Don't go to Sleep
http://www.aframnews.com/html/interspire/articles/48/1/Dont-go-to-Sleep/Page1.html
Mario Salas
By Mario Salas
Published on 01/26/2009
I don’t remember seeing many of the individuals that are now claiming
leadership positions in the Martin Luther King activities on the
frontlines of the war against segregation and racism. I look around and
see people that never did a damn thing in the war to end segregation
and racism, and are doing nothing now to end police abuse, but yet
receive M.L.K. awards and big hat honors. What a farce!
I don’t remember seeing many of the individuals that are now claiming leadership positions in the Martin Luther King activities on the frontlines of the war against segregation and racism. I look around and see people that never did a damn thing in the war to end segregation and racism, and are doing nothing now to end police abuse, but yet receive M.L.K. awards and big hat honors. What a farce!
I am looking at a bourgeoisie class that lays claims to things they never did. When there is a need for radical change, the soldiers on the front line do all the fighting, while some in the middle-class often endeavor to make it seem that they actually fought in the battle. It was like this in Martin Luther King’s church.
Many of his fellow church members called him a “radical,” and “confrontational,” and refused to support the Civil Rights movement. But years later, and as soon as they saw the White elite turning the ideas of King into harmless icons, these individuals claimed that they marched with him. We must remain forever vigilant,
because the forces that never wanted to see this day are not going to close their doors and fold up shop. When Barack Obama was elected president, many claimed that it was the end of racism (a post racial society), and that “We have finally won!” But the game has only begun. The war to push back racism must continue because the racists and conservatives are not about to quit.
The Black bourgeoisie is not about to discredit the White elites that fought Dr. King. This is only the first few minutes of a war that is going to last eight years! I recognize that the election of Barack Obama is a tremendous victory in a land where slavery ruled supreme, but don’t get too satisfied and let your guard down! When Obama is gone we may be faced again with another conservative racist in the White House.
Obama will only be there for eight years, and who comes after him? Don’t get blinded in the moment!
We should reflect on the fact that when the 13th Amendment to the constitution was passed, which abolished slavery, it was less than 10 years later that it returned in the form of “debt peonage.” Blacks were arrested under the fake charge of vagrancy and returned to the very plantation that they were slaves on to work for free. Millions of Black men are in prison today in a system that resembles modern-day slavery. People celebrated and jumped up and down as if the struggle were over when the1954 Brown vs. Board decision was handed down. People danced in the streets and were joyful that segregation was made illegal, but segregation would still be at work despite the important court ruling.
Don’t get so cheerful with the election of Barack Obama as the first African-American president that you slumber in victory. If you take a siesta, I guarantee you that it will all be destroyed. Already, the opposition is preparing a crusade to destroy Obama in every way imaginable. Racist and conservative talk radio has already begun the attack, which will become more intense as we go.
The enemy has not gone away and is not going to sleep, but will at every opportunity attempt to destroy and discredit the presidency of Barack Obama. Don’t get too content! Look out the window and see the gangs and drugs at work in our community. Look out the window at police brutality! Look out the window at the homeless people under the bridge and around the M.L.K. statue! It isn’t over because Obama won!
This is why we must remember the shoulders we stand on. Even to this day I hear some people claim that some community activist is too “radical,” I am reminded that the person making the remark would not be in the position that they are in if it were not for radical activists. If it were not for Martin Luther King, SNCC, Malcolm X, Fannie Lou Hamer, Fred Shuttlesworth, Stokley Carmichael, and yes, the Black Panthers, these very Uncle Toms would not have the positions that they have acquired. Yet, some of the African-American middle class have abandoned the shoulders that once stood them up, in favor of actions that are designed to place them in positions that they never earned.
Be careful when you hear someone attack a community activist as a “radical.” They might just be the ones that have been lurking in the background for the opportunity to claim a piece of history that they never helped to make. Don’t go to sleep!
I am looking at a bourgeoisie class that lays claims to things they never did. When there is a need for radical change, the soldiers on the front line do all the fighting, while some in the middle-class often endeavor to make it seem that they actually fought in the battle. It was like this in Martin Luther King’s church.
Many of his fellow church members called him a “radical,” and “confrontational,” and refused to support the Civil Rights movement. But years later, and as soon as they saw the White elite turning the ideas of King into harmless icons, these individuals claimed that they marched with him. We must remain forever vigilant,
because the forces that never wanted to see this day are not going to close their doors and fold up shop. When Barack Obama was elected president, many claimed that it was the end of racism (a post racial society), and that “We have finally won!” But the game has only begun. The war to push back racism must continue because the racists and conservatives are not about to quit.
The Black bourgeoisie is not about to discredit the White elites that fought Dr. King. This is only the first few minutes of a war that is going to last eight years! I recognize that the election of Barack Obama is a tremendous victory in a land where slavery ruled supreme, but don’t get too satisfied and let your guard down! When Obama is gone we may be faced again with another conservative racist in the White House.
Obama will only be there for eight years, and who comes after him? Don’t get blinded in the moment!
We should reflect on the fact that when the 13th Amendment to the constitution was passed, which abolished slavery, it was less than 10 years later that it returned in the form of “debt peonage.” Blacks were arrested under the fake charge of vagrancy and returned to the very plantation that they were slaves on to work for free. Millions of Black men are in prison today in a system that resembles modern-day slavery. People celebrated and jumped up and down as if the struggle were over when the1954 Brown vs. Board decision was handed down. People danced in the streets and were joyful that segregation was made illegal, but segregation would still be at work despite the important court ruling.
Don’t get so cheerful with the election of Barack Obama as the first African-American president that you slumber in victory. If you take a siesta, I guarantee you that it will all be destroyed. Already, the opposition is preparing a crusade to destroy Obama in every way imaginable. Racist and conservative talk radio has already begun the attack, which will become more intense as we go.
The enemy has not gone away and is not going to sleep, but will at every opportunity attempt to destroy and discredit the presidency of Barack Obama. Don’t get too content! Look out the window and see the gangs and drugs at work in our community. Look out the window at police brutality! Look out the window at the homeless people under the bridge and around the M.L.K. statue! It isn’t over because Obama won!
This is why we must remember the shoulders we stand on. Even to this day I hear some people claim that some community activist is too “radical,” I am reminded that the person making the remark would not be in the position that they are in if it were not for radical activists. If it were not for Martin Luther King, SNCC, Malcolm X, Fannie Lou Hamer, Fred Shuttlesworth, Stokley Carmichael, and yes, the Black Panthers, these very Uncle Toms would not have the positions that they have acquired. Yet, some of the African-American middle class have abandoned the shoulders that once stood them up, in favor of actions that are designed to place them in positions that they never earned.
Be careful when you hear someone attack a community activist as a “radical.” They might just be the ones that have been lurking in the background for the opportunity to claim a piece of history that they never helped to make. Don’t go to sleep!