Where do we go from here?
This is perhaps the most pressing question facing African Americans today. It is not an abstract question, especailly during this period of great crisis in the American political and economic body politics. The path taken by African Americans will determine the general direction of politics in this country. Our movement made possible the gains of women and gays, opened the door for other people of color and pushed this nation's democratic project forward. The United State's future and the future direction of humanity will turn on the sucess or failure of African American politics. But at this moment in history, the black movement is in a state of crisis. Those who have been labeled leaders by the media have no clear vision of where we go from here. One reason is that that Civil Rights Movement has not met the expectation of the black masses. One reason is that African Americas have not really benefitted from these gains of that period in our struggle. Those African Americans who have been elected to political office have no ideological connections to the radical tradition of the African American struggle for justice and peace. Instead of challenging the status quo, they have joined the established order and now serve as defenders of this oppressive system. Rather than turn up the temperature through agitation, organization and education, most only serve to help let off some of the social and political pressure that has been building for decades. Just look across the major urban areas and the faiure of black electoral politics is clear. In Atlanta, a small group of middle class African Americans and European American business owners have benefitted from years of African American control of city governments. The same could be said of Philadelphia with Mayors W. Wilson Goode and John F. Street. Detroit, despite the pro-labor work of Mayor Coleman Young, has enriched a few African Americans, but the masses still suffer.
More African Americans are in jail or on lock down through probations and other means of state control.
African American children continue to live in poverty and attend failing schools.
Wealth in the African American community remains at low levels.
So, the question is, which way forward. Should African Americans completely abandon electorial politics, or is is there still a useful path to push for broader political space to further the struggle for self-determination?
What can be done to force current African American mayoral candidates in Philadelphia to address the issues of racism, poverty and inequality?
Music for your thoughts:
http://www.zshare.net/audio/agua-de-beber-mp3.html
More African Americans are in jail or on lock down through probations and other means of state control.
African American children continue to live in poverty and attend failing schools.
Wealth in the African American community remains at low levels.
So, the question is, which way forward. Should African Americans completely abandon electorial politics, or is is there still a useful path to push for broader political space to further the struggle for self-determination?
What can be done to force current African American mayoral candidates in Philadelphia to address the issues of racism, poverty and inequality?
Music for your thoughts:
http://www.zshare.net/audio/agua-de-beber-mp3.html
posted by Joseph P. Blake & Terry E. Johnson at 8:04 PM
1 Comments:
Where do we go from here? A good question, perhaps, but one I feel should be re-phrased to ask "Where do I go from here?" If anyone has been paying attention for the past few hundred years, African Americans continue to be in deep denial about the seriousness of their situation. All that momentum that was gained through the painful and difficult years of the civil rights movement began to slow down after the premiere of "Sweet Sweetback's Badaassss Song," in 1971. Things came to a screeching halt the following year when "Superfly" drove a stake through the heart of "The Struggle," as we had begun to refer to our liberation movement. O.K., there has been some progress over the past 30 years or so, but as the twenty-first century unfolds, does any rational, intelligent African American truly believe that things will ever get significantly better for us in the United States? And if so, on what does one base such foolish optimism....Dr. King's "dream?" Barack Obama's ordination as a media star? Bobby McFerrin's "Don't worry, be happy" anthem? Does anyone seriously think that the police officers occupying our communities will simply wake up one morning and end their routine practices, nay, policies, of brutalizing those communities? Will young black men suddenly experience a mass revelation that moves them to respect black women, their own children, and each other? Will national black leaders and politicians reach out to other ethnic groups to form lasting political alliances and coalitions? Will you ever meet a Native American - of any tribe - who'll proudly exclaim to you, "My grandmother was one-quarter African American,"? Somebody, please let me know when there are some "yes" answers to these questions. Let's face it...as a people, Americans are the most dumbed-down, celebrity-obsessed, sexually-repressed, morbidly- and militantly-obese, politically-naive people on the planet. Since America has chosen to marginalize African Americans, we merely represent a sub-species of that group. But we're still a part of it just the same. Despite all evidence to the contrary, Jesus is not coming back and no corporate flack of a politician, be he George W. Bush or Barack Obama, is going to defy their corporate masters and come riding to your rescue. Years ago, I lost the ability to look my children in the eyes and tell them that "We shall overcome...Someday." Having the "Bamboozled" -type images of Flava Flav's "reality" show broadcast into my home here in Panama dispelled any recent thoughts I had about revisiting that message of hope. But, I digress....
I began this piece by posing the question, "Where do I go from here?" Since the only "I" I can speak for is me, let me explain to you what I did. I got my black ass out of the United States and moved to Panama. That's right, I threw in the towel and cut my losses. Lest any of you reading this think badly of me for bailing out or abandoning ship, let me simply say that, in my opinion, the U.S. ship of state is like the Titanic. It's rapidly taking on water, the lifeboats have all been reserved for a select, elite few, and before that boat disappears beneath the waves, Condoleeza, Colin, Clarence and a whole long list of other house negroes will have been kicked to the curb, locked down in steerage and will go down with the ship. Need more convincing? Living somewhere in a neighborhood not far from where you live are a number of elderly Jews who had the presence of mind to get out of places like Germany, Poland, Austria and Czechoslovakia before the Nazi shit hit the fan. Most of them didn't speak the language or know much about the culture of the countries to which they emigrated. They left behind families, loved ones and countless other spiritual and material things that they held dear. Most importantly, those people are alive today to talk about it. Emotionally scarred and broken perhaps, but alive nonetheless. Ask any of them if they regret their decision to leave the only homeland they ever knew. When you return to your home, ask yourself what would motivate you to pack up and leave your home country. Who will be left to tell the story of the American Holocaust after Patriot Act VI has authorized your "removal" under the guise of national security? Ask that Mexican, Honduran, Dominican, Guatemalan, and, yes, Panamanian guy cutting grass down the block or working in a restaurant near you why he left the only country he ever knew to come to a strange country where he's regularly villified and demonized. So, he can make a few extra bucks? Alright, I buy that. Because it's the land of the free and home of the brave, and is flat out the greatest country in the world? Gimme a break! As soon as they make enough dough, most of those guys will be headed back home. Once again, I digress.....but you get my drift.
Bordered by Costa Rica on the west, and Colombia on the east, the Republic of Panama forms a natural land bridge between North and South America. The Atlantic (Caribbean) and Pacific oceans are to the north and south, repectively, and are linked by the Panama Canal. Roughly the size of South Carolina, Panama is between 37 - 110 miles wide and about 480 miles long. Its approximately 3 million people are a mix of Afro-Caribbean, indigenous Amerindian and Mestizo (mixed-race European, Amerindian and African). Spanish is the official language, but English is widely spoken. Although the U.S. dollar is legal tender in Panama, the national currency is the "Balboa," which is the same value as the dollar. Panama is about 6 degrees north of the equator and the country has a year round tropical climate in which temperatures are always around 80 - 90 degrees fahrenheit and humidity is always high. There are only two seasons: the dry season from December to April, and the rainy season from May to the end of the year.
What you find in Panama depends on what you are looking for. In addition to being the most important business and exchange center of Central America, Panama City, the capital, is as cosmopolitan and modern as any large city in the U.S. and with a stunning skyline to match. The city has an abundance of restaurants, outdoor cafes, live music venues, shopping malls, museums, and real estate alternatives to suit the most discriminating tastes and pocketbooks. Overall, Panama is a country of matchless beauty, with a diversity of flora, fauna and indigenous groups living in natural harmony with nature, which makes it one of the most important places for eco-tourism in the Americas. The annual Panama Jazz Festival will be in town from January 17 - 20. Modern hospitals and healthcare facilities offer first-class medical treatment at a fraction of the cost of U.S. hospitals. Luxury oceanfront hi-rise condominiums and beach properties that would cost seven to eight figures in the states can be had here for prices in the low six-figure range.
If Panama sounds like a paradise, it's because in many ways it is. However, it is by no means a Utopia. While there is crime here, the national crime rate each month is far below what you'd experience in most major U.S cities in a day, and is the lowest crime rate in all of Latin America. There is also fairly high unemployment, but the recent surge in economic development, including housing construction, tourism, and an ever-expanding service economy has significantly increased the country's middle class and this tide promises to lift many more boats. Of course, there is racism and discrimination. Like most other developed or developing countries in the world, people of African descent are at or near the bottom of the social/economic pecking order. Funny thing, though. Despite the "business-as-usual" treatment of Afro-Panamanians and other people of low socio-economic status, Panamanian culture still maintains some key social practices that disappeared from U.S. communities around 1955. The typical Panamanian family is an extended network of individuals seemingly committed to the group's cohesion. Because of this cohesion, the basic structure of Panamanian family life is sound and generally pretty stable. The concept of family values is clearly visible on the streets of Panama. There is respect for elders and many old folk traditions survive intact; and the widespread practice of treating children like the treasures they truly are is greatly reassuring and like a breath of fresh air compared to way children are brutalized in the U.S. One routinely sees unaccompanied young children walking to and from school along busy highways and thoroughfares without fear of being molested, or worse, by some predator. Even though strollers and baby carriages are readiy available here, most Panamanians -- men and women -- carry their children in their arms or hold their hands while walking with them.
Panamanian women are among the most beautiful in the world and, like most Panamanians in general, they're pretty meticulous about their appearance. It's extremely rare to see a Panamanian looking sloppy and unkempt. Almost all workers at retail outlets or service establishments wear uniforms. Men typically wear T-shirts or polo shirts adorned with the company logo and the women wear neat business suits. Those who aren't required to wear uniforms (i.e., blue collar types who get their hands and clothes dirty on the job) travel to and from work attired in neat, clean sport clothes. They carry their work clothing in backpacks and change at the jobsite. This practice enables everyone to move around in the society without having to endure the stigma of being employed in some "lesser" profession. Oh, yes, and all children wear uniforms to school. This uniformity may strike many Americans as too rigid and conformist, but I believe that it establishes a sense of commonality and togetherness between individuals rather than setting people apart.
If you like hanging out at the beach, Panama has thousands of miles of beautiful, unspoiled, uncrowded beaches -- on two oceans, mind you -- that are open to all. The landscape is mountainous with lowlands on both coastlines cut by streams, wooded slopes and a wide area of savannah-covered plains and rolling hills Panamanians call "the Interior," and dense, jungle rainforests. And did I mention that there are no hurricanes and no earthquakes?
Panama has a constitutional democracy form of government and no standing army. Sure, there's corruption and cronyism in the government but, overall,it's no better or worse than what exists in the U.S. Well, maybe a little better, especially when you consider that those clowns in D.C. are currently pouring billions of your hard-earned tax dollars down a rathole in Iraq or into the pockets of their corporate cronies while they eavesdrop on your phone calls and emails, and systematically eviscerate your constitutional rights.
I suppose Panama is still considered a "developing" country, meaning that it is in some strange limbo between the third and first worlds. Accordingly, you see lots of contradictions here every day, from spoiled yuppies racing around in expensive BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes, to leather-skinned campesinos with machetes whacking miles of weeds along public highways for what I can assure you are slave wages. But I do like the sound and feel of a country that is "developing," which contrasts sharply with the country I left behind. American society has become mired on a slippery slope of entitlement, victimhood and sloth. Governed by a bullying, corrupt group of political incompetents, Americans are evolving into overweight, insecure, debt-ridden, xenophobes in need of anger-management. One might even describe the U.S. as "overdeveloped." Anyhow, I like the spirit of Panama and its people. They know how to relax, party and appreciate some of the naturally beautiful things the world has to offer. I always admired those Americans who could live abroad, and fantasized about living an expatriate lifestyle, either in some exotic tropical locale...like Hemingway in Havana, or even like Bogart's Rick, in "Casablanca." The Paris of the 1930's, 40's and 50's which embraced and nurtured artists like Richard Wright, Baldwin, Josephine Baker and others is no more. And even if it was, it's still too cold and far too expensive to live over there. Africa? A nice place to visit, I'm sure, but the brothers still have some issues to resolve. That whole Darfur/Sudan thing gives me the creeps, especially since the Hutu/Tutsi mess in Rwanda is still a relatively recent event. Ethiopia and Somalia are getting salty again. Nigeria? No thanks. And South Africa? Much too far and too expensive to travel back to the states to visit my children, grandchildren, my 84 year old mother in Georgia, and my doctors at the Philadelphia VA hospital. But there's only two hours flying time between Panama and Miami.
So, again, where do I go from here? As near as I can tell, I have already found my way to that place. It's a special place that reveals a new experience to me every day. It's a great antidote for that walking-around rage and cynicism that had begun to consume me and dominate my outlook on the world. I'm in a place now where I become excited about simple things like the aroma of a different kind of chicken soup or rice and beans emanating from a roadside stand or a black night sky filled with a million stars. I'm in a place where every child is beautiful and is made to feel safe and loved. I now live in a country where citizens are not required to take litmus tests to demonstrate their patriotism or love of country. There is a "can-do" spirit in Panama and many of its regional neighbors that feels palpable and sincere. Something new and exciting is developing here in Latin America. Since I have roughly one-quarter of my "life currency" left in the bank, I hope to be able to spend it here on the Isthmus. It looks like a good investment to me.
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