WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

I was watching old footage from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his last speech to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), “Where Do We Go from Here?” This was probably King’s most militant speech during the last year of his life and…the title of his posthumously published book. Ok, aside from it being a speech and a book title, I believe it’s something that our present-day Black society needs to consider strongly. No, this ain’t 1967, but in 2014, I think Dr. King is still pushin our asses to ask ourselves the difficult questions of not just how our society is being defined, but how we live in it, our future, and how we connect with each other. What do we value?

A dude I kinda like, Yasiin Bey (used to be Mos Def), best captures my point. In his creative come-back to Jay-Z and Kanye West’s cut, “Niggas in Paris” called, “Niggas in Poorest” he ends the song by begging us listeners, “Don’t get caught up in no throne,” and he says this shit nine times…hell, he shoulda said it nine more. Besides that bein a fine piece of artistic shit, Bey is doin more than just flippin Mr. Carter and Mr. West’s hit album on its head for the sake of what a lot of folks think is a ‘diss record.’ Bey is getting at the fact that many of us Black folk seek and are defined by the very trinkets and shiny things that are mentioned and celebrated in “Niggas in Paris.” Understand?

 Might as well keep goin…..what’s really fucked up and really damaging to us are the ones who have the ability to help, even on a small scale, but won’t because they want to protect their “alleged” class status like a goddamn government secret. I’ll give you an example. Remember back when it was a whole lot of folks signin petitions or writing letters in support of Trayvon Martin as a show of solidarity. I know of one group of Black men, who belong to an organization founded to help provide positive engagement within the Black community, who said they weren’t interested in writing any letters or signin no petitions because the Martin case had nothing to do with them.  Damn hypocrites!

 These types of Black folk are more dangerous than any racist. They suffer from the Pharisee Complex. They’re defined by their nearness to white power and perceived privilege, and to hell with us regular niggas who dare to compromise their happy little bullshit world. This is just one example of how time and time again; we turn our back to the voiceless, while watering down the integrity of our communities and any movement for justice. A lot of them fools want to be seen as “down for the cause” and “real,” but when you need just a lil bit of help, they start acting real white…….but one step better than that of their oppressors. In the Book of Luke, when Christ chastises the Pharisees he unequivocally mentions their love for the “uppermost seats and the synagogues and greetings in the markets,” which ain’t no different than them fake brothers and sisters who want to be recognized as “important” in church, in their communities, etc., but just ain’t willing to do the work required for the respect. The thought of servant leadership is lost on em.

 I now return to Dr. King’s question, “Where do we go from here?” We must first determine where we are. Hum? Then we need to beware of the ones who try to offer the new fangled illusion of hope, change, and empowerment, but only want to associate in the abstract. Yea, rhetoric is good for inspirin folks, but after the rallies are over, and the shit that’s important to our community are no longer part of the 24-hour news cycle, we need the brilliance, creativity, passion, and imagination of those brothers and sisters willing to do the work required to pick up where our ancestors left off. We need those who are ready to fight for justice for our people and our communities…but remember as Yasiin Bey says, “Don’t get caught up in no throne. I’m out!