by Dr. Boyce Watkins
I don’t know about you, but I AM SICK OF IT. I am sick of living in a world where my people finish last. I’m tired of seeing our kids being brainwashed into becoming drug-addicted, womanizing, lazy, wannabe thugs by a media industry that is determined to destroy us. I’m sick of seeing black people filling the welfare lines and unemployment offices. I’m tired of seeing black teenagers dying a physical and spiritual deαth before they ever have a chance to live.
I’m sick of people believing that white is right and black is inferior. I’m tired of celebrities, athletes and powerful black people who believe that they have no obligation to help anyone other than themselves. I’m “syka blak yuth hoo rite lyke dis” on Facebook because their educational systems have failed them and left them functionally illiterate. I’m tired of seeing people having baby showers without even wondering, asking or reflecting on who the father was. I’m tired of seeing so many members of the black middle class enduring workplace discrimination on a regular basis and not feeling that they have any way to remedy the disparity. I’m tired of people telling us that racism is a figment of our imagination and that the only conclusion is that we are inherently inferior. I’m tired of black teens being embarrassed and ridiculed for working hard or being highly educated. I’m sick of seeing our kids dying in the streets over nonsense.
I’m just tired of it, tired of it all, and I believe that you are tired too.
The reason I put together the New Paradigm Movement is because I was determined to do everything in my power to leave something to our children before I get old and die. We’ve taken the tour to three cities, including Chicago, New York and Washington DC, and are calling on all empowered and action-oriented voices in our community to share clear action steps that will allow us to rise above the sociological, economic swamp that drowns our babies before they are even born.
We know that white supremacy is real, and most of us have experienced racism up close. The problem is that, when we speak on these issues, no one is listening. Well, I could care less if anyone else is listening on this matter, because it’s about time we start listening to OURSELVES. Here are 7 things that all of us can do right now to engage in a new paradigm of thought and action, thus stopping white supremacy in its tracks:
1) Every black child should be homeschooled, even if they go to school someplace else: We know that many of our schools are failing. We also know that our kids are being left either uneducated or miseducated by a school system that doesn’t care about them. This is where we step in. After school, during weekends and holidays, that’s when you should be using the Internet to teach your child the basics of black history, how to start a business, how to be a good parent and how to survive and succeed. We must all be a part of that child’s educational process.
2) Every black child should be taught the basics of entrepreneurship, even if they work for somebody else: Children must learn to earn their own money the way you learn to grow your own food. It’s not logical to depend upon the descendants of your historical oppressors in order to get the things you need. It only leaves you in a position of weakness.
3) We must be willing to pay the cost of our own freedom by supporting black-owned institutions: It is critical that we support our own institutions, including HBCUs, community groups, and civil rights organizations. If we don’t support our own organizations, then who will?
4) We must rebuild the family unit and broken black relationships: The black family has been destroyed over the last 40 years, largely by the War on Drugs and Mass Incarceration. Now, our children must be re-educated on the fundamental skills necessary to build and sustain a strong family unit. This starts with learning how to manage and negotiate relationships, and giving our children a fighting chance at having a functional two-parent upbringing.
5) We must build better children: Too many young men are never taught how to be men, husbands or fathers and are misled by mass media into disrespecting black women. Too many young women never learn the value of respecting manhood or themselves. This must be changed so that when those young children reach adulthood, they can emerge as healthy, whole individuals capable of raising productive, safe and balanced children themselves. We must also confront the tragic mental health consequences resulting from the destruction of our families and mass incarceration.
6) We must be economically intelligent: Your money is your power, so why are we always so determined to give it all away? The key to liberation in a capitalist society is to understand and harness the power of money. We must support black-owned businesses, embrace the concept of financial literacy, teach the value of ownership and become savers and investors rather than borrowers and consumers. As a Finance professor, I can tell you that the key reason for chronic black unemployment is the absence of black-owned businesses. The next front in the fight for equality is going to be on the economic landscape.
7) Black leadership must be de-centralized: No longer should we define and confine black leadership to be represented by two or three figureheads that are burdened to lift 40 million people. Our community is filled with brilliant individuals from all walks of life, many of whom are quite capable of sharing viewpoints and ideas that can inspire and uplift those around them. Our belief is that we can ALL play a role in elevating our communities, since we are all positioned to be leaders within our own space. A mother and father can lead their own children. A teen can lead the people around him. A teacher leads her class. A strong man can lead our boys toward manhood. The fact of the matter is that black leadership starts in your living room and when it comes to solving the problems of our community, we need all hands on deck.
I’m tired of being tired, and I’m sick of being sick. It’s time for a New Paradigm in Black America, and I hope that you agree.
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