Jesse Jackson Is Being Honored For Providing Inner-City Youths With Increased Photo Opportunities...The Onion
- Much has been written about the failure of black leadership in America over the last several decades. I revisited this issue after reading and hearing reports of Oprah's alleged encounter with racism while shopping for a purse in Zurich, Switzerland, several weeks ago. But that's not what I found interesting about the story. I found it interesting that one of the richest black women in the history of the planet, a women who made much of her wealth from a message of empowerment, had to resort to whining and portraying herself as a victim.
- And this incident is precisely what brings me to my point today. Too many African Americans promote perpetual victimhood---even those who have been remarkably successful.
- There is no doubt that racism still exists in America. But there is also no doubt that African Americans have too many black leaders who promote racial division largely for fame and financial gain. One can make a lucrative career in America by stroking the fires of racial conflict and tension. Too many continue to pursue failed social programs that only promote unending hopelessness, misery and anguish. They know they can make a lucrative career by stroking the flames of racial conflict and continual tension.
- Not long ago, I wrote a piece about Al Sharpton, a race-baiting hustler and hypocrite of the worst kind. Not only has this thug been involved in promoting some major hoaxes on the public, Jonah Goldberg of the National Review wrote Sharpton knows how to cash in on his access. It's the likes of Sharpton and other so-called black leaders who always turn to a failed ideology that relies on victimhood instead of promoting empowerment, a process where marginalized people can truly flourish without being dependent on the government and society for perpetual handouts. It's through the help of others who sincerely care---not charlatans---that marginalized people will get access to the many opportunities available in life and society. And those "others" happen to be other distinguished black Americans that many never hear about.
- And that brings me to the media, another important piece to the challenges facing African-Americans. What are many blacks to do when the media's impression of black leaders always happens to be people like Sharpton and other "establishment" blacks (who also happen to be members of the political class)? It's invariably the media who turns to the very people who promote racial tension and class warfare. That's what sells their news. In other words, exploitive black leadership and the media are remarkably efficient in manipulating the very people they pretend to help (I wrote about just this in my July 15, 2013 piece entitled, "The Continued Exploitation Of African Americans By Black Leadership And The Media."). It's a con of the worst kind, and it's been going on for decades. It's certainly not the message that was promoted by Martin Luther King, Jr., and others of the civil rights era. It's not even the message promoted by the likes of Allen West, Herman Cain, Condi Rice, Thomas Sowell, Larry Elder. Zora Hurston and a whole host of other prominent black conservatives. Unfortunately, many Americans have never heard of these and other eminent black conservatives because the likes of CNN, MSNBC, and most of the other alphabet networks pretend these people do not exist. Yet, these black Americans have become successful by not resorting to pulling out the race card or using their skin color to get ahead. In other words, victimhood has never been part of their vocabulary (One might be able to make the argument that even Pres. Obama rose to power through empowerment not victimhood although he's been to deal the race card when it suits his political agenda).
- The black leadership in the hands of people like Sharpton never manage to create any new ideas. They keep falling back on an agenda they know will enrich them as the media continues to enable their failed message. Martin Luther King, Jr., preached a lot about the content of one's character rather than the color of one's skin. Unfortunately, those considered by many to be leaders in the black community appear to never have learned that lesson.
- Juan Williams in his book, "Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead End Movements And The Culture Of Failure Are Undermining Black America..," pointed out that black Americans need to look well beyond the "culture of failure" reminding them of their proud traditional values of family and faith that sustained them through the horrors of discrimination and segregation. Unfortunately, black Americans will never receive this message from those who continue to promote racial division. After all, there's a lot of money to be made in exploitation.
