2.At some point we’re going to have to get back to the Black Freedom Movement. The full on militancy may not be necessary (unless that was the true impetus behind the movement), but what stands out about that time was teh willingness of black people to make their voices heard doing something other than selling a product. Talking about using your cachet; unfortunately, Oprah and Michael Jordan have nothing on Angela Davis and Huey Newton. Lebron wants to be like Ali, yet his only statement to the world, so far, is to wear Nike.

3.I had to sit for a minute and cconsider your Stand Down theory. And I agree with it. I’d even go as far as to say that the majority of Black America has already stood down. For instance, Don Imus’ dumb ass caused a furor, black people nationwide were pissed and stood up because they were offended. But then why are we not pissed when the Pacman Jones’ and R.Kelly’s and other highly visible members of our group do actually run around acting like nappy head hoes? Because we’ve already stood down.

One of the real issues for us has been an unwillingness to discuss class
divides within the black community. Dubois was really keenly aware of how
the class divide within black America would ultimately set the entire race
off course. Back in the thirties he was calling for economic nationalism
that would allow black folks to amass fiscal and cultural capital of which
you speak and then use that cachet politically. He got raked over the coals
for even suggesting that. So instead of developing a real representative
political struggle that was organized under the banner of black nationalism
with specific goals that people had agreed upon, we got the politics of
charisma and symbolism, which is only now winding to a close. We had local
leadership in the urban centers but those cats could never cut it on the
national scene because they weren’t polished enough to meet the standards of
the mainstream.

I agree that the ‘good black’ is a sort of buffer; however, I’m curious how
you would define buffer.

I think we begin to build leaders when we decide we have an agenda and those
who are uncomfortable with that agenda because it may ruffle the wrong
feathers or because they don’t agree with it step aside. It’s not personal,
really. It’s just that we have a crisis on our hands and it’s evident that
certain fundamental issues have to be tackled. I think the middle and
upper-middle class blacks have to ask themselves how much they care about
black folks who haven’t achieved, how much they’re willing to give up in
order to help uplift those who don’t have. If they’re not willing to make
sacrifices of their time and $$$ then we should ask them to kindly step to
the side and not get in the way. At the same time, those who need the
lifting need to be prepared to give up some things too and make some
different lifestyle choices. Again, those who are not willing to make the
changes necessary to solve some of the basic problems we have need to clear
the path. By clearing the path I mean don’t clutter the airwaves. Just stand
down— that’s the least one can do. Perfect example of what I mean: when
Jackie Robinson testified against Paul Robeson at the HUAC hearings, Robeson
refused to be drawn into a fight with Jackie. He simply said he would not be
drawn into a battle with his “brother-victim.” Rather than offer fuel to the
fire, Robeson stood down, as Jackie should’ve done as well.

Somehow, someway we all have to be willing, even in these cynical times, to
take a leap of faith to get any kind of movement started. There’s a
tremendous amount of distrust among black folks, as there is among Americans
as a whole. I don’t disagree that Obama isn’t the man to unite the divided.
I’m personally inspired by the guy. He’s awakened something in me. I think
he’s a unique cat to white America, not necessarily to black America. They
are finally willing to see someone like Obama but that’s not to say we
haven’t been producing people of equal and greater capacity for a long, long
time. That assumption that he is totally out of the ordinary is what bothers
me.