Today's Insight, I

Window-Dressing Negroes aka Judas Goats? 

Are black preachers due to a lack of education, no marketable skills other than quoting biblical passages, and a general unawareness of today's consequences the stumbling blocks in black communities throughout America? After almost four centuries in which the question is discussed further,  why is it the black American community cannot truly free itself from poverty and ignorance? Emphasis has to be placed on religious teachings from the vast number of churches in these run-down black American neighborhoods open generally three times a week with a message that has not really changed since the days of slavery. Of course, the message delivered in black churches during those days was very carefully monitored and meetings were usually held with the presence of a slavemaster or a proxy to insure that nothing was said that actually promoted freedom economically or otherwise. This tradition is still very much prevalent today just not as prominent as before.

Not only are many organized black religious leaders at fault for not being able to transform their communities but let's look at some so-called black political and educational leaders. In the book, "The Cult Conspiracy that Killed Booker T. Washington" it is cited that the "Boule", black collegiate fraternities, had a hand in his demise, and no one, group or otherwise has been able to dispute it. Copy can be downloaded for free by e-mail at infobuck@juno.com.

When Judge Clarence Thomas was selected by Bush One for the Supreme Court, I personally smelled a rat and that has been proven with some of his decisions pertinent to voting and civil rights. Michael Steele, Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams and few other so-called "conservative blacks" add to this disturbing odor. If Rush Limbaugh supports them, then you can best believe they are not out to move the black community from its peril. They criticize the President for his initiatives, but these individuals cannot show where they have produced one job, developed one business, or provided any sort of tangible economic benefit to the community from which they were spawned, thus "Judas Goats" continuing the peril. If you can prove otherwise, I'll be the first to retract this hypothesis with an apology. 

The photo shows a black minister with his congregation visiting an off-the-beaten path biblical tourist attraction.   A colleague of mine approximately twenty years ago who was a promising student in medical school told me he received "the call" and quit medical school to go to theology school instead. He later realized that he could have been much more helpful to his church and surrounding community as an MD as opposed to just a theological Phd. Unfortunately, his career path although noble was that of an idealist as opposed to that of a realist. Not since the death of Booker T. Washington has there been a black minister with the strong and intelligent character of Dr. M. L. King, Jr. to render a progressive solution in practical process to free its community of the "chains" of ignorance, poverty, disease, destruction, and unexpected demise. This begs the question...why?

In doing a door-to-door survey in communities in the Roanoke area where there is virtually a church on every other block, one could not help in noticing the vast disassociation with these churches and the rate of poverty and ill health. When approaching the pastors of these churches in an inquiry, many if not most were evasive with very flimsy excuses. I was able to note those that had an intellectual capability to give some reasons for these problems that have existed since the end of slavery.

Booker T. Washington was supportive of religion but very critical of the opportunists who saw preaching as a vocation to an easier life. Filling or scaring people with false hopes and getting paid for it is one of the oldest cons since the beginning of time.  It is undeniable that in Christian belief, death is far more opportunistic than life. There are unfortunately far too many charlatans within the destitute black communites than there are teachers. As stated, many of these charlatans lack any marketable education skills other than receiving "the call".  Many love to use the title "doctor" with their names and couldn't cure minor illness if their very existence depended on it, not to mention the existence of the one with the illness.  The only thriving businesses in black communities throughout America are barber shops, beauty shops, liquor stores, and funeral homes. Admittedly, there are a very few exceptions to this paradigm and I emphasize very few, but the overall description has been generally actual since the end of slavery.  This too begs the question...why is it that other ethnic groups can come to this land of plenty and this includes blacks from the Caribbean and Africa and carve out an economic plot and the native black Americans cannot? Can it be that the native black Americans are still subdued by misperception and misguidance from an ignorant band of charlatans? These are wolves in sheep's clothing (ministerial robes with crosses) that  have preyed on a fearful flock as well as their destiny for four centuries.  Is it time for a judgement on the results of their traditional teachings and a deliverance from the theological traps to a better and more improved life while living?  You can get milk and honey while you are living...just produce them.  Golden slippers?  Just manufacture them.  Long story short, nations or communities will not survive as passive consumers...produce or perish!

Richard Pryor and the NAACP

Richard Pryor, in one of his stand-up routines, described what it was like in visiting a prison to shoot scenes for one of his comedic movie classics. It goes something like this: When I got there, all I saw were blacks and Mexicans, and all I got to say, as he commented in his comedic ad lib, is..." thank God for prisons"!! It got a riotous laughter from the audience. Truth be told, there are some very dangerous if not deadly criminals out there that deserve to be where they are...locked away from civilized society.

On this note, I read where the NAACP will apply communication technology to concentrate on acts of police brutality against suspected criminals. What this says is that this organization has to really update its paradigm from the black vs white or white vs black scenarios when it adopted its initiation a hundred years ago. Today's society in America is far from being that simple and has evolved to a highly complex development of domestic de facto discrimination to one of international terrorism with no regard to race, creed, or color. America is no longer the isolated nation in the western hemisphere with its colloquial interracial conflicts.

This is not to say that there is not a need for technology as the NAACP seeks to advance into the next one hundred years. Technology used to advance education, health, and prosperity would be a more noble cause, and would serve as an example to the rest of the world of what a once downtrodden group only a hundred years ago is doing today. Technology could be used in concert with the police departments to curtail crime, illegal drug distribution, gangland violence, destruction of property and businesses so that people would be enticed to invest. It could be used to make neighborhoods safer and cleaner by getting the owners of derelict properties to clean up or get fined. It could be used to monitor the safety of seniors in the communities to insure that they are protected and to lessen the consequences of ill health. Of course, this demands a more educated group of young people to carry out such a task, which means the NAACP has to not only broaden its focus but to sharpen it in cleaning up its house first as opposed to depending on someone else such as the local, state, and federal governments to do it for them.

The photo below from the Roanoke Times (7-17-09) shows a young man who cultivates gardens in his neighborhood...an example of youth at its best.