These are changing times, and where we end up will depend upon how we respond to changes. America is on the verge of embarking in new territory that promises to challenge most Americans, and Black Americans fit in this scenario.
There is a saying that crisis is accompanied by opportunity. This is usually true; change can have a multitude of impacts, and if there are issues that demand to be addressed, they are brought into the light when major change is on the horizon. This is where we stand today with the election of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the U.S. scheduled to be inaugurated in January, 2025.
A new Trump presidency doesn’t bode well for Black people. Even though at least 20% of Blacks gave Trump their vote, there doesn’t appear to be reciprocity coming from him. Of the people selected for his cabinet, only one Black person to date has been singled out to work with Trump.
Actually, this provides an opportunity for real change. Black people have been able to demonstrate success in every field of endeavor. The whole world has been influenced by Black styles in fashion, entertainment, business, and more. And yet, many people, including some Black people, continually place Blacks as bottom feeders.
On a broader note, we can look at the continent of Africa, which is said to have the lion’s share of the world’s natural resources. With Black leaders at the helm of countries, the continent is still far behind the rest of the world in spite of its fabulous resources. Why is this so? It probably has something to do with the same thing that is keeping American Black people behind the eight ball: lack of unity!
When people around the world talk about the future they usually leave Africa out of the picture. Basically, with the great potential that the Black community has people still snidely intone the ideas of “DEI” whenever Black people acquire some type of success. The epitome of this is the fact that Donald Trump, during his recent presidential run against Vice President Kamala Harris, insisted on calling her a “DEI hire!” As brilliant as she is, she was still relegated to the bottom of the heap in the minds of Trumpsters.
This situation should make us pause: will there ever be a time when Black people will be respected for the innovators and dynamic people that we are? Black-on-Black dislike and maltreatment promises very real challenges in our future if we don’t realize that it’s time to change the community’s collective destiny.
Considering this, it is ludicrous for the Black community to anticipate good things from the upcoming Trump administration. There is a saying that insanity is the state of doing the same things over and over and expecting different results. This is what the Black community has to understand; we have to demonstrate our mastery among ourselves. More importantly, Black people must learn to love each other. The lack of not doing this is one of the reasons why other groups take the race for granted. It is why there were no major outcries when Trump called Kamala a DEI hire and said that she was extremely unintelligent.
So, do we want to continue along these lines? Do we want to allow others, especially White supremacists, to keep taking Black people for granted? The future looms large and there is no doubt that things are changing. That means that there are opportunities to enhance the collective welfare of Black people and accept this opportunity to move into the future with new ideas, new goals, and new plans. It is important for a new attitude to arise among Blacks; this will be an opportunity to finally reach our full potential WITH EACH OTHER, and this would really be super if it would include collaborations with our people on the African continent. We need to go Black to the future in order to offset our challenging past! Aluta continua.
Reprinted from the Chicago Crusader
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