(ThyBlackMan.com) As a Black man and as a baby boomer, I have become very concerned for young people of color in our nation. A person from my generation has an advantage that many of today’s teenagers and young adults may not possess. Life has afforded my generation the benefit of witnessing first-hand our nation’s social and political progression throughout the last five decades. With it comes a sense of appreciation for how Blacks gained upward economic and professional mobility in areas denied to previous generations. Looking back, older generations from my youth understood and embraced the African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.”
Therefore, there was an emphasis on the importance of community support in raising children and fighting for societal changes on their behalf. The older generations from the past understood the current social challenges of their day along with the long-term implications for children of color. Many accepted the village’s call and made personal sacrifices against the social and racial barriers in place. There was the understanding that children benefited from the involvement and guidance of not just their parents but also from the broader community. The ultimate success obtained by my generation was built on the social and political victories of older generations before me. Their victories in breaking down social barriers became the successes that helped secure a future of hope and prosperity for my generation. Thirty years from now, will today’s teenagers and young adults be able to say the same thing about today’s baby boomers and Generation X?
As racial discrimination becomes bolder and normalized, it is occurring at an accelerated pace due to safeguards from the past being systematically removed. The full impact of the cultural and political shifts is not easy for teenagers and young adults to discern without the history and the intimate knowledge of past victories to use as a benchmark for comparison. The red flags and warning signs are loud and clear to some, but the long-term impact of racial barriers resulting from a renewed anti-Black sentiment may not be obvious to today’s youth and young adults in real-time. They may see the headlines but may not automatically see them as social regression sabotaging their economic and professional futures. A future where bright teenagers and young adults of color can achieve their dreams and aspirations through hard work and determination was an advantage my generation maintained because of the village. Will today’s village do the same and help younger generations prepare for what is becoming a future of racial uncertainty?
For example, Gen. C.Q. Brown Jr., former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was praised for breaking racial barriers in the military and for his “warfighter” credentials. When he was sworn in as the Air Force chief of staff in 2020 during the first Trump administration, Brown acknowledged previous U.S. military service members who had been denied advancement because of their race, Time reported.
“It is due to their trials and tribulations in breaking barriers that I can address you today as the Air Force chief of staff,” Brown said. In 2020, Donald Trump celebrated Brown’s confirmation on social media “as the USA’s first-ever African-American military service chief” and noted that he had appointed him to the role. While progress has been made, we regressed when the second Trump administration abruptly fired Gen. Brown as part of a campaign to purge the military leaders who support diversity and equity in the ranks. What message does this send to young men and women of color who seek to make the military their career? Before he was named secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth openly questioned whether Brown had been named chair because he was Black. Let’s state the truth: Hegseth has it backward. Gen. Brown, who followed in the footsteps of Gen. Colin Powell, was hired for his military credentials and was fired for being Black in leadership. The racial barriers in the military that were previously broken are being put back together by the Trump administration.
The connection between the firing of Gen. Brown and the new U.S. Marine Corps policy must be made. The U.S. Marine Corps is eliminating waivers that previously allowed service members who suffer from razor bumps to forgo shaving — an action critics say disproportionally affects Black men. The U.S. military requires all male service members to be clean-shaven. However, the military introduced shaving waivers in the 1970s to address genetic skin conditions like pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB), better known as razor bumps. Under the new rule, a Marine can be discharged if their condition does not improve in a year. The move is being called discriminatory by both military insiders and dermatologists. The Air Force recently changed its policy as well. Young people, with our help, must connect the dots and see how the military policy changes, the firing of Blacks in leadership, removal of certain books from military bases, elimination of DEI offices and positions, and restoring Confederate names of military bases is part of a renewed focus on anti-Blackness in the military. Young people with aspirations of a military career also must be prepared for what it means to be a Black person in today’s military. The future Colin Powells and C.Q. Browns are counting on us.
Written by David W. Marshall
Official website; https://davidwmarshallauthor.com/
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