Morris O’Kelly; Let’s Mourn the Death of Black Brotherhood, Then Move On…

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(ThyBlackMan.com) “Black brotherhood…”

At first read, the phrase seems antiquated. What comes to mind is something closer to 1960s Black power gloves, large afros and leather.

When you say “Black brotherhood,” that’s what first comes to my mind. Maybe that’s why many believe it died a long time ago. I personally struggle to find many or meaningful modern-day equivalents.

Anyone who goes missing for 40 years is rightfully pronounced dead in most cases, if not all. And no, The Million Man March wasn’t “Black Brotherhood” it a was moment. which gathered no momentum and did not spurn any movement. It was the exception which proved the rule. For the past 40 years, Black men have done far more killing of one-another than reaching out to each other in solidarity. That’s the obvious argument in the long overdue signing of Black brotherhood’s death certificate.

The less obvious one has been slowly playing itself out over the past ten years. African-American men have been choosing sides in an identity and ideological sense. Black-on-Black crime hasn’t only infected the streets but more recently the world of media where “beef” are as often found amongst the Black intelligentsia as they are in hip-hop.

We as Black men routinely mistreat each other privately and then act surprised when we disrespect each other publicly.

If you think that Tom Joyner’s recent monologue blasting Tavis Smiley and Dr. Cornel West was more about politics than personal animus, you are a fool. I’m not saying that Tom was wrong for what he said, why he said it or the forum in which he chose to say it. I know the back story and know better. Joyner’s public letter was the outward manifestation of a longstanding internal feeling of being misled and used for the self-aggrandizement of Smiley. This feud and dozens more like it are indicative of the evolving shift in how we as Black men relate to one-another in the 21st century.

In other words, we don’t.

Black men have in many ways lost all respect for one-another. You see it everywhere, everyday.

In the 1960s, Black men had common goals, common interests and of course common enemies. When you can’t vote, you don’t publicly demean one-another over subtle political nuances. You’ve got bigger problems in which to address. When Black men are being lynched by non-Black ones, you are less-likely to engage in criticism of the president regarding economic minutia. You’ve got bigger problems to address. Yes, we disagreed, criticized and at times even publicly rebuked each other, but there was both private and public respect by and large.

Solidarity wasn’t a “choice” once upon a time, it was a requirement. In 2011, with choice inevitably comes division. In some ways this was to be expected. I suspect nobody would choose to go back to the urgency of the Civil Rights movement just to resuscitate Black brotherhood.

Make no mistake, if posed with the “choice” of losing Black Brotherhood or losing my life for driving in the South after dark…I will gladly deliver the eulogy for Black Brotherhood and keep it pushing.

That is not to say that freedom and brotherhood are mutually exclusive, or with integration comes the inevitability of assimilation. But history is clear. It was the sum of all of Dr. King and Malcolm X’s fears.

Also with the election of Barack Obama, many African-Americans have become content with the lie and illusion that we live in a post-racial society. Meaning, the very idea of “Black brotherhood” should be left in the past and serves no contemporary purpose.

Depending on your level of cynicism, President Obama reached the Oval Office with no help or acknowledgment of “Black brotherhood;” not in a staff or campaign sense. Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Min. Louis Farrakhan, Van Jones were all cast aside with a quickness for the sake of political expediency. Obama’s colorless campaign is now the template and blueprint for African-American politicians seeking election by way of a varied ethnic constituency. Its impact is seen in the resistance of mainstream America to ascribe “racism” to President Obama being called a “d***” by the media. Its impact is seen in the birther movement and how it was couched as a “constitutional” issue and not a coded race one. Its impact is evident in presidential candidate Herman Cain; who refuses to acknowledge race in any manner and openly disavows any type of brotherhood with President Obama, who to him was “raised in Kenya.”

Black brotherhood is one Black man looking at another and understanding implicitly our shared history, our connected futures and maintaining level of respect for each other which transcends the vague and ephemeral.

No longer do we see each other as a reflection of ourselves.

Black brotherhood?

That…died long, long ago. Like all death, maybe it was the inevitable. Maybe instead of mourning the loss, it’s time to accept it and move forward. It surely is not coming back and we definitely aren’t going back to retrieve it.

( Exclusive Article – http://ThyBlackMan.com )

Staff Writer; Morris O’Kelly

To read more of this brother stuff, head over to; The Mo’Kelly Report.

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Dwane T. says:

July 9, 2011 at 6:05 pm

Interesting article Morris. As well your response as to the Fraternities’ relevance and struggles. In forming my response in my head, I was thinking in terms of my Fraternity Brothers, but in the end I acknowledged that those men who are closest to me have been those who I have hung with for almost 40 years now… my childhood buddies. We often lament the loss of civility between brothers in general. Even more we miss the loss of honor. Yes, honor. There was a time when there was a code in the street, the playground, people’s houses, etc. There was a way you addressed each other as part of that code. And everyone honored the code.

For example, going to visit a relative in a different part of the country. If you went to play basketball with your cousin’s friends, before anything else you asked… do you go straight up or take it back? Where are the out of bounds lines? Alternate possession or “you make it you keep i”? You learned the rules of another man’s court, and you honored them. Now everyone wants to bring their rules with them, and impose them on everyone else. Growing up in an era of solidarity and civility in my youth, it’s painful to see now.

I just deleted a long paragraph describing why Brotherhood is not dead. As I was writing, I realized that what I was saying was my desire… not my belief. But I will speak to my hope. I loved the million man march, but it proved something to me. We don’t need more Black leaders… we need less. We need strong men moving downward, not upward. We need those who can move millions, moving a few dozen young people over a decade and a half of their lives… ages 8-23. Brotherhood is learned through experience… and that experience comes best through adult guidance. If we made it a goal to infiltrate the youth rather than the corporations for one generation, brotherhood, civility, codes, and honor can make a comeback. As long as people who remember what it is are still around, Black Brotherhood isn’t dead yet. Life support? Definitely! But not dead.

Kenneth L. Green says:

July 6, 2011 at 12:28 pm

Assimilation only works when all are committed and that will never happen. The brotherhood is not dead nor will it ever be. Smaller, without visibility or mass appeal but not dead. I would argue that the residuals of the Million Man March are still effective in several cities around the country and the world. But truly one has to seek and research because there is little media hype or even appeal for community solidarity since America has been conditioned to receive it’s instructions from the mass media.

Continued study and research of Black Wall Street (its rise and demise) coupled with The Kamitic Book of Enlightenment THE BOOK OF COMING FORTH BY DAY (Egyptian Book of The Dead) will give us a fighting chance to maintain an understanding of unity in our community.

Mo'Kelly says:

July 6, 2011 at 1:46 am

Very good question.

Tom Joyner – Omega. Tavis Smiley – Kappa. Cornel West – Alpha. Al Sharpton – Sigma.

The Black Greek Letter Organizations are enduring their own problems having nothing to do with the diminishing camaraderie amongst Black men. Hazing and lawsuits have put all of them in peril.

In addition, with the declining numbers of Black men going to college overall and the war against Affirmative Action in admissions, there are simply fewer people available to sustain the organizations on an undergraduate level.

There is still a “need” for them, it is more a question of whether the organizations are fulfilling that need or evolving more into high society social clubs instead of serious community service.

Universities are proof positive of the effect of integration on these organizations, as the numbers are in decline nationally.

In short, yes there is still a need for them, provided they are still about the business of doing what they were meant to do. But America is a very different place in 2011 than 100 years ago when most of them were formed.

And this is coming from an Omega.

Xhale763 says:

July 5, 2011 at 8:08 pm

With the death of the Black brotherhood, does that mean there is no longer a need for fraternities like The Alphas, Omegas, Kappas, or Sigmas? Or should Black men continue the process of assimilation? If the Brotherhood is dead, what do we do now, or going forward??