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This Strikes Me …
A Call for Black Civic Education
By Ravi Kumar Perry
I know school for most children is out for the summer.
However, it is time for all of us to go back to school –
this time, majoring in civics.
Why civics? In terms of local and national politics, blacks
who confuse pride and high expectations increasingly
frustrate me. Too many African-Americans today have
unrealistically high expectations of black political figures
– both locally and nationally. To add to this predicament,
too many African-Americans lack the appropriate knowledge of
government and how it functions.
These developments in the black community are not new.
African-American politicians who first ran for mayor in the
nation's big cities in the 1960s and 1970s and won suffered
a lot of backlash after being elected and the citizens felt
the mayor’s efforts in their communities was not strong
enough.
That backlash was primarily from Caucasian Americans who
were upset by the changing racial climate. However, the
backlash included African-Americans as well. As Maynard
Jackson, Atlanta’s first black mayor commented of his black
constituents, “the level of expectations of black people
when a black mayor is elected is so intensely emotional
until it is almost exaggerated. It may be impossible for any
human being to satisfy the level of expectations.”
The problem was simple. The energy and excitement about a
black person occupying a major political office generated
extremely high expectations from the citizenry in terms of
what could be accomplished. The expectations were and are
not inappropriate to have. In fact, it is predictable that
such high expectations might be generated from
African-Americans since many feel and felt that with a black
leader at city hall, the governor’s mansion, or in the White
House, maybe their substantive interests can finally be
prioritized. However, there’s a difference between
prioritization and immediate change of one’s socioeconomic
circumstances.
Take U.S. Senator Barack Obama.
Given that Barack Obama will indeed win the Democratic
presidential nomination, if elected, he will have to make
good on the hope generated throughout the country. He claims
his broad-based coalition will do that. I hope he is right.
If not, (e.g., if there is too much white or Republican
opposition), even if Obama tries as hard as possible,
history suggests he will be blamed for the failures.
Although it would not entirely be his fault, (he doesn't
give people high expectations, we create them ourselves), as
the saying goes "the buck stops at his desk."
As a political observer, I hope his campaign is beginning to
theorize and strategize about how to combat this potential
backlash. It is so endearing that Obama has managed to raise
people's hopes in America again. I only hope (no pun
intended) that his efforts, when president, are successful.
And if not, that he is in a position to avoid history's
hint.
At the end of the day, Obama has already done more
inspirationally for this country than most could have
imagined. We owe a debt to him and his vision for that.
However, for the sake of his future success as a black
politician working on behalf of ALL Americans, it is my
strongest wish that the high expectations he has played a
part in generating are, first, still believed to be
possible, yet at the same time, I hope supporters are
prepared for the moments when it will not be.
Believe me, the opposition is.
In other words, while it’s appropriate to have pride in the
first black mayor, such as Jack Ford in Toledo, or a first
black president, it’s misguided to assume that individual
will be able to substantially change your socioeconomic
status instantly. It’s not that they do not wish to.
In all likelihood, they strongly desire to do just that
because of aligned racial identity and their ingrained
knowledge through personal experience of the issues
affecting our community. But, there’s a thing called red
tape and as the young people say, there are plenty of
haters. So, to want substantive change gradually is one
thing – to expect it instantly is another.
The end result of blacks’ confusing instant gratification
with reasoned and cautioned genuine socioeconomic
improvement is that too many African-Americans are quick to
run black politicians under the bus. (Jack Ford?)
Simply put, change is not immediate in electoral politics
and governing – especially, for any type of change rooted in
altering the structured systems of discrimination,
inequality, and disenfranchisement that often plague
minority communities.
To help each of us with the confusion and avoid an Obama
case of abandonment as many did with Jack Ford here in
Toledo when their desires for instant gratification were not
met, I suggest the important and active black organizations
in the city collaborate and in preparation for the November
elections, and build a Black Civic Education Program where
African-American Toleodans are educated on what government
at the local, state, and federal level does, how it
functions, and how it can help.
If successful, the new conclusion won’t be an abandonment of
Obama due to a perception (based in a severe lack of
understanding of how the system works) that he may have
faltered in some capacity (as many of us did with Ford).
Rather, it is my hope that the new conclusion will be a
greater knowledge base to prepare black business owners to
continue to compete for government contracts equitably with
other groups, a greater knowledge base for educators,
community and political leaders to use their resources and
skills to help each of us learn about government, and a
greater information base for every African American in
Toledo to use their newfound knowledge of how government
functions – both local and national – and what realistic
expectations may be generated as a result.
It’s time to go to civics class, Toledoans. Now, all we need
are teachers. Any volunteers?
Editor’s Note: Ravi Kumar Perry is a Ph.D. Candidate in the
Department of Political Science at Brown University. For
comments or suggestions on future topics, he may be reached
at Ravi_Perry@brown.edu
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