A SERVANT OF THE PEOPLE
Before the selection of the President, I said I hoped George "Shrub" Bush would win because that is the swift kick in the ass black folk needed. We are not impressed with the selection of a few House Knee-Grows in high places. Is this supposed to change the fact that black folk felt Jim Crow in November of 2000?
During legal segregation, we flourished as a people. We educated our children, maintained our homes, businesses, and communities. We produced doctors, teachers, lawyers, carpenters, and other professionals because we had no other choice. Our parents demanded that we respect them and all elders, regardless of race. Our parents kicked our behinds and the community could chastise us as well. What was so wrong with this upbringing that we demanded it be changed?
If we look at the illusion of integration, our schools were shut down, our teachers fired, our children bused into hostile communities with no familiar faces in sight. The mere presence of black families moving into all-white neighborhoods caused white flight and the depreciation of the neighborhoods. Afrikan children were traumatized physically and mentally throughout their educational experience under the illusion of integration. I often wonder why white schools weren't closed down, white teachers fired, and white children bused into black communities? Why weren't white families forced to move into all-black neighborhoods in the name of integration?
My challenge to the Afrikan Nation for the 21st Century is to commit to educating our children from the womb to the tomb. This is an arduous task that must be undertaken by building education incubators in every community in which we live. They don't have to be lavish buildings that we can't afford or maintain. Not long ago, we educated ourselves in little shotgun houses that were clean, healthy, and full of love. If we can organize for conventions and parties, why can't we organize for our survival? I'll tell you why--our priorities are not in order!
The Presidential election of 2000 is the wake-up call that nothing has really changed for Afrikans, women, other people of color, or poor whites. The 1965 Voters Rights Act is only 35 years old, and the so-called Emancipation of 1865, freeing the enslaved Afrikans, happened 135 years ago. We understand that the US government is controlled by corporations, and there is no difference between the two political parties. The Green Party 2000 Campaign captured our imagination and energy by addressing some of our concerns. But as we begin to build a third party, I suggest we rethink what a "servant of the people" really is. Up to now, we have elected individuals to represent us in Congress, then allowed these individuals to do as they wish. This is a mistake.
A servant of the people should act on words and guidance from the people. When we elect an individual to represent us, that person's responsibility is to empower us, to instruct us how the political process works. That individual must understand that however "cool" his/her opinions and thoughts, it is the People who should have the last say in all decisions.
A servant of the people must come from the communities of the people in order to know the needs of the people. The servant's office should be staffed with individuals from the community, not with the servant's families and childhood friends. Supporters from different precincts should identify a contact person responsible for disseminating information to the people of each precinct. For example, when bills are introduced, the elected servant's staff should contact the information runners of each precinct with the particular bill for analysis and discussion. Once the people have examined the legislation, each precinct should vote in favor of the legislation or against it. This should be done on state and federal levels of government because our lives are controlled by politics, and we should be part of directing change instead of going through changes.
Whatever party the People build, its platform should be grounded in the needs of the poorest of the poor amongst us, and it should involve working people who are exploited and catch the most hell from this government: "Learn the Rules of the Game and then Don't Play By Them." When People know the rules of the game, they bring knowledge to the table, which puts them at an advantage instead of a disadvantage.
As we begin to build the People's Political Movement, let history be our guide. We are struggling against a system that was set up and maintained by the rich and powerful. They are not going to roll over and let us build the People's Political Movement. COINTELPRO and NEWKILL intelligence operations will be employed against us if they deem us a threat to the status quo. Knowing this, we must build a society in which all people desire to participate and bring about productive change. "When Spider-Webs Unite, They Can Tie Up A Lion." (Afrikan Proverb)
--Feel Free to call Sista Shiriki at (819) 333-9814, or write me at P.O. Box 320441, Kansas City, MO 64132.