(ThyBlackMan.com) If I know nothing else, experience has taught me that life is full of unexpected twists and unappreciated turns. Although I fought the fight with every fiber of my being, I long ago accepted the unavoidable reality that only the Lord knows why he allows us to go through what we go through. We are after all, mere mortals in the grand scheme of life.
My attempts to deal with my relative mundane stature were failures until I adopted the words of Public Enemy frontman Chuck D who stated in his recording Prophets of Rage, “I roll with the punches, so I survive.”
I’ll tell you that an unexpected twist that occurred in my life was my selection by the Jack & Anita Hess Society as a fellow at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) in Washington, D.C.
My selection for this opportunity was befuddling for several reasons, most notably because I have little interest in the history of European Jews. Anyone who has read my writings soon realizes that my intellectual interests are firmly planted in the African-American experience, Black Power politics to be specific. When deciding if I would accept the invitation, a part of me reasoned that at least it’s a free trip to Washington, D.C. a place that I had not been since the sixth grade. Never in a million years would I have suspected that much like the sinful revelers in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple that “maybe God was trying to tell me something.”
I never imagined that my time at the USHMM would enlighten me in a manner that removed all doubt that “God was trying to tell me something.”
Undoubtedly, the most pertinent thing that I learned while away from my home campus had nothing to do with Jewish History. That distinction is reserved for the recognition of the power that one could activate in both sympathizers and opponents with via a well-planned display of history. I left Washington, D.C. realizing that even the staunchly anti-Semitic were permanently affected after visiting the USHMM.
During a private conversation, a USHMM administrator revealed that the primary goal of the museum was the telling of the Jewish story in such a persuasive manner that even avowed enemies hateful thoughts and political positions would be lessened. Even my initial reflection on this matter led me to realize that the Jewish historical narrative has tapped into the sympathies of black folk; in fact, it is common to encounter blacks who have more sympathy for the Jewish Holocaust than they do for the Holocaust that their ancestors experienced. Unfortunately for other victims of Holocausts, there is no more significant sign of the Jewish Holocaust’s supreme importance than the fact that the word Holocaust seems to be trademarked to Jewish suffering.
Consider for a moment that the suffering that Jews endured did not occur in this land. However, they have found a way to convince America that it should offer reparations for an injury that happened on another continent while the descendants of stolen Africans forcibly transported to America continue to be denied such justice. The issue of black suffering has been so discounted that most Americans, including the majority of blacks, do not believe that any reparations are due to the sons and daughters of Africa.
The most important question surrounding this matter is “Why have the sons and daughters of Africa been denied while others have not.”
The pursuit for redress by the Jewish community for their horrific experience extends further than monetary compensation. Jewish leaders have taken their pursuit of justice to a level that no black leader that I have encountered has considered as a realistic option; the Jews are tracking down those individuals whose actions are directly tied to their suffering and bringing them to justice.
Such pursuits serve as the storyline for the recently released film, Operation Finale. The film follows Peter Malkin, a legendary Mossad agent, as he goes to Argentina to capture Adolf Eichmann. It is Eichmann who serves as the mastermind behind what Adolph Hitler termed the Final Solution; meaning, the wholesale extermination of Jews.
Although I am uncertain if my present feelings regarding the repeated failure of blacks to move beyond bottom-rung status in America while Jews flourish are emanating from a place of envy or frustration; most likely both jealousy and frustration play a part in my emotional state.
My frustrations with Black America as it continues a tradition of historic ineptitude that no other population other than disorganized Africans could ever hope to match is apparent to all around me. While non-blacks develop and execute reasonable politico-economic collectivist plans that rally their people, Black America remains devoutly disorganized and ridiculously inefficient in handling both inter-racial and intra-racial problems.
It appears that neither black political leaders nor the citizens that blindly follow them have learned anything from the liberation plans of non-black groups. Until this pattern of inefficiency is corrected, Black America will not only continue to languish behind others; they will also watch others accomplish political goals that they can not even conceive.
And the black man penning this essay will grow even more frustrated at the tired, sordid tale of Black America.
Staff Writer; Dr. James Thomas Jones III
Official website; http://www.ManhoodRaceCulture.com
One may also connect with this brother via Twitter; DrJamestJones.