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Post by aggielove on Jan 16, 2006 10:46:57 GMT -5
In observance of this holiday of respect of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I wanted to get some sentiment from the board regarding his Dream.
Do you believe his dream still lives on today? What would you like to see done to keep his dream progressing? Do you think we as black people in this country have lost touch with the struggles of those that came before us (I mean black folks in general)?
For those older Aggies who were of age during the Civil Rights Era, how do you feel things have changed for younger black folks since then?
I think that many of the young black folks in my generation (I'm 26) are lost and have no guidance, no sense of purpose, and no desire to strive to be better. It seems that there was a little more unity in the community and not this almost hopelessness amongst the youth. It appears that younger folks then were more proactive with wanting things to change where as now the only thing we want is bling, platinum grill, and 24" chrome Sprewells.
What do you have to say?
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Freeze
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Post by Freeze on Jan 17, 2006 14:30:28 GMT -5
Aggielove,
I agree with some of your sentiments, but I have some additonal concerns when it comes to the King legacy. One of the unfortunate bi-products of the civil rights era has been the crippling dependency of finding the next great leader. In the discipline of history we call this the "great man theory". History often enshrines leaders and great men, but very often does it embrace or idolize the true essence of any social movement...grassroots activism. As great as Dr. King was, he was just as inspired by the tireless work conducted by grassroots workers, student activists, and local leaders as they were by his uplifting messages. Most of these individuals however will forever go nameless through the corridors of time while we continue to look for the next Black messiah to lead us to the promise land.
Here's my advice to the Black community...stop looking for the next Dr. King and look to yourself and to those who care in your immediate area. Get involved in the life of a child or a group of children through community service or community centers. Get involved in your church or mosque...and not just any church...but a church that has a relevant social and political message as well as a sprititual. Some of these ministers kill me trying to divorce the Black church from the struggle for Black liberation in this country. Many of them would be served well to remember that the Black church was born out of that very same struggle and it must continue to be a resource of our community and not an exploiter of the poor and hopeless (remember that Karl Marx said religion is the opium of the people). Well some of us better come down off of our spiritual high and see what is going on in our communities.
There is much work to be done and so few hands willing to put their hands to the plow. People try to dissect King and take what they find useful and comfortable about his message. But the true students of history and his work understand that Dr. King was selfless and tireless when it came to the struggle. We must be the same if we expect to carry on his work and not just simply reflect on his legacy.
My quick two cents. Oh yeah...thanks for taking some time to reflect on this Aggielove...and Aggie Pride to you all.
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Post by aggielove on Jan 17, 2006 16:29:33 GMT -5
Freeze, It's funny you mentioned the desire for our community to look for the next so-called "Black Leader." My wife and I were talking about the same thing a few days ago. We grow especially tired of the media acting as if these so-called leaders speak for every member of the black community. That's like saying Bill O'Reilley (sp) speaks for everyone in the media. I don't think it's bad to have Black community leaders, however, I am a little perturbed by some of our leaders taking on causes that are somewhat pointless and trivial. Seems like they just want face time.
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Post by Bigboy on Jan 18, 2006 11:53:59 GMT -5
Dr. King just wanted us as a people to have the same opportunity and the pursuit of happiness as every other citizen of this country. For all practical purpose, we do have the same opportunities as anyone else in this country. Sure he wanted us to be judged not by the color of our skin but as he said, by the content of our character but this may never happen. You can't march away or preach away racism but we can teach our young people to take advantage of the opportunities that they have in spite of the racism that still exist today. Speaking of young people, I beleive the majority of them are taking advantage of the opportunities that they have. Sure, there are alot of our young people that are not taking advantage of the opportunities that Dr. King fought and died for, but I feel they are the minority and they make the most noise. I feel privileged that when I was still in H.S.(1964) I got to see and hear Dr. King speak at a rally in D.C.-I was less than 10ft. away from him and his message at that time was directed towards young people in the audiance about taking advantage of the opportunities that we did have at that time in spite of the racism and the overwhelming odds against us. Overall I think we as a people have come a mighty long way and there is still a long way yet to go. As for young people I beleive that if we can help them to change their view of the way they think things are, then maybe we can help them to see their lives in a more positive light. We must help them to understand that it's not people, places or things that cause us problems but it is our view of those people, places and things that causes us to react the way we sometimes do. If Dr. King was here today I think his message to our young people would be "education, education, education" !!!!!!!!
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Maxell
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Post by Maxell on Jan 18, 2006 13:14:09 GMT -5
If Dr. King was here today I think his message to our young people would be "education, education, education" !!!!!!!! I don't think that would be his message now. He would have transferred that message to the parents by now. That is still foundationally important but the new message would be to those of us that already have education. What have we done with it? It is time for us to own something other than our houses. It is time for us to start or buy businesses and real estate such that we can have an economic presence in America. The bible says, " Possess the land" and all we've done is work the land. The reason that we whine and moan about our athletic programs is because we still are of the mentality that the ability to give $1000 a year to the Victory Club is a big deal. There should be few of us out of our 40,000 living graduates that have prospered enough to contribute $1,000,000 a year to athletics. Our mentality has been one of just being grateful to have the opportunity not one of seizing it. Dr. King was beginning to recognize the importance of economics in America when he was assassinated. I am almost embarrassed that I have not grabbed a hold of a dream that says there should be many many more folks in our community with the influence, money, and power of Oprah(for example) not just a few. But that message was not put down in me at an early age. My message was get an education and get a good job. I did that but there is much much more to do. And that would be Dr. King's message today.
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