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)
Message to the Black Community
There are some Black people, especially many of our younger generation, that have expressed that there is no need to vote because it won’t make a difference. In their brief lives, things not only haven’t changed but for the most part have gotten worse. Because of their lack of knowledge about our history, what young people don’t realize is that it’s been worse for Black people in America before and it can get much, much worse. What many fail to understand when examining our conditions is that we live under the legacy of slavery that is embedded within structural and institutional American racism – this will require much more than agitation to correct.
In fact, I contend that we struggle so much and in so many arenas, that most Black people don’t truly understand how bad things really are and how cemented our fate is. Most of us are void of the actual facts and the cultural and social-economic impact on the entire Black group when we dominate every negative demographic and are invisible in every positive demographic. Because we’re too busy looking through an individual lens, we have no idea the impact this is having on our entire Black family in this country. For these and many more reasons, the Black community must mobilize itself to impact this presidential election – voting is not an option.
We know that every eligible Black person will not vote and we don’t have a Black candidate running like Barak Obama that has the charisma and personality to ignite a Black voting tsunami like 2008, we still must defeat the racist republican right-wing agenda led by Donald Trump. With the presidential election in full swing, we see America and its values on display – we see what democracy is all about (majority rules) and we must determine what our American leadership will be driven by going forward into the future (unknown). Will it be hate, fear, intolerance, and White privilege or will it be diversity and inclusion.
There is a massive conservative, Republican right wing effort led by Donald Trump to elevate White men to a level of prominence, power and influence that can only be interpreted as reflection and restoration of a horrendous past, especially for Black people. White men already own and control everything but that’s not enough, they want to see Black people absolutely subservient to them – this is called White Supremacy. Even though they can’t bring back slavery, they want to sentence Black people and other minorities to such a weakened political and economic position as to never have the capacity to challenge White authority in the future. I called this a permanent 2nd class citizenship.
They have been plotting and planning this attack against Black people since the 1960’s after the implementation of the landmark civil rights legislation. We all know that this legislation didn’t abolish racism; it only “checked” outright racist laws, policies and practices were they ever to be challenged in the courts. This legislation gave our movement more tools to fight with but it in no way was a fix to our problems in this country (more work was needed to be done). Those that subscribe to White supremacy have been fuming ever since. They have had to tolerate and/or pay more attention to other minority groups, more than at any time in America, coupled with the election of a Black president, they are seething and have vowed to see White supremacy as the ultimate and final authority in America. THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT PLAYING, A CRUEL AND MALICIOUS RESPONSE IS IN STORE FOR THE BLACK COMMUNITY IF WE DON’T RESPOND TO THIS ELECTION!!
“We’re gonna take our country back;” “We’re gonna make our country great again;” “Black lives matter is anti-American;” “Affirmative actions is reverse racism;” Obama is an uppity;” “Obama isn’t American;” Obama is a Muslim;” “Were going to build a wall to stop the criminals and rapist from getting to the country;” “Just what do these people want anyway;” “Other ethnic groups had to struggle – why is it so different for the Blacks;” “what about White people;” “I should not be held responsible for the behavior of my ancestors;” “There is no such thing as White privilege;” “I don’t see Black anymore;” “What about White lives?;” and “Let’s Make America White Again.”
On the campaign trail, Donald Trump said “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists and some, I assume, are good people.” Even House Speaker Ryan, who many have called a racist, had the nerve to try and check Trump. Remember this statement by Ryan “ We have got this tailspin of culture, in our inner cities in particular, of men not working and just generations of men not even thinking about working or learning the value and the culture of work, and so there is a real culture problem here that has to be dealt with.” Ryan blames poverty on being lazy – what a joke.
Ryan’s rip on Donald Trump’s remarks about a judge presiding over a lawsuit involving his business was biased because of his Mexican heritage as “the textbook definition of a racist comment” is also racist. However; Ryan’s response is actually racist because he had the power to stop a “racist” but instead he, like many other Republican leaders, have endorsed Donald Trump – how do you endorse a person who is the textbook definition of being a racist? Racism is not about what people say, it’s more about what you do and what Ryan did, even though he disavowed Trump’s racist comments, he, like his entire republican party, endorse someone they called a “textbook” racist.
All any Black person has to do is look at the visual of the Republican Convention versus the Democratic Convention. If a picture represents a thousand words, what did you see and what message is being conveyed by both conventions. The Republican Party is represented by nearly 100% White men and women with a few sprinkles of Black and Brown people (token). Of the 2,472 Republican delegates, only 18 (.7%) are Black while the Democrats have consistently had more than 20%. The Democratic Convention was a stark contrast and looked more like a human rainbow with Black people involved at every level. It just doesn’t stop there, one must evaluate the staff, the contracts, the planners, and the leaders. The visual coming from the Republicans looks more like the KKK than a political party that understands the need to reflect the American diversity.
There are people within the Republican Party that point to Abraham Lincoln and the emancipation proclamation as a party that will protect the rights of Black people – this is their claim of Black credentials. In fact, they talk about referencing Frederick Douglass and a number of gains by Blacks within the Republican Party during the 19th Century. At that time, the racist southern states were Democratic and one hundred percent for the continued enslavement of Black people. How insane is this argument. This is not the same Republican Party; this party has traded places with the old Democrat Party and the current Republicans don’t have any meaningful Black people involved in their party in any way. If Black people are not involved, you can’t speak for, represent, understand Black people, nor can you merge your agenda with ours. In many respects, the Republican Party is a mirror reflection of the old confederate southern states.
Brothers and Sisters, we must seize this moment and come to grips with our reality in that we will never achieve liberation as long as we’re unable to defeat a climate of open racist. As I’ve stated previously, our issues are complex and structural in nature, which requires the optimal level of cooperation from our government in assisting in the liberation of Black people that the government had a hand in creating. If the right wing is successful, just the Supreme Court appointments could make or break our movement.
Our young people and the Black Lives Matter movement must come to understand that there are political solutions that are needed for us to be victorious, and their efforts are only a continuation of the struggle of Black liberation in America. Unfortunately, Black lives will never matter to White America until they matter more to Black America, which means that Black America must be able to defend itself at every level. This requires a Black movement that embraces and aggregates all of our limited capacities and resources, adopts an agenda, and go about the work to implement the agenda adopted over generations and decades (this is a long struggle).
In a democracy like America’s, Black lives will never matter until Black politics matter. Black politics can only be achieved, by not only understanding the political process, but also understanding the seasons and time when things can be done and the presidential election is the biggest stage within politics. Voting as a block is only one aspect of the political strategy, the other is mandating our agenda (i.e. economic reparations, fully funded public schools; restructuring of laws that give courts sole discretion in sentencing, etc.).
The Black Movement is the only thing that can validate that Black lives matter. It will require that we change our own behaviors before we can hold America and its institutions accountable for what it has done to our people. I’ve listened to a number of revolutionary type speeches and most lack the infrastructure needed to orchestrate real and systemic change. When it’s all said and done, this isn’t about some emotional acknowledgement of Black lives matter, but a transfer of resources which White people have claimed to be solely theirs and theirs alone. While it doesn’t represent the final solution we need the White House leaning in our favor in order to begin this heavy and awesome work.
There is just so much we must do to have a shot. We also need laws to be amended, abolished and/or created by legislators that will support our agenda. It is the combination of all of these things that will create real change. Black lives will never matter in America until they matter to Black people enough that will force them to use all of the tools in the toolbox to fight back. Ask yourself? What America do you want to see – is it a reflection of our dark past or the hope of a bright future. This destiny lies in our hands and there are consequences in this presidential election.
This presidential election is a real crossroads for the struggle of Black people in this country. This is not the case because liberal White people are looking out for our well-being and they have deemed this election a crossroad – no, just the opposite. Our young people must come to understand that if they have misgivings about the American system, how do you think your elders feel? Our response can’t be that we give up and we don’t care – our inaction is an action against us.
White people, in general are not impacted, like Black people, on who is or who isn’t elected president. White people can take the attitude and many do, that they can wait this election out. What does this mean? It means that they could not vote at all; they can cast their vote for a Libertarian candidate; or they can really protest and submit a “write-in” candidate – all of these acts are, in effect, a vote for Donald Trump. How much of their lives will materially change no matter who is on office? There will be changes but none will be material. White life in America will continue to prosper because America is built to benefit White people always (privilege).
White people do have philosophical political differences and they are real – this is why we have the different political parties. Republicans are more for the upper class, big business, and they believe in less government so as to have free markets to create as much wealth as possible. Democrats are generally pro working and middle class and view big business, in many respects, as the enemy therefore require that the government regulate their activity. There are other differences but these are some of the key ones. So they share and alternate power but never is that power to empower the Black community – we must do it for ourselves. White people, because of their dominance and control in the ownership of America, can take the position that they can sit out any election.
A wise man once told me that there are Republicans, there are Democrats, and there are White people – don’t ever get it twisted. There are consequences in this presidential election.
