and other ethnic groups and patch them into a workable coalition for change. He will have to confront the mistaken conviction of many Black leaders that the only place that they can and should fight racial batUes are in the courts. Congress, state houses, the universities, and corporate boardrooms. It’s grossly unfair to expect leaders such as MLK III to be the charismatic, aggressive champions of, and martyrs for, civil rights that his father was. Or to think that 37 years later another March on Washington can solve the seemingly intractable problems of the Black poor. The times and circumstances have changed too much for that. The best that Black leaders can do or hope to do is draw strength from King’s courage, vision and dedication and fight the hardest they can against racial and economic injustice. That in itself would be a big and significant step toward redeeming, and reshaping, the dream.

watch that Mount Olive Baptist Church moved from a modest parish to one of great grandeur. The royal purples and exquisite gold, the state of the art sound

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is the author of The Disappearance of Black Leadership. E-mail him at: ehutchi344® aol.com

Marvin B. Candidate, lOtli’ Congressional Distridf 1

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time of his death. Unfoitunately, will be passed on to because of the he accomplished more for us in transition of Rev. Harris. s il death, than what he did alive. I would observe that the mantle ' Maybe, this would not be the case had already passed hands from Rev!, o if he were allowed to have experi- Harris to Elder Lionel Rush, iuti

old. By most people’s standards, enced longevity. However, this was Elder Rush is the only person in*! this is a very young age for death to not to be. It was his death which my lifetime to assemble ministenir capture a person. was the catalyst that caused civil- politicians, professionals, civil' It was obvious, from the atten- ian review of the Indianapolis Po- rights organizations, businessmen/ dance at his funeral, that he was a lice Department. women and the grassroots comnto^ well respected man in many areas Why does it take death for us to nity activists into one viable orga-< of this community. The way that support those worthy of support? nization, the State of Black Indian

we know this man is through his When Rev. Harris steppMl for- napolis.

accomplishments. It was on his ward to address Michael’s tragic The State of Black Indianapolis

death there were all kinds of oppo- has recently waned, if not become sition. People questioned why Rev. nonexistent. Elder Rush has made Harris kept raising this injustice, some mistakes and probably has’ People wanted him to leave it alone, stepped on a few toes. But, tell me There were ministers, politicians someone who has taken on the ro-

system, the network quality video and even people within his own sponsibility of our people’s future ministry, all were done with his church who expressed the desire who has not made mistakes oni vision. He not only envisioned a for this visionary to just leave this stepped on someone’s toes. t! supreme place for Mount Olive to issue alone. They chose the pros- These things happen because we,

ecutor over the pastor. Thank God, are human. If we knew all the aohe didn’t listen. And history bears swers, we would not make miar , witness that his vision that takes. mi) Michael’s death was an injustice We must be able to get beyond-, was the correct vision. the mishaps so that we all can hr A jury of all white folks deter- equal participating citizens within . mined that Michael did not kill these United States of America and:' himself. This same jury also held the rest ofthe world. We must have

man become a household name to the City of Indianapolis respon- a collective leadership with our everyday people was the work he sible for millions of dollars be- own chosen spokesperson, did around the tragic death of cause the vision ofRev. Harris was We must have a mechanisi Michael Taylor. Taylor was the the correct vision. change this person so we can eS? young youth who was shot in the It amazed me that some of those press our dissatisfaction with this head while sitting handcuffed in same folks who did not support person, why not an elective pfo-

Rev. Harris in life were sitting tall cess to determine our chosen leajl-

at his funeral. Why will we support ership?

our leaders in death, but be in op- Are we waiting for this leader-;’ position to them in life? ship to die so we can show up at tite This same phenomenon hap- funeral to moan and groan and cry pened to Dr. Martin Luther King about our support for this man in

through the bombing at the Baptist Jr. Malcolm X and Marcus Garvey, death, as was done for Rev. Harris?'' church in Birmingham that killed just to name a few. Jesse Jackson or, will we find the courage to four Black girls, readily jumped to addressed this phenomenon at the follow the visionary while he liveJ>? v address the injustice of Michael’s Black Expo Ecumenical Service. The answer to this question will untimely death. He said this phenomenon exists not only determine our quality of He knew that it was the will of because a dead man cannot lead us life, it will actually determirte God to cause this tragic story to on a protest A dead man cannot whether we have life, unfold at the door step of Mt. Ol- lead us in demonstrations to ad- People without vision perish* ive. He also knew that if be was to dress the tragedies and injustice long before death,

do God’s will, as he had dedicated that are still happening too fee-

ins life to do, tiren he must take the quently to this very day. It is safe to Mmoja Ajabu is a a forefront and seek justice for an- follow a dead person because that activist and chairman of other person who died at a young person can lead us nowhere. Communications.

age. Now, there has been discussion Michael was a teen-ager at the on whom the mantel of leadership

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worship the Supreme Being, he also had compassion for the hun-

gry and homeless.

His vision brought about a min-

istry that provided for those who

were less fortunate than most. Truly, this man had vision. The defining event that let this

the back seat of a police cruiser. History dealt Rev. Harris the hand to address Michael’s demise because Michael’s mother was a member of Mt. Olive. Harris, being from Alabama and living

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