by
Dominique DiPrima
I’m going to be honest, I’m already sick of talking about the 20th anniversary of Los Angeles Civil Unrest (or Rebellion or Riot depending on who you ask.) If I see one more cheesy news story with a re-airing of the beating of Rodney King, I may turn it off for good!
Don’t get me wrong, I understand the importance of the event in the history of Los Angeles, of our country and of Black people in particular. I get the progress and the damage that are it’s legacy. But the constant revisions, remixes and rehashing of half-baked history have me hungry for a heaping helping of freshly cut right now.
There is much we can learn from what happened in Los Angeles (and indeed in cities and towns across the nation) twenty years ago. That you can only push our people so far before they will push back is one ; that there is a basic unfairness in the application of the law and the conditions of life between African Americans and European Americans; that people need respect, opportunity and real hope to thrive. Of course there’s much more. I believe we have learned or are learning that we have to be strategic in our push back. We have to know when to march, and when to boycott, when to mobilize voters and when to occupy our capitols!
I pray that the true sankofa – what we will reach back and remember – is that we must not sacrifice our young people and our communities even in justifiable rage. We must react with wisdom, choosing our best strategic move at each crossroads. It is time for our leaders to stop triggering people’s righteous anger without offering legitimate actions or outlets to change the conditions that cause it. Whether they do it for pure self-promotion or simply indulge in reckless rants our would-be generals must be held to a higher standard by our community “armies,” especially by our elders.
And I ask that as we look back, reflect, take inventory on the past twenty years, that we also look forward. Sankofa means look back to learn. And we learn so that we can move forward. We don’t look back to stay stuck, to repeat what’s been done, to become bitter or belittle what we are doing today. We look back to bring lessons and inspiration to this moment. What are you doing for the next twenty years? What is your strategic plan? What is it that we want (we already know what we don’t want!) What are we doing for the young people among us? What is your vision? What does justice look like – whether it’s for Trayvon Martin, Kenrec McDade, or Black America? Let’s ask ourselves these questions and seek real answers and concrete paths to achieve them. Let’s be mindful of what our legacy will be when we look back in another decade or two. Let’s be purposeful in the legacy we are creating in this moment…sankofa…Because history is now!
April 30, 2012 at 5:37 am
Excellent post. I agree with you 110 percent!
May 1, 2012 at 1:28 pm
Again..
The hour is later than most think. 20yrs. ago it was a beating but just in this year alone look at all the police killings. The clock has been rolled back on Blacks today in such a way that it’s designed for us never to recover.
I’m no activist by any means but I’m not deaf, dumb nor blind and I do indeed have a voice. In another blog you asked “What am I doing?” Right now education and preparation. Researching and stockpilling. TRAINING!! THAT’S WHAT I’M DOING!! Again, there are forces.. Evil satanic forces that we are dealing with here. The mere fact that president Obama gave all our tax dollars to the car companies, banks and oil companies should be a clear and striking indicator of things to come.
A war is coming(already here in my opinion). A war between the haves (them) and the have nots (us). Tell me.. What good is a dead Martin? A dead Malcolm? A dead John F.? Martyrs do indeed have their place but what actually happens is movements and momentium dies. Effectively quelching Black progress. When you have FBI, CIA and all other manners of government secret service (all taxpayer funded by the way) infiltrating Black organizations and squashing positive progress and independence, hope begins to die.
I’m a realist. I have no faith in our politicians at this point and time. I have no faith in our system. This is the standpoint from which I speak and view things. We need to turn off that tv and start reading, researching and understanding the game that is politics in this country. It’s not only bad for Blacks but it is ESPECIALLY bad for Blacks.
May 2, 2012 at 5:06 am
Locthiese both you and Dominique are right in some of your points. We can’t walk around withi our heads in the sand or just falling on our knees in prayer pretending not to see whats before our eyes. Although Dominique is right too we can’t burn down our own neighborhoods either. We need to COLLECTIVELY find a plan to hit them in their pockets.. On Washington Watch this pass Sunday Roland talk with Brother Al Sharpton of the NAN and several of it members accross the country the problem is a whole lot worst than a lot of us thought. There has been a whole lot of shootings of unarmed Black Men especially back East, Florida, and down South, not to mention here in Califoria and other Cities on the West Coast. So instead of beatings it’s shootings of unarmed men. I understand Women are the nurturers of this World and it might be hard to understand the anger and frustrations of especially Black Men since Racism was started by men just like war. However the longer this festures in our society the worst it’s going to be if it explodes. Some of the organizers of NAN mentioned a nation wide boycott of Florida, products and travel. The problem with that is collectively I don’t think we would get enought pertisapation. Dominique ask Carl when and if you get a chance, one or two years after the Rebellion a boycott of the Christmas Hollidays was to take place, it didn’t happen, not in the collective. Marches and Candle Light rallies are a joke to those who abuse us because it continues to happend. What’s worst is if the 1% take over the next administratin and picture no Medicare, no Social Security, no Healthcare for the poor and mass unemployment with no extenions and no College for your children if you can’t afford the send them on your own. A nation where Greed and Racism is King because if we don’t Vote and we don’t teach our people how to vote, not just fot the President but for the people he needs to be behind him.then wehaven’t seen Hell on Earth yet..