Who Will Step Up?
Rosa’s gone. Coretta’s gone. Now the venerable Dr. Dorothy Height is gone too. Our heroines of the Civil Rights Movement, the movers and shakers of black empowerment, the legendary ones we read about in our history class textbooks and watch in fuzzy black and white footage from decades ago, are passing on fast. And, our reaction is almost formulaic: the news goes out over the radio and internet, we give a moment of silence and mourn, we say what a shame it is, we reflect on their lives, the impact they had on our community and the world at large, they lie in state somewhere, we stand in long lines to pay our respects, media puts together some documentary-style clips before coverage wanes and we all move on. In general, the whole process takes less than two weeks. That’d be okay, considering life is for the living and all of those women who led active, fulfilling lives would want each and every one of us to do the same. But the work they struggled and sacrificed for is still unfinished. So who’s going to step up to carry on the legacy?
When a blade of grass gets uprooted, another seedling ideally pops up to replace it. When one of our activists goes on to glory, be they national figures or leaders on a local level, our community has pressed forward by having mentees and underlings ready to take their ideologies and agendas like a passed baton and run ahead in the race. There was real studying, a genuine sitting underfoot to grasp not only the issues at hand but methods on how to best reach out to the people to convey their message. All of these ladies—the knowns and unknowns, the Dorothy Heights standing at the podiums and the Mother Forsythes anonymously lining the pews—were radical in their own ways, especially as women in the church, which has been historically and habitually dominated by the overbearing boisterousness of male glory hogs. (You think Rev. Enter Public Figure Name Here came up with his concepts and organized his civil disobedience on his own? Pfft. Puh-lease.) They were regal, diplomatic and composed, but they were fiercely outspoken with a dogged, in-your-face intent on changing circumstances for their children, their children’s children’s children and other Black folks’ children. That passion got passed from the 40s to the 50s to the 60s to the 70s.
Then us 80s and 90s babies came along and got lazy.
Riding the coattails of the changes laid out for us, we take for granted liberties that stem from times that seem—to some of us, anyway—like dusty, way-back-in-the-day memories when in reality, it’s only been 50 odd years since we’ve been able to sit next to a white student in school if we want to, not to mention plop down on any seat on the train, hail any cab, blow money at whichever ole’ restaurant we want to patronize and shop at every and any store our hearts desire (and we all know how much black women love to shop, so thank God we’re unrestricted). Civil rights won, Black Power instilled, Reaganomics and trickle down theories survived, so our generation really hasn’t had to fight any fight. Not a legal one, anyway. There are heavily publicized cases of racially motivated injustice, absolutely, too many over the last ten or twenty years to list accurately. But that was the norm for our foremothers and fathers who fought the struggle, just a day in the life while they were executing routine stuff like buying groceries, getting home and having a peaceful night’s rest. Lynching was real. Disrespect was real. Harassment was real. Threats and acts of physical violence for the smallest perceived offenses or attempts at bucking the system were real.
But they absorbed that for us and changed the way society operates. And I repeat: blatant racism still exists, and not just in the back woods of Kentucky or Alabama. We all know that, even if we don’t want to admit that there are just as many rednecks dressed in suits and ties in midtown Manhattan as there are in Hock and Spit Jablip, Tennessee. It’s a mindset that doesn’t need a noose to lynch our folks physically—it’s a social, economic and professional chokehold in play. Racism is not only institutionalized, it’s crossed multicultural boundaries so that now, Mr. Asian Man and Ms. Indian Woman can and do openly discriminate against black people, as well. If any of these conditions upset us 20- and 30-somethings, though, I sure can’t tell. There’s been a sweeping, ugly dumbing down when it comes to acknowledging and really addressing pertinent issues in our community. There who read, write and publish Clutch, and ladies who volunteer for, evangelize and perpetuate the same rabble-rousing agenda that our grandmothers and mothers in activism did decades ago. They exist. They care. They do the work. You probably have some in your community because they pop up on the news from time to time and are the face of making things right in the modern day.
But for the most part, our generation is polluted with 1) armchair revolutionaries who complain about the injustices of every kind of –ism but sit on their post-secondary-educated, multi-degreed rear ends, have riveting debates and conversations but do nothing else or, most popularly, 2) the hip-hop brainwashed self-proclaimed diva who can list the reality show rundown but hasn’t picked up a newspaper or read a meaningful piece of literature since she graduated from high school. Things get hard outside the comfort of easy superficiality. When talk turns from handbag designers and new releases of subpar rap music, they get quiet. Say something about history or current events or new legislation or political agendas and a hush falls over the crowd. Those are the women I’m talking about. And those are the women who disappoint our legacy.
In 2010, there is still a litany of concerns and issues our people face on a local, national and global level—in Harlem, in Atlanta, in Canada, in Jamaica and Haiti, in Botswana—everywhere. There are too many people freeloading off of the work our predecessors did—and many died for—without observing the laws of retribution to make it even easier for somebody else. I don’t care if you just care about what goes on in your tiny corner of Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn or your section of South Side Chicago. Just care about something, for God’s sake. And not just about the latest episode of “Real Housewives” or the new season of “Tiny and Toya.” I’m not saying become an armband -wearing, statistic-spouting militant. You’ll be by yourself quicker than a Bible beater at happy hour because nothing kills a party like a downer with a debate always on her lips. If getting involved with civil rights to guarantee a level playing and living field for black folks doesn’t move you, get involved with women’s issues. Human trafficking. Ending poverty and homelessness. Foster care. International affairs. Animal rights. Join a treehuggers’ union and strap yourself to an exotic shrub in the rainforest. Shoot, help single mothers because we need all the help we can get. Just do something.
Women in churches need to do more. Women in neighborhoods need to do more. Women getting their degrees, women raising a next generation of children, women in positions of power, women with extra time on their hands, even women with packed schedules. Hell, my friends and I need to be doing more. (I can’t wait to see their faces when they read that part.) I’ve recently signed up for more volunteer activities in the community because I want to be a catalyst for change, particularly with young girls. If you have a talent, contribute it to a cause. If all you can do is sort papers and make copies, be the best darn paper sorter and copier you can be for your movement.
I know everyone doesn’t subscribe to the concept of heaven and the afterlife, but humor me please: when I go on to meet my Maker, I’m not just going to have to answer for my decisions and shortcomings. I’m going to have to stand eye-to-eye with my ancestors—my grandmother, Dr. Height, Mrs. King, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Harriet Tubman—the whole lot. And when I do, I want to be able to smile proudly and confidently that I, too, contributed to the legacy of my people. I wasn’t black just for the sake of being black. I was a proud black woman who stood up for things I believed in, who worked to make my household to my neighborhood to my community to my city and hell, maybe even the country or world, an easier place for my daughter and her future kids to thrive in. Wouldn’t you want to do something like that too?
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This article made me cry. When I was 14 years old, I visited Haiti for the first time…for my mothers funeral. Needless to say, meeting my grandmother for the first time as she cried and pointed to where she gave birth to my mother in a two-room house with no carpet, no electricity, no anything… it ingrained something in me that has made me want to become a voice for the Haitian community. When I tell you I’m spitting history about a country I wasn’t even born in and showing my undercover Haitian friends that it’s okay to claim Haiti, despite all then negative name calling such as AIDS people, boat people, etc… It became my duty to be an activist for my community. We represent the largest Caribbean immigrants in America yet face the worst discrimination when it comes to foreign policy. Thanks, Ms. Harris, this article gave me the boost I need to step it up because we need more positive representation now more than ever before. Be looking out for me!!!
I applaud the honesty and love of this article but I will have to politely disagree. I have the honor and responsibility of being an Ella Baker Trainer for the Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools. We are 30+ college age and young professional men and women and most of us are women. We work day in and day out for two weeks in the summer to train the next generation of servant leaders of America with the Freedoms School program. I also think that my mother’s friends and colleagues have shown me the way to serving my community. The disconnect of generations happened in the home; mother to daughter. We might not see the next Dorothy Heights, Rosa Parks or Coretta Scott King because they’re not in front of the TV all the time. I feel that someone who’s truly about service will do it with or without the camera. I also feel that some of our older leaders in the movement have a “letting go of the torch problem”, they should have nurtured and brought up the new generation of leaders, but they were trying to extend their run. We have no succession plan in the Black community and that’s a problem. We also need to be worried about raising a collective group of leading women not just one or two. I want my fellow Clutch magazine readers to be empowered to serve our communities but I also want to know they’re not alone.
Before we lead, we must serve.
Simone
“Then us 80s and 90s babies came along and got lazy”
I’m a 90s baby and I sort off took offense.
I admire what these women did for us and paving the way. I don’t believe we have gotten lazy at all. There are many young women such as myself and my friends/peers are advocating for different things.
The women before us did most of the work; we’re still fighting, but we have different battles nowadays. There’s no need to fight for segregation, for us to go to college, for us to get good jobs. We’re fighting for issues that are effecting our community like bettering our education system, mentoring troubled youth, fighting for health awareness, etc.
We have and will continue to step up, but as time goes on, the issues change, the campaigns are different, the advocacy evolves.
Sorry Clutch but this article missed the mark. I got the concept of where it wanted to go but it fail short. I found this article to be very generalizing and condescending
“Then us 80s and 90s babies came along and got lazy.”
“our generation is polluted with 1) armchair revolutionaries who complain about the injustices of every kind of… 2) the hip-hop brainwashed self-proclaimed diva”
Hold up, wait a minute. First, you can’t generalize all people who was born and grew up in the 80s and 90s as lazy. arm chair revolutionaries and hip hop brainwashed self proclaimed divas that ONLY represents a factor of our population not the whole. For every one of those people their are 5 more that is not like them. Trust, they had, armchair revolutionaries and self proclaimed divas and “lazy” babies in ALL generations, including in the ones before us who didn’t want to rattle or shack to hard to rattle the “man”.
Focus and shift ALWAYS change with the different times. Us so called, 80s and 90s babies ARE fighting other causes and plights in life, like HIV/AIDS awareness, Drugs, the war in Iraq, education, the image of black women, representation in professions that are still mostly white and male dominated, etc. The legancy is still continuing and happening but the focus is changing and the way we are combating it is different. Just because you don’t see a group of us march or do sit ins, etc. doesn’t mean we are not making an impact and making our voices heard. For example, the way we went out, rallied and voted in 2008 for the president election especially first time black voters, the help with Haiti and Hurricane Katrina, the Jena 6 incident, the way we USE hip hop to influence thought provoking discusssion and change in the 80s and even now etc.
So, us 80s and 90s babies are getting out there, we may not be doing it as the same magnitude and attention as our legends before us has but we are doing our job for change and future generations just the same. Each generation has their personal battles and fights in an era, for the ladies before us it was open and hostile racism for us it is everything from the media, press, industries/business, schools, etc. One generation can’t change and fix EVERYTHING, change and progression for the better takes time for the results to be seen.
Just because you don’t see every do gooder on the national news or making headlines like the ladies did back in the day doesn’t mean we are not doing out part usually it is local *blame your major media networks/outlets for praising things like Angelina and Brad’s kids, Paris Hilton, or your latest rapper going to jail* for not hearing the good work and deeds that happens everyday but leading ladies stepping up and picking up the torch for this generation.
*this is why I support clutch, the throught provoking debates and views!*
This is probably the best piece Clutch has produced in a while, I mean it. It speaks on moral obligations, which I think we all lag in. We lay in bed on MLK Day and say, “That’s nice” and roll back over and sleep. My father always talks about how we dropped the ball, and I roll my eyes at the crazy coot. But he has a point. I used to love volunteering, but I can’t really remember the last time I did it. Does giving blood count? I’ve been think heavily about mentoring youth, and this article is going to push me out of the thinking zone and into the doing. Thank you.
As the old saying goes, charity begins at home. There are alot of young people, (and alot of us not so young ones) doing great work and making a difference in the lives of people in our own communities. I admit that I did not read the article yet, but I want to throw this out there. One of the best role models that we have for black women and girls is Michelle Obama. She may not be the next Rosa, Coretta or Dorothy, but she will most certainly inspire some young women to step into those shoes.
goodness. this is such a serious concern. theres been so much talk of millenials and the boom of young people who want to be involved in social change but in our community the number of people willing to commit to that change are far fewer than those willing to talk about it. i work in a non profit and can say i have met some wonderful driven women of color who are working to be the change they hope to see but when i look at my community, my neighborhood i see less and less of that and more of the groups you mentioned. among my black girl friends it is often hard for me to find other who share a passion for international affairs or even domestic politics in general. many are content to not care, bc at the end of the day they see it as just something i happen to be “into,” not something that they have any obligation to be concerned with.
i dont think 80s babies got lazy, but i do think we are far more apathetic than those who came before us. many of the women watching sheree be a hoodrat have 2 or 3 degrees but sit there enamored with the LIFESTYLE. after all, arent the women driving ranges in atl far more interesting to watch than the ones in uganda fighting for their right to vote without being harassed?
this is the double edge sword of the civil rights era- its children received its gifts, reaped the benefits of its successes, then bagged it and bounced. im west indian american and so my outlook and history tends to have different lines in it but i think it is time that mobilization in the black community become more inclusive. not just in terms of the west indian/african/afam split, but also in terms of faith, sexuality as well. the truth is the breakdown in the civil rights leaders of old and our generation is that black america does not look like it did in the 60s. we need to accept that there is a new narrative instead of trying to make it neat enough for the textbooks. we need to embrace it for the complexity it is now. unless we do, the story of being black in america will contain the same injustices and inequalities. and if that is the story we will pass on to our children, it will be nobody’s fault but our own.
Who will step up? Or who has stepped up these past few years. Heck, who stepped up these past few decades. I do feel this article was well written but maybe some of the laziness and apathy comes from the fact that we don’t take the time to recognize and appreciate the women who are doing it now. Who is now the voice of Black Americans today? Just yesterday while watching The Daily Show, I was introduced to Lisa P. Jackson. A Black woman heading to Environmental Protection Agency? A Black woman who’s also a scientist? I felt ashamed never having heard of her but realized that I bet there are tons of Black women doing big things that will inspire my younger sister, my future daughter just like these women inspired me when I heard their stories in History class, and I’ve never heard of them. Because who cares about what Black women are doing now, right?
And then there is me. A young woman who hopped on the campaign trail for Obama. Who marched and did demonstrations outside of a Hyatt hotel where they treat our sisters, minority workers unfairly; Who’s always asking questions of my sister’s school so she’s getting the best education. Fed and rocked babies to sleep as their single parent (usually just mothers) reeled from the journey out of NoLa after Katrina hit. My fight is not as hard as the fight these women had but I know that there is still plenty to fight about. I know I must keep my eyes peeled for injustices. Those of us who find these heroines important must try to be important too. Whether it’s in the lives of our own family or a stranger. The fight is not over just because these ladies are gone.
Its crazy that their are over 150 collective comments that don’t even touch the importance of this one. This article is why I continue to read clutch. I agree with your comment about armchair 80′s babies…after reading your piece I see myself as one of them. Nothing I do holds a candle to what prior generations have done. The earlier generations were doers for the black community as a whole. It seems that we are doers only when it involves ourselves. We hustle to get degrees, make money, pursue our passions and do work that benefits us and our families individually. However the days of working collectively to change our community for the better seem to be long gone. I don’t know who will step up but I will definitely challenge myself to contribute to my community more as a result of reading this. Job well done.
And Why do you have only 7 comments on a subject like this?!!!
I LOVE YOU Janelle Harris!
EVERY BLACK PERSON NEEDS TO READ THE WILLIE LYNCH LETTER!!!! IT IS PERTINENT! TELL EVERYBODY YOU KNOW TO READ IT TOO. THE CONTENT IS HAUNTING US TO THE SECOND.
I agree with this article guys. It is to the “T” and it punched me in the Gut! Oakland California, Born and raised. Born in 1980! Raised in a 2 parent home. This is the TRUTH. Like it or not. There is so much going on, and on so many levels, there is no beginning and no end. TRUE STORY : 1)An Asian man was attacked, (in downtown Oakland, in an area that has been “reinvented”) put into a coma, and later died. He was beaten by 3 Black Boys ranging in ages 18-2?; under 30 for sure and there excuse was, they are upset with their life and their situation. They will be jailed and they will have no situation. They were still young enough to create a positve situation, but now they will be victims of the new form of slavery. The Jail System!, which is growing rapidly by the day. (did you know that you could purchase stocks in this industry?)
Another TRUE STORY(Personal), Sunday morning 4/25/10, around 10am, I’m on my merry little way to take my 10y/o son to his baseball game, and shots are fired right across the direction of traffic in which we are traveling. I saw the barrell of the gun with my own 2 EYES pointed in our direction. A preacher excited a Church to see what the commotion was as I hit the GAS. My 10y/o son and 4y/o daughter in the car.
Who are these people? Do they even know what we went through. Do they even have a clue what is happening to us? They have no regards for life. Their OWN or anyone elses. It’s disturbing. OAKLAND,CA where The Black Panther Party was founded, yet from the state of the People and our Youth, you sure as H can’t tell.
I Love my Black People soooo much, that the state of denial and blindness that we are in pisses me the F off. Excuse me Please! But I am so serious. They walk around here like they own the Fn streets where I live. I mean the light could be green for me to go and the red hand up for them to wait, and the punks walk into the street like they run it. I hit the gas. I dare them to say something to me. I stay prayed up and I’ve got a ear full for them.
Pants sagging so low, to the knees, why even wear the jeans? Smoking weed in the streets all dang day. They don’t even go to school. Just Fools!! Driving aroung on these dang 26″ inch rims, can’t even turn the car at the corner and WHY?
We’re, and not just Black People are too distracted. Too much going on, Iphones, Ringtones, video hoe’s, you name it….
The music sets the tone. I don’t even watch TV cause all that comes on are reality shows and I have my own reality to deal with. I wish everyone would wake up and stop living in a dream. As I’ve said on Clutch many times before, in the words of Marvin Gaye “What’s Going On?” WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!!
I wish to shout it from the mountain tops on a loud speaker.
Then, they’d probably try to KILL ME!!!
Subscribing to the Afterlife in Heaven is not humerous to me at all. If you look at the state of the situations worldwide, (take sometime onetime to listen to public radio, it won’t kill you) it’s really not a game. We need to take heed to the signs in Matthew. We are expieriecing the birthing pains. There are Geyser like areas shooting out Methane in Siberia as you read. (REAL TALK) This thing is about feeding your spirit in the right way. The body is subject to doing all sorts of wicked things. We need to be strong in the spirit. The Messiah is coming. GET READY!
i do believe the fight has change and so must our methods. each comment i can respect and adds value to the debate.
Sigh. Can we talk about Black WOMEN’S issues please?
Edit.
Excuse me, but this article was disrespectful and out of line. It is a slap in the face to ALL Black women.
Excuse you, but modern Black women & girls, ARE holding it down. In school, in the workplace, and on the streets too. Look at how sistas mobilized for Obama. The nature of what it means to be a Black female has changed somewhat since the days of the icons mentioned above, but make no mistake about it, sistas are STILL doing what needs to be done. On the intertational front, it’s no different. In Africa and the Caribbean, it is by and large Black women doing what needs to be done.
It is also strange how when you want to critisize, trivialize, and mock, you specify Black WOMEN, but when you want to talk about benefits, you specify Black PEOPLE. Typical, and emblamatic of the REAL problem that almost nobody in this damn race wants to acknowledge or talk about.
You know what – you are retarded. All your comments are EXTRA and you make no sense. I really hope Clutch blocks you. Clutch please block her. I am sure lots of readers would be overjoyed.
Another self-hating Black woman. Sigh.
Oh, and let me remind you, hating on me or other Black women won’t make who you are doing it for love you, they just laugh at you.
If you would truly like to create change, perhaps in between all of your volunteer commitments you might find time to…I don’t know…conduct some actual research and find evidence to support the claims you make in your ‘little articles.’
I can even help you with your first research question: “What percentage of African American women, between the ages of 18-35 in the United States, are engaged in community development activities (i.e. NGOs, education, public policy, human rights, etc.) either as volunteer workers or as employees?
You can start there. Once you have some credible data, then perhaps you can wax poetic about the alleged apathy this article espouses.