(ThyBlackMan.com) On the average day, I will guess that I come across at lease one self-proclaimed “Black Revolutionary.” You know the type of self-proclaimed arm chair revolutionary that I speak of. Everyone, except for those who are truly fortunate, have had the misfortune meeting at least one of the alluded to individuals who has conveniently by-passed any semblance of introspection in their rush to address and then solve the cavernous problems facing Black America. From their myopic perspective, the only significant obstacle standing between their people and liberation is their refusal to adhere to their revolutionary plans.
I am not ashamed to tell you that I have concocted many ingenious means to avoid self-appointed black revolutionaries. My avoidance of the self-appointed Black Revolutionary is borne of his propensity for foolishness such as illogical conspiracy theories, falsification of a historical path that they have no understanding of beyond some “knowledge” that they found on the internet, or the reclassification of persons of African descent for no other reason than it allows them to participate in yet another episode of mental masturbation.
The failure to consider the following matters exposes the self-appointed black revolutionary as a fraud with little understanding of the substantive matters surrounding the revolutionary overthrow that they so frequently call for. Most black revolutionaries are incapable of addressing any of the following issues.
What will the new governmental structure be?
Who would head the new governmental structure?
What would we use for currency?
What would the educational system look like?
Who would control the modes and means of production?
Will we be a communalistic, Communist, Socialist, or Capitalist nation?
Will we continue the current system of representative democracy? If so, why? If not, why not?
What will be the role of women in this new “Black Land”?
I have found that most self-proclaimed black revolutionaries are unaware of the cascade of issues that would result from a successful revolution. Whenever I raise such questions, the response is either a deafening silence or a continuation of verbal nonsense that they erroneously consider a substitute for sound reasoning and rational thought.
Although I understand from whence their hesitation comes, it is time for the black revolutionary to abandon their unfocused calls for a domestic revolution and turn their attention toward improving the politico-economic status of Black America within the existing system.
Of course, the insinuation that the efforts of today’s black revolutionary will be more productive if they were re-calibrated to assist Black America in “creating a nation within, but without a nation” will not be well-received by that population. Nevertheless, black revolutionary’s abandonment of what amounts to unachievable goals of overthrowing the U.S. government in favor of traditional avenues of group improvement — the pursuit of a relevant education, social civility, collectivist economics, and political solidarity — would place them on the same path that other groups have had to travel as they attempted to improve their collective lot. The above steps — turning one’s attention to education, political engagement, and economic collectivism — are not only a rational expression of “Black Power,” but also the most reliable antidote to the politico-economic powerlessness and social dysfunction that has shadowed Black America for far too long.
Unfortunately, contemporary black revolutionaries allegiance to “Black Power” slogans has done little to increase their understanding of the political philosophy. The foremost consequence of this ineffectual use of “Black Power” imagery and concepts is that it has stripped the political philosophy of its true meaning. In many ways, contemporary black revolutionaries ignorance regarding what “Black Power” politics are has led to them betraying a rich tradition of black political astuteness and the pursuit of tangible gains to improve the collective plight of Black America.
Black power is concerned with organizing the rage of black people.…Black power (1) deals with the obviously growing alienation of black people and their distrust of the institutions of this society; (2) works to create new values and to build a new sense of community and of belonging; and (3) works to establish legitimate new institutions that make participants, not recipients, out of a people traditionally excluded from the fundamentally racist processes of this country.
There is little doubt that contemporary black revolutionaries have chosen to ignore Fred Hampton’s famous quote that “…politics is nothing but war without bloodshed and war is nothing but politics with bloodshed.”
The so-called black revolutionaries hesitation to replace rhetoric with an actual confrontation with their enemy in politics, education, and economics is betrays prior expressions of “Black Power.” Consider for a moment the words of Charles V. Hamilton and Stokely Carmichael in their brilliant book, Black Power.
The concept of Black Power rests on a fundamental premise. Before a group can enter the open society, it must first close ranks. By this, we mean group solidarity is necessary before a group can operate effectively from a bargaining position of strength in a pluralistic society. Traditionally, each new ethnic group in this society has found the route to social and political viability through the organization of its own institutions with which to represent its needs within the larger society . . . the American melting pot has not melted. Italians vote for Rubino over O’Brien; Irish for Murphy over Goldberg, etc.
There is little room to debate that Hamilton and Carmichael are calling for political organization and a major confrontation with American powerbrokers in the real world, not some fantasy world filled with Kings, Queens, God’s, Earth’s, Angels, Moors, Hebrews, and other superheroes.
The current class of black revolutionaries would benefit from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., lamentations regarding Black Power. According to Dr. King,
{Black Power activists} must use every constructive means to amass economic and political power. This is the kind of legitimated power we need. We must work to build racial pride and refute the notion black is evil and ugly. But this must come through a program, not merely through a slogan…The words ‘black’ and ‘power’ together give the impression that we are talking about black domination rather than black equality.
Black Power is a call for the pooling of black financial resources to achieve economic security.… Through the pooling of such resources and the development of habits of thrift and techniques of wise investment, the Negro will be doing his share to grapple with his problem of economic deprivation. If Black Power means the development of this kind of strength within the Negro community, then it is a quest for basic, necessary, legitimate power.
It is past time for today’s self-proclaimed black revolutionary to abandon the fantasy world that he/she has situated themselves in and muster the courage to fight their enemies in the real world where groups are fighting over limited politico-economic resources. In many ways, the outright resistance of today’s black revolutionary to emerge from the shadows and fight other groups over limited resources speaks volumes about how much faith they have in their rhetorical statements and ineffective posturing. The failure of contemporary black revolutionaries to develop and execution a realistic plan to improve the present politico-economic position of Black America reeks of cowardice. And if I know nothing else, acts of cowardice will never be mistaken for revolutionary struggle.
Staff Writer; Dr. James Thomas Jones III
Official website; http://www.ManhoodRaceCulture.com
One may also connect with this brother via Twitter; DrJamestJones.