Universally Speaking
Rahim Islam
Rahim Islam is a National Speaker and Writer, Convener of Philadelphia Community of Leaders, and President/CEO of Universal Companies, a community development and education management company headquartered in Philadelphia, PA. Follow Rahim Islam on FaceBook(Rahim Islam) & Twitter (@RahimIslamUC)
How should one define greatness especially for a group?
Application of the terms “great” and “greatness” is dependent on the perspective and subjective judgments of those who apply them (Lexbook.net).
Whereas in some cases the perceived “greatness” of a person, place or object might be agreed upon by many, this is not necessarily the case, and the perception of “greatness” may be both fiercely contested and highly individual.
I contend when you put Black accomplishment in context and the story of our ancestor’s is fully told, you will conclude, at a minimum, the Black man is resilient.
In part two of this article I tried to dispel the myths about Blacks during their 300 year enslavement period in America.
In spite of the barbaric conditions, our ancestors forged and nurtured culture: they formed and maintained kinships networks; established loving male and female relationships, raised and socialized children, maintained spirituality and religion, and created a rich expressive culture in which they articulated their feelings and hopes and dreams for a future where they would be a free people – this is the true culture and greatness of Black people.
Contrary to mis-education and outright ignorance, our ancestors didn’t accept slavery and were not passive participants. Slavery was a real nightmare and traumatic experience for millions of Black people which punitively impact its descendants today.
All of our ancestors wanted out of slavery and many risk their lives in resistance to it from its inception until emancipation.
The resistance, once understood, should be viewed as a great accomplishment and achievement because we were not made to hate, be vindictive and full of misdirected anger – Blacks not only survived but thrived.
The more I read about the day-to-day life of our enslaved ancestors; I conclude that to keep a sense of human dignity and aspirations in spite of the horrible conditions that millions of our ancestors lived under for nearly 300 years as chattel slaves – is in itself a sign of greatness.
This assertion can’t be made clearly until you first acknowledge that we know very little of this period of time – so I will make some assumptions that you will have to agree to catch up on later.
It’s safe to say that the American institution of slavery was no picnic for millions of Blacks and this was nothing from a single event as it is portrayed.
When uncovered, this was a barbaric and brutal system that threatened, not only the very life of millions of its victims, but the psychological damage coupled with the adoption of an inferior mindset that still plagues our children today.
With more and more information being exposed about Jim Crow laws of the south, the new plantations of the north, and the civil rights movement for Black people in America, I’m convinced that the deck has been stacked against the Black man in America whether it was intentional or not and unpacking this deck comes with so much opposition and sometimes rage by many White people – you have to ask yourself why?
On some days, I see a conspiracy amongst all of the powerful institutions colliding together to keep Blacks enslaved and at the bottom of the economic ladder.
Sometimes I see the manifestation of an individual, group, and institution agendas coming together in a way that is exactly and totally at the disadvantage of Black people – Black people don’t matter and because the Black voice is the weakest, it’s unable to mount a fight amongst those that are equipped and know how to fight.
Regardless of the intention or not, the fact remains the consequences are the same. Blacks experienced a near total elimination of its past, history, and its culture,coupled with a heavy bombardment of black inferiority (which is manifested in many ways) comprises the Black man’s ability to excel even today when freedom was achieved nearly 150 years ago.
In November 1863, President Abraham Lincoln was invited to deliver remarks, which later became known as the Gettysburg Address, at the official dedication ceremony for the National Cemetery of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania, on the site of one of the bloodiest and most decisive battles of the Civil War.
This war was not only about the southern states wanting to secede from the Union but this war would ultimately be about the abolishment of slavery.
From July 1 to July 3, 1863, the invading forces of General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army clashed with the Army of the Potomac (under its newly appointed leader, General George G. Meade) at Gettysburg, some 35 miles southwest of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Casualties were high on both sides: Out of roughly 170,000 Union and Confederate soldiers, there were 23,000 Union casualties (more than one-quarter of the army’s effective forces) and 28,000 Confederates killed, wounded or missing (more than a third of Lee’s army). After three days of battle, Lee retreated towards Virginia on the night of July 4th.
It was a crushing defeat for the Confederacy.
Now America is engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure (The Gettysburg Address).
“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal…….. that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth (The Gettysburg Address)”
The 273 word speech is considered by many historians as the greatest speech in American history because he invoked the principles of human equality contained in the Declaration of Independence and connected the sacrifices of the Civil War with the desire for “a new birth of freedom,” as well as the all-important preservation of the Union created in 1776 and its ideal of self-government.
Blacks in spite of their position fought in both the American Revolution and the Civil war.
Originally free Black men wanting to enlist in U.S. military units were turned away; however, by mid-1862, the escalating number of former slaves (contrabands), the declining number of white volunteers, and the increasingly pressing personnel needs of the Union Army pushed the government into lifting the ban on Negroes.
On July 17, 1862, Congress passed the Second Confiscation and Militia Act, freeing slaves who had masters in the Confederate Army and two days later, slavery was abolished in the territories of the United States.
After the Union Army turned back Lee’s first invasion of the North at Antietam, MD, and the Emancipation Proclamation was subsequently announced, Black recruitment was pursued in earnest.
Volunteers from South Carolina, Tennessee, and Massachusetts filled the first authorized Black regiments.
Recruitment was slow until Black leaders such as Frederick Douglass encouraged Black men to become soldiers to ensure eventual full citizenship. In fact, two of Douglass’s own sons contributed to the war effort.
Volunteers began to respond, and in May 1863 the government established the Bureau of Colored Troops to manage the burgeoning numbers of Black soldiers.
“Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letter, U.S., let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, there is no power on earth that can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship.” Frederick Douglas
By the end of the Civil War, roughly 179,000 Black men (10% of the Union Army) served as soldiers in the U.S. Army and another 19,000 served in the Navy.
Nearly 40,000 Black soldiers died over the course of the war—30,000 of infection or disease. Black soldiers served in artillery and infantry and performed all noncombat support functions that sustain an army, as well. Black carpenters, chaplains, cooks, guards, laborers, nurses, scouts, spies, steamboat pilots, surgeons, and teamsters also contributed to the war cause.
There were nearly 80 Black commissioned officers.
Black women, who could not formally join the Army, nonetheless served as nurses, spies, and scouts, the most famous being Harriet Tubman who scouted for the 2nd South Carolina Volunteer Infantry.
Because of prejudice against them, Black units were not used in combat as extensively as they might have been.
Nevertheless, the soldiers served with distinction in a number of battles. Black infantrymen fought gallantly.
The July 1863 assault on Fort Wagner, SC, in which the 54th Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers lost two-thirds of their officers and half of their troops, was memorably dramatized in the film Glory.
By war’s end, 16 Black soldiers had been awarded the Medal of Honor for their valor.
I consider these and many other acts of absolute bravery and sacrifice as a Black culture of achievement, greatness and excellence.
The mere mention of two of our American heroes Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman invokes the remembrance of so many of our ancestors who demonstrated extraordinary leadership and courage under the most hostile conditions. Isn’t this greatness?
Blacks have defended this democracy since its inception in spite of its lowly position then and now.
Blacks have spilled their blood in every American war even when the act of fighting elicited hate and prejudice against them and heaven knows when they returned from war, they experienced second class citizenship.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. protested the Vietnam War not only because he believe the war was immoral but the American government was hypocritical – how could America spend millions of dollars a day for “democracy” in Vietnam when it wouldn’t spend a penny in America defending democracy for Blacks in America.
Black people in American have lived under this hypocrisy for nearly 400 years and still remain committed and enthusiastic about democracy.
Stevie Wonder’s song “Frontline” has a verse that states that Blacks are on the frontline of the war but in the back of the line when it comes to getting ahead in America (Blacks casualties in war have been statistically larger than their representation).
Who has been more loyal,more committed and more dedicated to the defense of America than the Black man?
This too is another proof of the Black culture being of achievement, greatness and excellence.
As Carter G. Woodson once said about Black history and Black culture “the celebration tends not to promote propaganda, but to counteract it by popularizing the truth.
It is not interested so much in Negro history as it is in history influenced by the Negro; for what the world needs is not a history of selected races or nations but the history of the world void of national bias, race hate, and religious prejudice.
There has been, therefore, no tendency to neither eulogize the Negro nor abuse his enemies.
The aim has been to emphasize the facts in the belief that facts properly set forth will speak for themselves….” Black culture and Black achievement are interwoven together – you don’t get one without the other.
What you will find when you study Black culture and Black achievement is the numerous “first” achievements that not only influenced the way things had been done previously but when measured under the context of everyday life for Blacks – these accomplishments become even greater and more remarkable.
Blacks in science; Blacks in sports; Blacks in medicine; Blacks in business; Blacks in communications; Blacks in music; Blacks in politics; Blacks in civic engagement; Blacks in law; Blacks in fashion, etc.
Blacks have made significant achievement in every sector of American life many times not receiving the credit they are due – in many cases the record books have been, at the very minimum, silent about their accomplishments because given the continuous, nearly impenetrable barriers of American racism, we must examine the factors that have driven Blacks to make fundamental, basic cultural progress for themselves and the nation.
As one Black historian stated “[the] answer to these questions may generally be classified as either external to the persona of Black people or internal to the Black soul (culture).
Our Black heroes, champions, leaders, and pioneers have help to shape the world. Black culture has been emulated by nearly every group in the world. A key problem for Black people, like all other groups that market and promote their culture (own it) is that we lack the infrastructure to monetize on our culture while others take in billions (this is the direct result of capital inequality that has existed for our people since we’ve been in America – where you start matters).
Black accomplishment in America, as I’ve articulated in this article the previous articles, from our forced contribution of the enslavement of our people to our participation in all of American wars, is massive and significant alone.
In many respects, Black culture is more appreciated outside of America than within America.
However, Black culture and its influenced have propelled America. Let me highlight just a few (there are too many to discuss in this article): •
Music – Blacks contribution to all music is impressive.
In fact many of the rock and roll icons like Mick Jagger, Paul McCarthy, Elvis Pressley attribute their style and approach to music was directly influenced by Black artists like Little Richard, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, etc.
Some have said that rhythm and blues had a baby and called it Rock and Roll.
The influence of R&B and Jazz is a worldwide phenomenon.
• Style and Fashion – Michael Jordan not only made dark skin men more fashionable, he also was instrumental in the resurgence of the bald head.
His Jordans sneakers has also become a staple in fashion. Allen Iverson, with his cornrows and tattoos created a multi-billion industry.
• Food – Soul food is enjoyed around the world and it’s marketed by franchises like KFC, Church’s Chicken, and Bo Jangle’s (fried chicken and macaroni and cheese).
• Hip Hop – Starting in Brooklyn with neighborhood kids (scratching, dancing, and rapping, etc.), hip hop has exploded on to the world stage to be the biggest phenomena in the past 30 years.
• Civic Engagement and Activism – The struggle of the Black man in America has been studied by every struggle in the world.
Our efforts influence the end of apartheid, the restoration of one Germany; challenges to communist China and many more organized struggles worldwide.
In spite of the many challenges that Blacks face in this country today, their contributions to America and the world are significant.
My goal is to ensure that all people (Black and white) are aware of these contributions and begin to value Black culture and its achievement, greatness, and excellence.
